THE GOLDEN EAGLE 35 



and 60 young were killed. A keeper trapped 15 eagles 

 in three months in 1847. The captured birds found a 

 ready market, for about the year 1850 English buyers used 

 to give £5 for an eagle for stuffing. Large as was the number 

 of eagles formerly killed in the Highlands, it does not 

 nearly approach a record from Norway, where, during the 

 five years ending 1850, no less than 10,715 eagles were 

 accounted for. 



The Golden Eagle is nowadays protected by law, and 

 few are shot, except when they wander from their forest 

 homes to adjoining grouse moors. In these latter situa- 

 tions the eagle can never be looked upon with favour, 

 although I am sure that the damage ascribed to them is 

 often exaggerated. The range of a pair of eagles during 

 the nesting season is so wide a one that on a well -stocked 

 grouse moor the actual damage done must always be slight. 

 But it must be admitted that many a grouse drive has 

 been entirely spoiled before now by the sudden and un- 

 welcome appearance of an eagle just at the critical moment. 

 I do not think that, at the present time, the eagle is found 

 south of Perthshire to the east, and Argyllshire to the west 

 in this country, but formerly it had a much wider range. 

 In Wales the eagle bred on Snowdon in the seventeenth 

 century. Here it was known as Eryr Melyn — " Yellow 

 Eagle"— and Eryr Euraidd—" Golden Eagle." The 

 Snowdon Hills are, I believe, to this day known as " Creig 

 ian'r Eryri," or The Eagle Rocks. Evans in the History 

 of Wales (1880), speaks of the Golden Eagle being found 

 even at this late date about Snowdon. Going back to the 

 sixteenth century, we have evidence of eagles in Denbigh- 

 shire, and Leland writes of Castell Den : " There bredith 

 on the rock side that the Castelle standith on every year 

 an Egle, and the egle doth sorely assaut him that destroith 

 the nest by going do^vn in one Basket and having another 

 over his hedde to defend the sore stripe of the Egle." 



