26 HILL BIRDS OF SCOTLAND 



different parts of the same glen ; and it is interesting to 

 know that Col. Verner found this to be the case in Spain 

 also. Sometimes, I think, one of these spare eyries is 

 used as a larder, for I once found the hind quarters of a 

 hare freshly killed lying in a nest which contained no eggs. 

 During the early months of spring the eagles appear to be 

 undecided as to which of their homes they should occupy 

 for the approaching nesting season. They visit them in 

 turn, and add a few green pine branches to each eyrie, in 

 order, I imagine, to make it plain to any wandering and 

 homeless eagles that the glen is already occupied. There 

 is one rock I know of where there are no less than four 

 eyries within 50 yards of each other, all the property 

 of the same pair of eagles. 



Owing to their extensive hunting operations a pair of 

 eagles will not allow a second pair to set up house within 

 three or four miles, at the nearest, and as a result the 

 Golden Eagle can never become really numerous anywhere. 

 However, I am quite sure that in the Highlands he is 

 holding his own, and as long as he does not encroach too 

 much on grouse ground he is rarely disturbed. 



The eaglets remain in the eyrie for a period of nine 

 weeks, so that they make their first flight about the 8th 

 of July. The date of this flight is extremely regular, 

 and the earliest day on which I have known the 

 young eagles to leave the nest was July 5th. On this 

 date I made an expedition to an eyrie built on an ancient 

 Scots fir at a height of 1800 feet above sea-level. 

 After a spell of cold and misty weather an anti-cyclone 

 had brought with it cloudless skies and light, variable 

 breezes, and as I moved up the glen the sun shone with 

 great power. The eyrie was soon located, and the two 

 eaglets, a cock and a hen, were seen to be almost full- 

 fledged. I had hoped to obtain some photograi)hs of 

 them in their eyrie, but I had not reached a point half- 



