26 THE HOME-LIFE OF 



had been brought in whole, and not divided into 

 two sections. I ascertained later that it was the custom 

 of the Eagles to bring only the hindquarters of full- 

 grown hares and rabbits to the nest, while the young of 

 both these animals were not divided and seldom dis- 

 embowelled. The forequarters were presumably 

 devoured in the first case by the parents themselves. 



At 7.30 all was in readiness and I prepared for another 

 long day with the Eagles. It was nearly noon when the 

 female returned, and on this occasion she brought no 

 food, but, after a look round the eyrie, decided that the 

 nest required rebuilding. She first carefully rearranged a 

 few of the sticks whose position I had altered, and, having 

 placed them to her satisfaction, flew away for more. 

 In a few minutes she came back with a large stick in 

 her beak (Plate 13), and having laid this in a suitable 

 position, stepped back to inspect her handiwork. She 

 then picked up a dirty bunch of heather and carried it 

 away, returning several times for more refuse, and finally 

 removing all the old skeletons of hares and rabbits with 

 which the nest had become crowded. This accomplished 

 she disappeared, returning after a long absence at 5.15 p.m. 

 bringing a fresh grouse in her talons with which to feed 

 the Eaglet. The latter was, as usual, ravenous, and 

 she now began to encourage him to feed for himself, 

 first opening the prey with her powerful beak and 

 devouring the entrails herself. She never allowed him 

 to eat the entrails at this stage, but when these were 

 safely disposed of she held the carcase towards him 

 in such a position as to make it easy for him to pick out 

 the liver and other dainties. It was interesting to watch 

 her gestures and to see with what patience she thus 

 gave the Eaglet his first lesson in feeding himself. She 

 then tore the flesh into fragments and, both being 

 satisfied, flew away. 



The nth of June found me again en route for the 

 forest — a bitterly cold morning, with driving showers of 



