44 THE HOME-LIFE OF 



was little harsher, though a trifle louder, than the cry 

 with which as a babe in white down he had hailed their 

 coming, and the small voice proceeding from so large 

 a bird seemed now somewhat incongruous. Then suddenly 

 a dark form flashed up the corrie and his mother swung 

 past on silent wings. She circled round and round, as 

 though annoyed at finding him still in the nest, then 

 settled on the rocks beyond and tried to tempt him from 

 his fastness. But the Eaglet was unwilling to obey, 

 for his hunger had been appeased, and still the rain 

 pattered down pitilessly outside the eyrie. She rose 

 once more into the air and flew towards him, almost 

 buffeting him with her wings as she swooped past the nest. 

 Again and again she hovered round, and then a wild, 

 weird cry rang echoing down the glen. For the first 

 time I had heard the yelp of the adult Eagle, the voice 

 of the Queen of Birds calling to her young. Thrice 

 was the note repeated, then again silence reigned for 

 a while. The Eaglet cheeped continuously till, as 

 though seized by some irresistible impulse, he flapped 

 to the very edge of the abyss and turned his head from 

 side to side, listening to her call (Plate 31). And now he, 

 too, changed his cry, his voice seemed to break, and the 

 adult yelp, though in a lower and feebler key, burst 

 from his throat. The Eagles called to each other, 

 yelp answered yelp as they held strange converse in 

 this wild mountain solitude. The young Eagle gazed 

 around him as though taking a last farewell of his birth- 

 place, spread out his giant wings (Plate 32) and vanished 

 for ever from my sight among the ledges below. And 

 the yelping ceased, and again there was silence. 



The Eaglet had left the nest and had flown. He had 

 spent eleven weeks in the eyrie and now entered on a 

 new stage of his career, through which I could not follow 

 him. No longer could the camera record his adventures 

 or pursue him in his wanderings. There are scenes in 

 his life-story which no mortal eye shall witness and 



