Table 2. — Occurrence of food items in 102 stomachs and ciops of golden eagles 



1 Jackrahhits {Lfpus) ami fottontails (Sijlrihigus). 



2 Gid'jiiil siiuincls iCitt/liix], iiianiiuts ( Mnnnota), and fox and grey squirrels (Sciurus). 



3 Skunks {M(philix: and reindeer {Ranyiffr). 



* Sagi' LTo'i.-;!' (('( niroctrcus) and game-farm pheasants (Phasiaiius). 



5 Pintail duek (. l/('/.v). 



« Turkey vulture (Cathartes). 



7 Chicken. 



8 Carcasses of domestic sheep, cow, horse, deer (Odocoileus), reindeer (Fangijer), and jarkrahhits il.epvs). 

 » 17 collected at a game farm in North Dakota. 



those situiitions will have to be 

 charged to the inefficiency of the 

 procedures at hand. This may have 

 occurred in the case of the pintail 

 duck eaten by an eagle in January. 

 Whether this duck was an over- 

 looked victim of a hunt or the prey 

 of the eagle cannot be determined 

 from the stomach contents. Like- 

 wise, under modern conditions, 

 there may be honest doubts as to 

 whether the remains of a jackrabbit 

 is indicative of eagle ])re(lation or 

 of highway hazards, (ieiierally, it 

 is safe to assume, from tlic known 

 predilections of the golden eagle, 

 that the gre;d niajority of the rab- 

 bits and rodents were taken alive. 

 Mention should be made of the 19 

 instances of ])heasants eaten in the 

 month of February. Circumstances 

 connected with 1 heir coHect ing ai'e 

 discussed undci- Pheasant on pagt's 

 22 and 23. 



CARRION AS FOOD 



It has been a popular conception 

 for many years that the bald eagle 

 is principally a scavenger, but that 

 the golden eagle takes carrion only 

 when compelled by necessity. Data 

 assembled in this study indicate 

 that carrion is frequently taken by 

 the golden eagle even when living- 

 prey is available. Substantiating 

 this contention are the fodowing 

 recorded incidents. 



,1. Stokley Ligon. in Socorro 

 County, X. Mex., March 1915, noted 

 that golden eagles fed on the car- 

 casses of stock killed by wolves and 

 thought that "no doubt the destruc- 

 tion of the gray wolves will increase 

 the use fulness of the eagles by forc- 

 ing I hem to kill more of their meat 

 . . . rabbits."- (Bailey 1928.) 

 Murie ( l'.»44) ob.served in Mount 

 McKinley National Park that 

 golden eagles assembled at anv car- 



12 



