THE GOLDEN EAGLE 31 



still swooped down one after the other, but failing to 

 make the eagle move on at length gave up their attacks. 

 These unwelcome attentions from members of the crow 

 family are not confined to this country, for Mr. Abel 

 Chapman puts it on record that in Spain the eagle is 

 mobbed by Choughs. The raven is much more formid- 

 able than the hoodie as an adversary, and though in the 

 part of the Highlands with which I am most familiar it is 

 not present in sufficient numbers to be worth reckoning 

 on, still I heard of an instance, on the west coast, where 

 the ravens on a certain deer forest increased to such an 

 extent that they drove every eagle from the district. 



The rook has rarely a chance of mobbing the eagle, but 

 that it does avail itself of an opportunity when such is 

 presented to it is borne out by the following incident. 

 On the county march between Perth and Aberdeen I saw 

 an eagle sailing down the corrie at the head of which its 

 eyrie was built. It was pursued by a number of small 

 antagonists which I imagined at first to be hoodies, but as 

 pursuers and pursued approached nearer, I realised that 

 a number of common rooks were harrying the great bird 

 of prey. Time after time they stooped at the eagle, 

 but I noticed that they exercised a certain amount of 

 discretion in their attacks, for they rarely came within 

 reach of their adversary's bill or claws, and contented 

 themselves for the most part in stooping at the out- 

 stretched wings. It seems to be an invariable rule in 

 nature that the pursued never turns upon its pursuers, 

 and this is well illustrated, I think, with the eagle. The 

 latter is chased by all kinds of small birds, notably by 

 Missel Thrushes, and yet, as I have said, I have never 

 seen or heard of one retaliating on the smaller assailants. 



The Golden Eagle not infrequently attacks red deer, 

 and I was once witness of a picturesque incident in this 

 connection while crossing the Larig Ghruamach pass which 



