308 BULLETIN 16 7, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



once found under a golden eagle's nest in California the dried 

 remains of a wildcat. 



Behavior. — The flight of the golden eagle is the embodiment of 

 grace and power. To my mind it is more impressive than that of the 

 bald eagle. The bald eagle is said to be swifter on the wing, but I 

 doubt it. It is certainly inspiring to watch the spirited dash of 

 this great bird in pursuit of its running or flying quarry. There are 

 few swifter runners than the jack rabbit and few swifter flyers than 

 the band-tailed pigeon, but this eagle is more than a match for 

 either in an open chase. Mr. Gordon (1927) thinks "that the down- 

 ward rush of the golden eagle is the swiftest thing, as it is the most 

 magnificent thing, in the bird world." Its lofty soaring flight is 

 equally grand, as it mounts in ascending spirals up into the clouds 

 until lost to sight. Mr. Gordon (1915) again writes: 



Then one day the north wind crossed the sea, and arrived at the eagle's 

 home. And the eagle felt the cool arctic breeze and sailed out from his giant 

 rocks which by now were burning hot in the fierce rays of the sun. "With his 

 pinions wide outstretched he leaned on the refreshing wind, which bore him 

 strongly upward, without a single stroke of his wings to help him on his way. 

 So he mounted higher and higher till he had risen far above his native hill-top, 

 and was outlined, a mere speck, against the dark blue of the sky. Still up- 

 wards he sailed, and for sometime longer the watching stalker kept him in 

 view, in the field of his glass. But at length he reached a point at which he 

 was invisible, even by the aid of a telescope. From that point what a gorgeous 

 panorama must have been laid out before his sight in the light of the summer 

 sun. Even the highest tops were now far far below him, and the river in its 

 windings down the great glen must have appeared as a thin silvery streak. 



Lila M. Lofberg (1935) writes of her observations while watching 

 a pair of golden eagles near their nesting site at Florence Lake, 

 Calif.: 



The most interesting thing that has occurred while I watched has been their 

 aerial circus. Whether this occurs more than once a year I cannot say, but 

 I have never seen it more than on one day during the season. A distant call 

 first attracts my attention. This comes from a mere dot in the sky. The second 

 bird then leaves its perch on the nesting ledge and soars in wide circles, up- 

 ward. Before it can attain the height of its mate, the "dot" comes hurtling 

 down with closed wings, at terrific speed. When not over a hundred feet from 

 the ground and just as I am sure it will be dashed to pieces, out come the 

 wings and this bird instantly goes into a series of daredevil stunts. It rolls, 

 stands on its head or tail, or slides earthward sidewise, with extended wings. 

 Between these it may perform flights that remind me of a skater cutting 

 figures on the ice. When it has exhausted its repertoire it ends on a line with 

 the nest. But instead of flying straight to it, the eagle makes three perfect 

 loops in the air, coming out of the last within a couple of flaps (of the wings) 

 of the ledge. 



Meanwhile the one in the air has been forgotten entirely but soon the faint 

 call reminds me to look upward to find that it, too, has become a dot. Upward 

 starts the resting eagle. Down comes the distant one to go through the same 

 routine. Always these flights end with those three loops that bring them onto 

 the nesting ledge. For an hour or more they continue this exciting sport. 



