falco:nid.e. 



37 



pluck off tlie hairs and feathers, and rudely teai'ing off 

 the flesh, lay it before their hungry young." 



Fig. 15 —eagle's nest. 



The Golden Eagle seems formerly to have been by no 

 means an uncommon bii'd in the British isles, but the 

 increase of population, and the cultivation of the land, 

 have driven it to the remoter parts of the kingdom, and 

 it is now only to be found in the Highlands of the North, 

 the wildernesses of Ireland, and occasionally in Wales. 

 On the Continent it is more abundant, particularly in the 

 northern and hilly countries, as in Norway, Sweden, and 

 some parts of Prussia. It is also found, but more rarely, 

 in Germany and France, and still less frequently in Italy 

 or farther southwards. 



The extensive sub-family of the Eagles includes 

 a great number of birds more or less agreeing in 

 their habits with the description of the Golden Eagle 

 given above^ but nevertheless divisible by certain 

 peculiarities into several distinct groups^ distin- 

 guished by different names ; among these it will be 



D 



