A GOLDEN EAGLE. 29 



beak in rage. A young hare, half-plucked, but not 

 opened, was lying beside him, and under the rock were 

 the remains of a grouse and of a rabbit, which had 

 probably already served for breakfast. I saw no signs 

 of his parents till about 2 o'clock, when his mother 

 brought in the hindquarters of a full grown hare, 

 deposited it on the ledge and retired. The Eaglet 

 had rushed forward to the edge of the rock to meet 

 her and seemed disappointed when she flew away, 

 but consoled himself by making a hearty meal on 

 the fleshy parts of the hare's legs. He was now 

 fast gaining strength, but had not yet learnt to stand 

 on the prey and to grip it with his feet. As usual, 

 the day was dark and gloomy, with heavy showers 

 of rain and sleet. 



After his feast the Eaglet walked round the edge of the 

 nest and began to play. He behaved exactly like a child 

 thrown upon its own resources for amusement and com- 

 pelled to fall back upon any handy article as a toy. 

 Small pieces of heather in this case served his purpose, 

 and he appeared to enjoy lifting them from the ground 

 and throwing them down again. He also picked pieces of 

 moss from the rocks and only desisted from this occupa- 

 tion after having completely stripped the walls of the 

 eyrie. He then began to make the most comical grimaces, 

 turning his head sideways and upwards at the same time. 

 His manoeuvres were so diverting that I had much 

 difficulty in restraining myself from laughing, and a 

 chuckle which escaped me involuntarily on one occasion 

 caused him to stiffen momentarily into an attitude of 

 attention. 



He next began to make his toilet, carefully removing 

 all the loose down, which was now freely coming 

 away. This was accomplished with the aid of his 

 beak, and, the task completed to his satisfaction, he 

 lay down and went to sleep. At 6.15 he began 

 to call for his mother, and from his movements it 



