The SEA EAGLES (_Haliaëtos_) constitute a well-defined group of very large birds, armed with long and powerful beaks, which terminate in an abrupt hook, and rise but slightly above the cere; the tarsi are only partially covered with feathers; the talons are long, sharp, and hooked, and the toes distinctly separate; the wings are large, the third quill longer than the rest, reaching almost to the tip of the broad and more or less rounded tail. The plumage is rich, and usually of a grey colour; the feathers upon the head and nape are only slightly elongated, but terminate in a sharp point; the tail is _usually_, and the head _occasionally_, white. THE SEA EAGLE. The SEA EAGLE (_Haliaëtos albicilla_) is met with in large numbers upon all European sea-coasts. This species is at least two and a half, generally three feet long, and from seven to eight feet broad; the wing measures two feet, and the tail one foot. The plumage of the full-grown birds is greyish brown upon the head and throat, the body is fawn colour, the wings tipped with black, and the tail with white. The eyes, beak, cere, and feet are yellow. As the Sea Eagle increases in age, the colours of its feathers fade, until the upper part of the body is white, and the lower portion greyish white. The young birds are principally brown, spotted, or mottled, with white beneath, and have a dark tail. * * * * * The WHITE-HEADED SEA EAGLE (_Haliaëtos leucocephalus_), the North American representative of the species above described, is somewhat smaller than its European congener, its length not exceeding from two feet four inches to two feet eight inches; its breadth is from six feet to six feet nine inches; its wing measures from twenty to twenty-two inches, and tail ten and a half to eleven and a half inches, according to the sex. The plumage of the old bird is dark brown upon the body, each feather being edged with a lighter shade; the head, upper part of the throat, and tail are of snowy whiteness, and the wings black; the eyes, cere, beak, and feet are somewhat paler than in the preceding species. In the young birds the plumage is almost entirely blackish brown, nearly black upon the head, throat, and nape, and presents a lighter appearance upon the back, wings, and breast, owing to the feathers having a white edge. The beak is dark grey, the cere greenish yellow. [Illustration: THE HARPY EAGLE (_Harpyia destructor_).] * * * * *