The debris in the nest near water 

 inchided 10 ducks, 1 coot, 1 jack- 

 rabbit, 1 cottontail, and 2 marmots. 

 Tlri-eeo-f tl-te- clucks, 2 mallards, and 

 1 cinnamon teal, were examined for 

 evidence of cause of death, and 

 Groves states tliat "as nearly as 

 could be determined, all three had 

 l)ecn liealthy individuals. Two of 

 the birds showed talon marks on the 

 shoulders and neck."' He added 

 that— 



with the small number of nests under 

 observation and the limited amount of 

 time spent on this study it would be 

 impossible to draw any definite conclu- 

 sions as to the economic status of the 

 golden easle on the Malheur National 

 Wildlife Kefuge. Indications point to 

 the fact that the eagles are probably 

 much more beneficial than harmful. 



Whereas the foregoing testimony 

 indicates a relation between the 

 golden eagle and waterfowl, the ef- 

 fect can best be determined by those 

 who actually manage waterfowl 

 areas and thus are in constant touch 

 M'ith the ever-changing picture. 



OTHER BIRDS 



The capture of and feeding on 

 lesser raptors by golden eagles has 

 been recorded on several occasions. 

 Maurice Broun of the Hawk INIoun- 

 taiii Saiicliiarv in Pennsylvania 

 witnessed the capture in midaii' ot" 

 a led-slionldcrcd hawk by a golden 

 eagle il had been harassing (Broun 

 I'.»I7). The smaller bird persisted 

 ill annoying its fellow traveller un- 

 I il the golden eagle 



* * * made a su(hlen thrust ,f(irwar(l, 

 executed an "Imnielmann turn" * * * 

 and then seized the .smaller hawk which 

 seemed to iiul up a mnineiitary, hopeless 

 strniiule. I>nwii came I lie two birds pre- 



cipitously, the eagle with set wings and 

 clutching its victim. 



Oscar T. Thordarson, making a 

 study of the food of predatory 

 species on the I'pper Souris Wild- 

 life Eefuge, N. Dak., shot and 

 wounded a great horned owl. Be- 

 fore he could arrive at the point 

 wdiere the owl had come to earth a 

 piuv of golden eagles appeared and 

 one picked up and carried away the 

 still-struggling owl (Henry 1939). 

 H. H. Brimley (correspondence) in 

 Nash County, N. C, reports he 

 found the remains of a crow in the 

 stomach of a golden eagle. 



With respect to domestic poultry, 

 the golden eagle is only an oc- 

 casional in-edator. Such preclation 

 is most likely to occur during the 

 winter months when the large birds, 

 pressed for food, concentrate in the 

 vicinity of unprotected poultry. 

 The remains of a single chicken in 

 the stomach of 1 of the 102 eagles 

 examined (talile li) attest to the 

 infrequency of such feeding. 



LIVESTOCK 



Sheep. — The domestic sheep is a 

 highly bred, man-controlled exotic 

 without the defenses against hostile 

 elements in its environment found 

 in native sjiecies. Furlhennore, 

 there has been a growing tendency 

 in recent years to replace sheep 

 herding with large, fenced pastures 

 in which sliee|) aic pefniitti'd to 

 roam. 



As in e\ery other pfoblein of eco- 

 noniii-s. \\\v eleineiil of |)r()fit is the 

 yai'dstirk. W'hichexcr proves the 

 nioic piohlalile techni(iiie — that of 

 herding oi' thai of fencing and 

 rii:(irou>-l \' coiii lollini:' 'he eiix'iron- 



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