240 THE BOOK OF MIGRATORY BIRDS 



flocks in the lambing season, every device is employed, 

 and expense incurred in the shape of rewards for their 

 destruction. 



It is recorded that from March, 1831, for a space of three 

 years, in the county of Sutherland alone, one hundred and 

 seventy-one old birds, with fifty-three young and eggs, 

 were destroyed, which, while it is a standing proof that 

 the bird is not of that extreme rarity which is sometimes 

 supposed, it, at the same time, tells us that whilst the war 

 of extermination goes on we shall look in vain for this 

 appropriate ornamentation of our northern landscape. 



The eyrie of this magnificent and lordly bird is usually 

 placed on the face of some stupendous cliff situated some- 

 what inland ; the nest is built on what might be termed a 

 projecting shelve, or on the stump of a tree that emanates 

 from the rock, generally in a situation perfectly inaccessible 

 without artificial means, and often out of the reach of 

 shot either from below or from the summit of the precipice. 

 It is composed usually of dead vegetable matter, entangled 

 strongly together, and in abundance, but without any 

 lining on the inside; the eggs are two in number, of a 

 white colour, with pale brown or purplish blotches, most 

 numerous and largest at the thicker end. 



During the season of incubation a fabulous quantity of 

 food is procured, so much so that it is almost incredible; 

 it is composed of nearly all the inhabitants of the wild 

 districts called forests, but in many cases these tracts are 

 entirely treeless. Hares, lambs, young deer, roebuck, 

 grouse, black game, ptarmigan, curlews, plover, &c., &c. 



Somewhat similar to the male eider, the plumage does 

 not reach its limit of grandeur till close upon the fourth 

 year, in a wild bird, and in captivity it takes longer for it 

 to develop its distinctive markings. 



Its generic markings in adult birds is as follows : Deep 

 and rich umber brown, glossed with purple on the back 

 and wings; on the hind part of the head and neck the 

 feathers are hackled and pale orange-brown, occasionally 

 edged with a somewhat paler tint, and when reflected by 



