310 BULLETIN 16 7, UZSTITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Mr. Skinner tells me these "eagles are much harassed by the ravens 

 and crows"; he has often seen one "on the ground surrounded by a 

 circle of ravens waiting for it to fly and the sport of mobbing to 

 begin." 



The prevailing belief that an eagle will attack anyone attempting 

 to rob its nest is entirely erroneous. I can find no record of anyone 

 being struck by an eagle at its nest, and only on very rare occasions 

 has one been bold enough to even threaten the intruder. Evidently 

 parental affection does not show itself in bravery, but hunger often 

 makes the eagle bold and even savage ; also a wounded eagle will show 

 fight and even make an aggressive attack. Dr. E. W. Nelson (1887) 

 says: "On one occasion a pair was disturbed by a friend of mine 

 while they were feeding upon the remains of a hog in northern 

 Illinois. As my friend approached the birds arose and swooped 

 fiercely at him. Both birds were shot almost at the muzzle of the 

 gun ; the first fell dead almost at his feet ; but this apparently seemed 

 only to increase the rage of the survivor, which renewed the attack 

 until it, too, was disabled." 



Mr. Cameron (1907) relates the following story as told to him by a 

 shepherd : 



He narrated how from some distance away lie saw an eagle stoop at one of the 

 dogs, and hang above it as raptorial birds are wont to do when attacking ground 

 game. The dog, not paralyzed like a hare, at the proximity of the great bird, ran 

 towards its master, when the hovering and expectant eagle fixed one foot on 

 each side of the collie's throat and endeavored to bear aloft the shrieking animal. 

 The shepherd described how during the few minutes that he was running toward 

 the struggling pair and trying, incidentally, to find a stick, the eagle m.ade frantic 

 efforts to carry away the dog, which seemed unable, when clutched in this man- 

 ner, to make any attempt to free itself. According to the story, the bird was 

 flying all the time, in any case flapping its wings, and, although prevented from 

 rising by the weight of the quarry, it was able to drag the helpless dog to and 

 fro. The eagle had, in fact, too good a hold for her own safety and was 

 ignominiously killed by blows on the head with a stick. 



An index to the food resources of the golden eagle in the mountains 

 of northern British Columbia was afforded by a nest examined by 

 Edward A. Preble. He says (MS. account) : 



The nest, built on a ledge overlooking the valley of the South Fork of Bear 

 Creek, in the Babine Mountains, was found on August 3, 1913. It had just been 

 vacated by the sole young bird that had been raised in it. 



The nest was built in a vertical cleft or "chimney" in the cliff, and the site 

 was plainly an old one, for the labors of successive years had reared a structure 

 nearly 20 feet high. Access to the nest proper was somewhat of a problem, but 

 by taking advantage of slight projections on the face of the cliff beside the nest 

 I soon reached the top. Here was the usual depression, flattened out by the 

 weeks of use by old and young. The chief interest, of course, centered in the 

 remains left from the feasts that had contributed to the growth of the young 

 eagle now about to begin its active life. I made no attempt to count the indi- 

 viduals represented by the remains, which, of course, included only those that 



