THE GOLDEN EAGLE. 517 
located a Golden Eagle’s nest. The material of which these hills are com- 
posed is a kind of voleanic ash, very friable, and the birds had chosen for 
their eyrie a cranny in the very middle of one of the wildest of these fossil- 
bearing cliffs, and at a height of some seventy feet. It was practically in- 
accessible even by rope, for the cliff is perpendicular and deeply fissured 
by the action of the weather, so that the flying buttresses thus formed are 
ready to part and crumble at a breath. A pair of Prairie Falcons had a 
nest in the “next block” and they ap- 
peared to make a practice of perse- 
cuting the Eagles just for sport. I 
saw one of the Eagles launch out from 
his nest for a course across the broad 
valley. A Falcon took after him, altho 
the Eagle had a big lead. “A race,” 
thought I. JVoof, woof, woof, went 
the Eagle's wings; clip, clip, 
clip, clip, went the Falcon’s. 
Inside of a mile the smaller 
bird made up the distance, 
scratched His Majesty’s crown 
with his noble toes, and was 
up in the ether a hundred yards 
before the Eagle could do a 
thing. This process was re- 
peated until the gentle pair 
passed from sight, but a few 
minutes later the Falcon re- 
turned to his perch, chuckling 
hugely. 
At present the Golden Eagle 
is confined almost exclusively 
to the higher mountains, 
especially the Cascades. It 
was unknown to Cooper 
and Suckley, and we have 
only one record of its ap- ee 
pearance on Puget Sound. ee 
AL + 5 23 
The birds are practically 
resident wherever found, 
but they undoubtedly do 
= * Taken in California -hoto by H. T. Bohlman and W. L. Finley. 
wander off to the prairies 
A PRINCE OF THE BLOOD ROYAL 
and lowlands now and then 
THE BIRD IS STILL IN THE NEST, ONE OF THE EAGLETS PREVIOUSLY SHOWN 
