178 FIELD-STUDIES OF RARER BIRDS 



from certainly one spot above : or perhaps a rock 

 has slipped in of its own accord ! Albeit, no rock 

 is found in the eyrie. 



Nothing more is seen of this Eagle ; in fact, 

 the blinding hail renders it impossible to detect any 

 object more than a few yards away. Besides, an 

 Eagle, when flushed from eggs, usually flies right 

 away, merely waiting about a great way off ; and the 

 non-sitting bird for both sexes incubate is 

 seldom much in evidence at the eyrie. 



Next morning, in far better weather, we set 

 off for a second stronghold of Eagles, which is 

 situate in a deeply indented, rocky gully near the 

 head of a glen, and the eleven mile walk to it is 

 one of pleasurable remembrance. Woods and 

 sheer walls of limestone unite with the stream-side 

 in places ; waterfalls and deep pools form part of 

 the picture. But bird-life is scarce. Dippers 

 there are naturally, so, too, Grey Wagtails ; and 

 a pair of Goosanders, the drake's rosy-tinted 

 stomacher fairly glinting in the sun, whirl past 

 with swish of fast-beating wings. For crow-birds 

 (except Daws and Rooks near the mouth of the 

 river) and hawks we look in vain, until some nine 

 miles up stream^ a pair of lordly Peregrines sailing 

 over a big rock promise the keepers many a 

 sleepless night : for, in these districts given over to 

 grouse, so-called vermin, except the Eagle, is not 

 encouraged : a smart keeper renders it practically 

 extinct. Two miles this side of our goal a male 



