GOLDEN EAGLE. 103 



cavity about midway down the precipice, in a place where the rocks over- 

 hung, forming;, as it were, a natural roof to the nest. The only way of 

 getting to the nest at all practicable was from below ; and after giving 

 orders to the men, I and a shepherd commenced climbing down the rocks 

 to the grassy platform at the base of the cliff. We were able to climb down 

 some 400 feet without the aid of ropes, a cool head being all that was 

 required ; and when about some hundred feet or so from the eyrie, we 

 awaited the arrival of the rope from above which was to assist me to the 

 nest. The nest was built on a ledge of the cliffs, in a little grassy hollow, and 

 was made externally almost exclusively of heather and a few large sticks, the 

 lining being composed of dried fern-fronds, grass, and moss, in small 

 quantities, and large tufts of green herbage. The nest itself was not 

 very large nor deep ; and the lining-materials were built quite close up to 

 the wall of rock behind. The materials of the nest were not much inter- 

 woven, although they were very firm and solid. All round and about 

 the place, and in the nest itself, were quantities of animal remains, fur and 

 feathers, bones and decaying flesh of hares, grouse, and lambs ; for 

 the two young eaglets were rapidly coming to maturity. They opened their 

 mouths, snapped their beaks, and retired to the further end of the nest ; 

 yet otherwise seemed to bother themselves little at the intrusion. The nest 

 was a somewhat bulky structure too, perhaps some four or five feet in 

 diameter. And what a noble view there was to be had ! surely the Eagles 

 were wise in choosing such a home. As I clung to the grassy face of the 

 cliff, stupendous and rugged, every object was taken in at a glance the 

 sea beneath, the sky with its large masses of white clouds, the birds and 

 all, even the fleet of herring-boats fisffing in the Minch, some twenty 

 miles away, and the bleak and rugged peaks of Rum and Canna, whilst 

 1 hull down ' on the horizon the Long Island lay in gloomy indistinctness, all 

 serving to add a charm and a grandeur to the Eagle's wild abode. What 

 an impressive scene ! how wild, and yet how beautiful ! Long may the 

 Golden Eagle haunt the wild cliffs and mountains of that rugged shore; 

 for so long as he is there the crowning object of its beauty is ensured ! 

 Surely it is worth an effort to preserve this last remnant of a noble race a 

 bird which must be so closely connected with the Scotch, their traditions, and 

 their literature for all time. Surely the few lambs or fawns the Eagle takes 

 is but a cheap price for its preservation and maintenance in the land to which 

 it is so noble an ornament. Before it be too late, Scotchmen, protect your 

 national bird, the Eagle of your ancestors, and stay the cruel war waged 

 by grouse-shooter, deer-stalker, sheep-farmer, and skin- collect or a war 

 which will, er,e long, play its part but too surely, and take the Eagle from 

 your mountains for ever ! " 



The eggs of the Golden Eagle are often laid before the snow is off the 

 hill-sides ; and very beautiful objects they are, varying very much in the 



