GOLDEN EAGLE. 97 



And not in its distant flight alone is the Golden 

 Eagle a beautiful object ; viewed at hand it cannot fail 

 to inspire admiration, but then you must see it seated 

 on some pinnacle of its native rocks, where, however, 

 few will venture for the sake of such a gratification. 

 In captivity, although it may retain much of its charac- 

 ter, it loses the associations which give that character 

 interest ; and thus seen, it resembles in its attitudes 

 the White- tailed Sea-Eagle already described, although 

 it is somewhat more lively. The male bird is much 

 smaller, and consequently quicker in its movements, 

 than the female, and, when unusually small, has more 

 of the appearance of a large hawk. 



The flight of this species is so exactly similar to that 

 of the White-tailed Sea-Eagle, that I could never dis- 

 tinguish the one bird from the other by it alone. It 

 seems, however, to be more rapid ; and, in accordance 

 with this supposition, is the fact that the Golden Eagle 

 is much more destructive to grouse than the other, 

 while it has also a greater propensity to prey on living 

 animals in general. But although it destroys grouse, 

 sea-birds of various kinds, hares, and other animals, it 

 by no means disdains to feast upon a dead sheep, a fish 

 that has been cast ashore, or any other carcass that 

 may fall in its way. It is generally considered in the 

 Hebrides as more destructive to lambs, and it some- 

 times carries them off^ after they have grown to a con- 

 siderable size. An instance of this occurred under my 

 own observation. A lamb belonging to myself, and 

 which was feeding with its mother near the house, 

 was seized by an eagle, and slowly carried up along 

 the side of the hill. An outcry having been raised 



