HALl^TUS ALBICILLA. 79 



preparations were made. First, the exact distance of the nest down the 

 cliff had to be ascertained. This was done by running a reel of thread, 

 with a small weight at the end, down the crag. A companion on the point 

 alluded to gave a signal when the weight was opposite the nest. The 

 measurement was 90 feet. A strong Manilla two-inch rope was got, and, 

 with two assistants, the cragsman very early one morning crossed the 

 Sound of Bressay in a boat, and ascended the grassy slopes which led to 

 the top of the ' Bard.' They arrived there about three o'clock ; the weather 

 was quiet and the air clear.' A stout oak stake was driven firmly into the 

 ground, and through an 'eye' at the top of it one end of the rope was 

 passed. The daring climber tied this end securely round his body, while 

 his assistants grasped the rope on the other side of the hole. He took off all 

 superfluous clothing, and put on a pair of thin goloshes. In a belt round 

 his waist he had a six-chambered revolver in case necessity arose for 

 defending himself from the eagles. Over his shoulder was slung his fishing- 

 basket, in which he hoped to bring the spoils of the eyrie. All being ready 

 he went over the brink of the cliff, and partially climbed down to take the 

 strain off the rope. When he got to the 'pond,' fortunately none of the 

 old birds were at home ; but he could not reach the nest, for immediately 

 above the ' pond ' was a great ledge of rock which overhung the eyrie, so 

 that he was suspended in the air on the same level as the nest, but 10 or 12 

 feet from it. He signalled to be hauled up to this ledge, which was done ; 

 he then cautiously climbed down its face, which had a sharp inward slope, 

 until he got upon the same strata on which the nest was built. By following 

 an open seam, just wide enough to admit his fingers, he managed to scramble 

 into the 'pond,' where probably no human foot had ever been set before. 

 He could not stand upright in the rocky chamber, but crept round on his 

 knees to the back of the nest where two pretty eaglets were. When they 

 saw the strange intruder they buried their heads below the woolly lining of 

 the nest and remained still. On examining the eyrie his attention was 

 drawn to a spar of wood about 6 feet long by 3^ inches in diameter placed 

 on the outward edge of the nest to keep it in position. The spar was laid 

 down to fill up a gap in the rock so exactly that a mason could not have 

 done it better. The base of the nest was composed of a huge mass of sticks 

 and tangle, then layers of heather and grass ; the inner circle or 'cappie,' 

 as it is called in Shetland, being lined with wool. The ' cappie' where the 

 eaglets lay was 2 feet in diameter. By the side of the nest were two gulls, 

 with their breasts torn open, recently killed, while the bones of lambs, 

 rabbits, and birds were strewn around. On lifting the eaglets out of the 

 nest— though only a fortnight old— they were so large that only one could 

 get into the fishing-basket. Having come so far he was reluctant to take 

 only one, and was considering how he could get the other to the top of the cliff 

 when a warning shout from above told him that one of the old birds was 

 coming. It was the female, which had returned to fight in defence of her 

 young. She came straight for the eyrie like a ' flash of lightning.' He had 

 barely time to throw himself on his back into the deepest recess of the 

 ' pond ' and draw his revolver when the infuriated eagle was upon him. 

 She made one terrible, but unsuccessful, swoop at him with talons and 

 beak, while he simultaneously pulled the trigger of his revolver, which 

 missed fire. The eagle hovered outside for a moment before renewing the 

 attack ; but a shot from the revolver, the loud report of which reverberated 

 among the rocks, scared it to a distance of about 200 yards, where it con- 

 tinued to circle in the air, yelping like a dog. It was joined by the male, 

 but though thus reinforced neither of them again returned to the nest. He 

 placed one eaglet in the basket, took the other under his left arm, gave the 

 signal to his companions, swung himself out of the 'pond,' and was safely 

 hauled up — his perilous venture successfully done. Both of the eaglets 

 throve well. They were fed three times a day on flesh and fish, and on 

 this diet came into beautiful plumage. After being harried, the old birds 



