THE GOLDEN EAGLE 27 



way up the tree — and a none too easy climb it was — when 

 both eaglets took wing simultaneously, and flying side 

 by side, made for the foot of the glen. Their flight was 

 somewhat unstable, and they gradually sank earthwards 

 until they came to ground at the side of the hill burn 

 which drains the glen. Here, after a certain amount of 

 searching, I discovered the hen eaglet standing quietly 

 in a small tributary of the main stream, and, after having 

 photographed her, I set about looking for the cock. He 

 had wandered off up the hillside, and I found him amongst 

 long heather, where successful photography was pre- 

 cluded. The difficulty of transporting my subject to 

 more suitable surroundings was overcome by my divest- 

 ing myself of my kilt and carrying the eagle a distance 

 of some two hundred yards in the folds of the feileadh beag. 

 Far from struggling, my captive remained quite quiet 

 and passive during the journey, and ultimately I placed 

 him and his sister on a large dead branch, where I pho- 

 tographed them together. They could be distinguished 

 from fully-matured birds only by the shortness of their 

 tails and by the unformed feathers on the neck. Though 

 on this occasion they could not rise from level ground, 

 their wing power had increased so rapidly, that when, 

 nine days later, I revisited the spot, I found the only 

 bird I saw so strong in his flight that he would not allow 

 me to approach within fifty yards of him, but soared out 

 over the hill in masterly fashion. 



Young eagles invariably show considerable powers 

 of flight at the first, but I think the most remarkable 

 performance was given by an eaglet which had been 

 brought up in an eyrie on a steep hill face overlooking 

 a deep glen. The eaglet left its nest on its first flight one 

 gloomy morning in mid-July and treated me to an exhibi- 

 tion of flying which was quite noteworthy. Sailing out 

 from the eyrie, the eaglet at first had considerable difficulty 



