18 FALCOXID^E. 



following manner : one of these birds makes a loud rustl- 

 ing noise by a violent beating of its wings against bushes 

 and shrubs, while the other remains in ambush at a short 

 distance watching for anything that may appear. A rabbit 

 or a hare if driven out, is immediately pounced upon, and 

 the prey thus obtained is shared with its companion. 



The whole length of an adult male Golden Eagle is 

 nearly three feet ; the adult female is still larger. The 

 beak is bluish horn colour, darkest at the tip ; the cere 

 yellow ; the skin of the lore tinged with blue ; the irides 

 hazel, the pupils black ; the feathers on the top of the 

 head and back of the neck pointed in shape, and rufous 

 brown : the general colour of the plumage of the body 

 dark brown, the chin and throat particularly so ; the wing- 

 primaries nearly black, the secondaries brownish black ; 

 the wing-coverts reddish brown, varied with dark brown : 

 the feathers of the belly and thighs bay ; those of the tail 

 varied with two shades of brown, the ends dark : the legs 

 covered with bay feathers ; the toes yellow and reticulated, 

 except the last or distal joint of each toe, which is covered 

 with three broad scales ; the claws are black, the outer 

 claw of each foot the smallest of the four. 



In a younger specimen of the Golden Eagle with the 

 basal or proximal half of the tail white, the feathers on 

 the back of the neck were less rufous, and the general 

 colour of the plumage on the body and wings more uni- 

 form, and darker. In this state it is the Eing-tailed 

 Eagle of authors. White varieties of the Golden Eagle 

 have been seen and recorded. 



The foot of the Golden Eagle is so distinctly marked 

 from that of the White-tailed, or Cinereous Eagle, as to 

 afford the means of deciding between our two British 

 Eagles at any age ; and the three anterior toes of both 



