THE GOLDEN-EAGLE 83 



THE GOLDEN-EAGLE 

 [W. P. PYCRAFT] 



While we fully realise that in the neighbourhood of sheep- 

 pastures eagles, in any number, are not desirable, we cannot but feel 

 that in part owing to the selfishness of the game-preserver, and in 

 part to the insatiate greed of the egg-collector eagles are far more 

 rare than they need be. Throughout the British Islands these two 

 factors of destruction have carried on their aggressive warfare till 

 only the Highlands of Scotland and one locality in Ireland remain as 

 a sanctuary for the golden-eagle ; while the whitetailed-eagle has 

 been brought to the verge of extinction as a breeding species, not 

 because of any enmity on the part of pisciculturists, but because their 

 eggs were coveted. 



For generations these two species held their own in our midst, 

 and during all this time but little was gleaned as to their daily life, 

 little was known of their habits save that the golden-eagle, at any 

 rate, would not scruple on occasion to take a lamb from the flock ; 

 some went further and solemnly asserted that even little children 

 were not safe from their ferocious raids. Even to-day newspapers, of 

 the type that revel in horrors and sensational "items" of news, will 

 print long and circumstantial accounts of such " baby-snatchings " ; 

 and neither those who write them nor those who read, as a rule, 

 know or care how stupid, how mischievous, are such wild tales. 



We know a little of the birds themselves, their plumages, the 

 fashion of their nests, the colour of their eggs we know as much and 

 no more of them, in short, than of any other of our native birds ; or 

 rather this may be said to be true of our knowledge of these birds as 

 far as the ordinary records go. But we can learn much more than 

 this ; for some three years ago Mr. H. B. Macpherson took up the 

 task of discovering for himself how the golden-eagle lives during 



