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White-tailed Sea-Eagle.
(Halia?tus albicilla.)
Eagles capture their prey with their talons, pouncing down suddenly and grasping it, and then carrying it off to some quiet place where it may be devoured at leisure. As a rule the prey is too large to be swallowed whole, so the beak must be strong enough to tear it to pieces. In accomplishing this the sharp hooked tip is an invaluable aid. The White-tailed Sea-Eagle, which is illustrated, feeds on geese, ducks or hares, but principally on fish. After swooping upon its prey, the Sea-Eagle sometimes disappears in the water, reappearing with the fish in its talons. This Eagle was formerly a regular inhabitant of the cliff bound coasts of Britain.