THE EAGLE-LIKE SUBFAMILY 



1989 



steep clay banks of rivers and streams. Its powerful build and strong rapid flight 

 render it more than a match for any animal of its size, and its food consequently 

 comprises many of the larger kinds of game, as well as lambs. In Europe these 

 eagles prey largely upon fawns, hares, rabbits, and the various kinds of feathered 

 game, and are consequently formidable enemies to the game preserver. One has 

 been known to carry off a wounded grouse from in front of the guns of the sports- 



IMMATURE GOI.DEN EAGI.E. 



men; while another is recorded to have picked up a hare running before hounds. 

 In pursuing hares and rabbits, two eagles will at times combine their efforts in the 

 chase. An Irish peasant reported to the author of Wild Sports of the West, that, 

 in coursing hares, ' ' one bird was the active follower, while another remained in 

 reserve at a distance of forty or fifty yards. If the hare, by a sudden turn, freed 

 herself from her most pressing enemy, the second bird instantly took up the chase, 



