THE GOLDEN EAGLE. 539 



and lined with weeds, or any of the softer materials avail- 

 able The eggs, 1-3, about i.9UX2.25, elliptical or spherical, 

 are dull or creamy-white, generally spotted and blotched 

 with brown, sometimes unspotted. 



Concerning the manner in which the Golden Eagle 

 teaches its young to fly. Sir Humphrey Davy says: — " I 

 once saw^ a very interesting sight above the crags of Ben 

 Nevis. Two parent Eagles were teaching their offspring, 

 two young birds, the maneuvers of flight. They began 

 by rising from the top of the mountain in the eye of 

 the sun. It was about midday, and bright for the climate. 

 They at first made small circles, and the young birds imi- 

 tated them. They paused on their wings, waiting till they 

 had made their flight, and then took a second and larger 

 gyration, always rising towards the sun, and enlarging their 

 circle of flight, so as to make a gradually ascending spiral. 

 The young ones still and slowly followed, apparently flying 

 better as they mounted; and they continued this sublime 

 exercise, always rising till they became mere points in the 

 air, and the young ones were lost, and afterwards their 

 parents, to our aching sight." This is written concerning 

 the European Golden Eagle, which is very similar to ours. 



Dr. Rush, in his lectures on " The Effects of Fear on Man," 

 says : — " During the revolutionary war, a company of sol- 

 diers were stationed near the highlands of the Hudson 

 River. A Golden Eagle had placed her nest in the cleft of 

 the rocks half way between the summit and the river. A 

 soldier was let down by his companions, suspended by a 

 rope fastened around his body. When he reached the nest, 

 he suddenly found himself attacked by the Eagle. In self- 

 defense he drew^ the only weapon about him, his knife, and 

 made repeated passes at the bird, when accidentally he cut 

 the rope almost off. It began unraveling; those above 



