3+ THE HOME-LIFE OF 



swarming with vermin, and several times during the 

 day the Eaglet found it necessary to scratch himself 

 violently, while it was only with the greatest difficulty 

 that I refrained from following his example. At 9.15 

 his mother, her plumage radiant in the sunshine, came 

 in to see if more food was required, and took away with 

 her the carcase of a grouse which was nearly finished. 

 At 10.7 she brought him a rabbit's leg, which he picked 

 clean at intervals during the course of the next hour. 

 This he evidently regarded as a very unsatisfactory 

 breakfast, for, after performing his toilet in the usual 

 way and removing a considerable quantity of loose down 

 from among his feathers, he began to flap his wings 

 violently and then cried incessantly, like a child who 

 has not had enough to eat. 



At 1 o'clock she came in again with a huge brown 

 rat in her talons, and of this dainty the youngster made 

 short work. He then indulged in a siesta under the rock 

 out of the rays of the sun, and at 2.35 woke up to find the 

 cock standing on the ledge beside him. He had brought 

 part of a young grouse, which also the Eaglet devoured. At 

 5.10 p.m. the female looked in again, but brought no food. 



The sun was now setting and the nest was again almost 

 in shadow. As the last beams of the sun flickered 

 through the corrie, the cock lit again upon the ledge 

 and jerked forward a small lump of red flesh (Plate 15 (b)) 

 into the nest. This turned out to be the headless body 

 of a small bird, probably a lark or some similar species, 

 but as it was clean plucked I could not be certain as to 

 its identity. This was the only occasion on which I 

 saw prey carried in the beak, and the characteristic 

 attitude assumed by the cock while jerking the prey 

 forward should be noted. 



At 5 o'clock on the following morning the Eaglet 

 was still asleep, but shortly after my arrival his mother 

 dropped in suddenly, and I had barely time to slip a 

 plate into position when the Eaglet came to meet her 



