256 Cameron, The Golden Eagle in Montana. [jniv 



bird scans the dog town and judges of the prospect for a successful 

 stoop. The 'dogs' are of course immediately on the alert, but 

 can only see their enemy for a short time on account of the high 

 surrounding pine hills, and, indeed, most 'dog towns' are too 

 extensive for the denizens at one end to notice an eagle passing 

 over at the other. Moreover, an unsuccessful eagle will keep 

 on the wing for several hours, and it is almost certain that the 

 hungry prairie dogs will relax their vigilance at last. AVhen the 

 eagle considers that a favorable chance has arrived it sinks lower, 

 so as to bring the distance between itself and the animals to some- 

 thing like seventy-five or a hundred yards. Should the latter still 

 remain above ground, the royal bird suddenly folds its wings, and, 

 with meteoric rush, falls head first towards the astounded prairie 

 dogs. These scamper for their holes, but about three yards from 

 the ground the eagle spreads its wings and, swiftly following the 

 intended victim, darts out a cruel foot to grasp it. If the attack 

 fails, as sometimes happens, the eagle mounts in a slow, reluctant 

 manner which plainly reveals its disappointment. On May 3 

 Mr. M. M. Archdale (on a sulky plough behind three horses) 

 drovr- within a hundred yards of the male eagle when it stooped 

 ji', dhd just missed a prairie dog in the manner above described. 

 His minute observations corroborate mine from a far greater dis- 

 tance. On a different day two other observers saw the same bird 

 successfully seize a prairie dog, but drop it after rising to a con- 

 siderable height. The eagle made no effort to recover its booty, 

 and such behavior is rather difficult to explain. I suggest that 

 as a prairie dog is carried in one foot the quarry, in its death agony, 

 may have severely bitten the bird's free leg incautiously advanced. 

 My brother, Mr. Allan Gordon Cameron, who has had con- 

 siderable experience of Golden Eagles in Argyllshire, believes that 

 they distinctly prefer furred to feathered game. Their favorite 

 food is the Mountain Hare {Lepus variabilis), and a dead cat is a 

 sure draw to a trap, if eagles are in the neighborhood. When 

 hares are scarce, or entirely absent, as in the Island of Jura (Inner 

 Hebrides) eagles take rabbits, if accessible, and failing rabbits, 

 perforce prey on grouse, with the devastating results above men- 

 tioned by Mr. Oberholser. These results in Jura, however, were 

 due to the grouse leaving the ground in panic, rather than to their 



