In the adult state, the feathers of the head and 

 neck are of a brownish red colour, the other 

 parts of the body being dark brown. The length 

 of the male is about three feet ; that of the fe- 

 male about three and a half. 



At the age of from one to three years, this 

 bird is of a pale brown colour, with the under 

 tail feathers whitish ; but as the bird advances 

 in age, the colours become darker, the white of 

 the tail occupies less space, and indications of 

 bands make their appearance. In this state the 

 golden eagle has been described as a distinct 

 species, under the name of the ring-tail. 



The golden eagle is of rarer occurrence in 

 Scotland than the white-tailed eagle. It feeds 

 chiefly upon live prey, destroying grouse, hares, 

 lambs, and other animals ; but it does not disdain 

 to feast upon carcases of all kinds. It builds 

 in inaccessible places of maritime arid inland 

 cliffs, making an enormous nest of sticks, heath, 

 grass, wool and feathers, which it puts together 

 in a very inartificial manner. Mr. M'Gillivray 

 speaks from personal observation when he says, 

 that it places its nest on a shelf of some vast 

 cliff overhanging the sea, or in a cleft of a rock 

 in the inland solitudes. The diameter of the 

 nest is about five feet, and it consists of sticks, 

 tangles, (stems of the fucus digitatus), heath, 

 and other materials of a like nature, arranged in 

 the same slovenly manner as the straws in a 

 hen's nest, together with grass, wool and feathers. 



