THROUGH THE YEAR 85 



eagles as I have seen it in rocks and herring 

 gulls. 



There was a feature in the full-fledged young 

 eagle, as it sailed away, at which I wondered much 

 the edge of the wings at each side were turned up, 

 exactly as are a rook's or carrion crow's. I do not 

 think I looked for this feature in the parent birds, 

 but I suspect it is common to old and young alike. 

 It was the last thing I should have looked for in an 

 eagle ; rather, I should have looked for the clean, 

 keen edge, as in the wings of herring gull or swift. 



In another thing an eagle is not what I vaguely 

 imagined where is its gold ? I do not believe there 

 is a trace of gold on him. The yellow of the talons 

 and the cere is not gold ; the tawny is not gold. The 

 young eagle that sat within a few yards of me was 

 chocolate brown ; his whole plumage smooth and 

 shining and flawless. The eagle is only golden when 

 we watch him through the glasses in the blaze of 

 light. 



THE JACKDAWS 



After watching the gulls and guillemots on their 

 nesting rocks, one has not much admiration for 

 jackdaws. After them he looks rather plebeian. 

 At one of the few remaining haunts of the chough, 

 and about rocks where we are in hopes of seeing a 

 raven, we wish for no jackdaws. The chough 

 does haunt this west coast still, and there is no doubt 

 it still nests in one or two spots. A shepherd told 

 me he had seen a party of choughs quite close to Lye 



