52 BRITISH LAND BIRDS. 



began by rising from the top of a mountain, in 

 the eye of the sun : it was about mid-day, and 

 bright for this climate. They at first made small 

 circles, and the young birds imitated them ; they 

 paused on their wings, waiting till they had made 

 their first flight, and then took a second and 

 larger gyration, always rising towards the sun, 

 and enlarging the circle of flight, so as to make a 

 gradually extending spiral. The young ones still 

 followed slowly, apparently flying better as they 

 mounted ; and they continued this sublime kind of 

 exercise, always rising, till they became mere 

 points in the air, and the young ones were lost, 

 and afterwards their parents, to our aching sight." 

 Colonel Maxwell witnessed a similar scene on 

 the summit of Slieve More, in Ireland. On a huge 

 and inaccessible crag, two sea eagles had formed 

 an eyrie, where, for many years, they annually 

 produced their offspring, to the sad annoyance of 

 the neighbouring villagers. One morning the 

 pair was observed descending from their rocky 

 habitation, accompanied by two eaglets, evidently 

 to teach their young to stoop and lift their prey. 

 The old birds tore up turfs from the mountain 

 side, rose high in the air and dropped them. The 

 eaglets in turn, stooped, and took them up again. 

 This was frequently repeated, and the course of 

 instruction having lasted half-an-hour, the young 



