98 DICTIONARY OF NAMES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



this is the WHITE-TAILED EAGLE. The name arises 

 from the golden tinge of the plumage, especially on the 

 head and neck. From time immemorial the Eagle has 

 figured as the embodiment of courage and strength, and has 

 been chosen from the days of ancient Rome as the emblem 

 of all the great empires of Europe. Trevisa (1495) says 

 " the egle is a foule that selde syttyth abrood and selde 

 hath byrdes." That a good deal of truth lay in this 

 statement is shown in the fact that this species does not 

 lay more than two or three eggs. It was an ancient belief 

 that the Eagle could look at the sun without hurt, and it 

 was furthermore believed that the young Eagle which 

 could not look at the sun without blinking was killed by 

 its parents. In the aeries were found stones called 

 " Aetites " or " eagle stones " which the eagles were thought 

 by some to bring down from the sun to help hatch their 

 eggs and by others from volcanoes, and these stones were 

 formerly greatly prized for their virtues, being thought 

 to cure a variety of ills. In the Welsh Mabinogion tales 

 the Eagle occurs, being deemed to be only outclassed in 

 longevity by the Salmon of Llyn Llyw. Giraldus Cam- 

 brensis tells us of the Eagle of Eagle Mountain (now called 

 Snowdon) which was prophetic of war, and "perching on 

 a fatal stone every fifth holiday, in order to satiate her 

 hunger with the carcases of the slain, is said to expect war 

 on that same day and to have almost perforated the stone 

 by cleaning and sharpening her beak." In the story of 

 Lien, son of Arianrhod, also, he flies off when wounded 

 in the shape of an Eagle. Several stories are extant of 

 infants having been borne away by this bird to its aerie, 

 and lack nothing of probability. Montagu mentions that 

 in Orkney a law existed to extirpate this species by entitling 

 any person who killed an Eagle to "a hen out of every 

 house in the parish in which it is killed." 



GOLDENEYE [No. 302]. The name occurs in Willughby 

 (1678) and is in reference to the rich yellow colour of 

 the iris. 



GOLDEN-EYED DIVER : The SCAUP-DUCK. (Provincial.) 



GOLDEN-EYED DUCK, GOLDEN-EYED GARROT, or GOLDEN-EYED 

 POKER : The GOLDENEYE. (Provincial.) 



GOLDEN GLADDY : The YELLOW BUNTING. See Gladdy. 



GOLDEN HEAD : The WIGEON. (East coast of Ireland.) 

 Also occurs as Golden-headed Wigeon. 



GOLDEN MAW : The GLAUCOUS GULL. 



