. Birds of the wave and woodland. Illustrated by Charles Whymper and others . and brings outits young in security. All that our poets have written of theireagles of fancy may, for majesty in llight, be fairly applied tothis bird. When the tempests at its loudest, on the gale theeagle rides,— playmate of the storm,— triumphant on thebosom of the storm, glances the iire-clad eagles wheelingform,-—a swift eagle, in the morning glare, breasting thewhirlwind with impetuous flight,—all these are quiteapplicable to the sea-eagle, for folk say that no tempest thatever blew could keep the erne at home.
. Birds of the wave and woodland. Illustrated by Charles Whymper and others . and brings outits young in security. All that our poets have written of theireagles of fancy may, for majesty in llight, be fairly applied tothis bird. When the tempests at its loudest, on the gale theeagle rides,— playmate of the storm,— triumphant on thebosom of the storm, glances the iire-clad eagles wheelingform,-—a swift eagle, in the morning glare, breasting thewhirlwind with impetuous flight,—all these are quiteapplicable to the sea-eagle, for folk say that no tempest thatever blew could keep the erne at home. When the sea-birdsare driven inland, the ernes remain to wheel about as ifenraptured in the storm-distracted sky—and like spiritshardened by despair, joy in the savage tempest. There is nothino- mean about it. A law to itself, and there-fore lawless ; stronger than any other fowl it ever sees, andtherefore a tyrant ; a bird of prey, and therefore pitiless. Itsevrie is a citadel that cannot be stormed, and the fierce-eyed BIRDS OF THE WAVE AND WOODLAND 157 z-^^-. robber, seated on itseminence, overlooksthe townships of thegulls, and as it pleasestakes manorial titheof the fish plunderthey bring up fromthe sea, and of theiryoung, Voracious from the billowsbreastMarked far away, his des-tined feast. Its cry is a cruel,clear-ringing bark,very characteristic ofthe fierce baron ofthe cliffs, and whencircling in company apair can be heardyelping to each otheruntil eye and eartogether fail to catchsight or sound of GUILLEMOTS them. When theyare young the sea eagles, as yet unconscious perhaps of their 158 BIRDS OF THE WAVE AND WOODLAND birthright of supremacy, roam about among the moors andvalleys, finding their food where they can, killing weaklylambs, or joining the raven in an ignoble meal on carrion. Sometimes, strange to say, this creature of vast spaces anddizzy heights will nest in trees or even among reeds upon theground. But its characteristic haunts are the wildest
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1894
