l6o Cameron, Nesting of the Golden Eagle. LApr. 



having never previously seen the like with these birds. They 

 first commenced to carry sticks and pine tops to the eyrie on 

 March 15 when there was deep snow, but were forced to suspend 

 operations during a three day blizzard, the material already col- 

 lected being thereby dispersed. 



Not disheartened the birds began building again on March 25, 

 and, as the hen sat on two white, yellow spotted eggs on April 2, they 

 had evidently completed their nest within a week! (Plate III.) 



One egg was more heavily blotched than the other, but I have 

 never seen eagles' eggs in Scotland with such pale markings, 

 though I am aware that such occur. The period of incubation 

 was 35 days. The nest, which measured about 5 feet in diameter 

 at the widest part, was constructed of sage brush stalks, grease- 

 wood, and pine tops, scantily lined with down from the eagle's 

 breast. Soapweed and more pine tops were added after incuba- 

 tion had commenced, no doubt for the purpose of ornament, as 

 pointed out by Mr. C J. Cornish in 'Country Life' (London) of 

 ]une 18, 1904. The same writer mentions an instance in Cali- 

 fornia where the eagles decorated their eyrie with sacks ! At first 

 the nest was a rather neatly formed cupped structure precluding 

 accident to the newly hatched young, but by the time the eaglets 

 were a month old the constant trampling of the family had made 

 it perfectly flat. The hen bird allowed me to reach the upper 

 ledge and look over before leaving her eggs, when she would 

 cleverly make a lift backwards with her wings, to clear them, and 

 another, sideways, which floated her into space. She was often 

 immediately joined by' the male, and the two would then sail 

 round, ascending in graceful spirals to an immense height, like all 

 species of Buteo. Sometimes one bird would hang on the wind 

 above the rock, and, anon rise with motionless wings like an 

 artificial kite, to sink gradually down upon its perch. This was 

 very pretty to witness. I have climbed to the eyrie when the 

 female was apparently asleep, and although the wide awake 

 nestlings would stare at me with wondering eyes, they never, even 

 when six weeks old, communicated my presence to her. 



The male eagle took no part in the duties of incubation but 

 helped to brood the young birds and seemed the most assiduous 

 in shading them after June 8 when they were a month old. 



