3l8 THE BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



with a full-grown ewe, and carefully avoiding encounter with 

 its enemy, man, even when he is robbing its eyrie. Flap- 

 ping its huge wings at intervals, it sails majestically at immense 

 heights, the wing-tips curved upward, the strong pinions spread 

 hke fingers. It does not dash on its quarry with the splendid 

 stoop of the Peregrine, but drops suddenly upon the unsuspect- 

 ing hare or Ptarmigan, gripping its life out with cruel talons. 

 It will sight or smell the long-dead sheep and gorge upon the 

 putrid flesh. Sport, not sentiment, has saved the Golden Eagle 

 from extinction, and on some of the Scottish deer-forests it is 

 almost common ; had the shepherd had his way he would have 

 harried it out of existence. The varying hare and perhaps the 

 Ptarmigan and Red Grouse are annoying to the deer-stalker, 

 warning the stags by their rushes or flights when disturbed, 

 and these the Eagle keeps down. On the ground the Eagle is 

 ungainly and waddles rather than walks, but when standing on 

 its favourite look-out, some rock or pinnacle from which it can 

 command the district round, its massive beak, heavy brows 

 and piercing eyes give it a truly regal mien ; small wonder 

 that it has been so often selected as a national emblem. As 

 a rule it is a silent bird, but has a loud yelping scream. 



The nest of the Golden Eagle, though still occasionally built 

 in a tree, is generally placed on some steep though by no 

 means inaccessible crag ; many nests may be reached without 

 a rope. The birds, if permitted, return again and again to the 

 same place, though not annually to the same nest ; each pair 

 has two or three alternative nests which are probably used in 

 turns. One of these old nests is patched up each year, fresh 

 material added, so that in time they become huge structures, 

 perhaps six feet across at the base, and consequently requiring 

 a broad ledge for their support. Branches, twigs and heather 

 are piled to a height of perhaps two feet, and the cup of the 

 nest is from 12 to 16 inches across, lined with heather tufts, 

 moss and grass, and, as most authorities assert, usually a 



