YOUNG 



Accounts of the groAvth and de- 

 velopment of the young of tlie 

 golden eagle have been recorded by 

 several observers (Cameron 1905, 

 Sumner 1929a, Bent 1938, and 

 Jollie •") . At about 9 or 10 weeks 

 of age the young are fully feathered 

 and ready for their first flight in 

 the vicinity of the nest (fig. 2). 

 Bent reports, and the writer's ob- 

 servations verify the conclusion, 

 t hat young eagles frequently renuiin 

 in the vicinity for some time after 

 they leave the nest. They aiv ap- 

 pi'oximately 3 months old before 

 they gain the full power oi flight. 

 On first leaving the nest they hunt 



with their })arents, who normally 

 watch and guard them until they 

 learn to take care of themselves. 

 In northern Colorado, young and 

 old birds were ol)served together 

 until the last part of October. 



An increase in the number of 

 eagles seen in early fall in certain 

 localities may be the result of the 

 appearance on the wing of the young 

 of the year and should not be con- 

 fused with winter aggregations of 

 migratory birds from other areas. 

 The young are, for the most part, 

 more fearless of man than the adults 

 and consequently more conspicuous. 



2 Malcolm T. Jollie. The golden eagle — its 

 life history, behavior, and ecology. Unpub- 

 lished thesis, University of Colorado, 1943. 



FiGURK 2. — Nestliui 



golden eagles on Colorado State Antelope Refuge, 

 by Lee W. Arnold.) 



(Photograph 



