14 FALCONID^E. 



is said to have been " as black as a Hobby, of the shape of 

 a Goshawk, of almost the weight of a Goose, rough-footed, or 

 feathered down to the foot, having a white ring about the 

 tail." 



As regards its occurrence in England at the present day, 

 numerous instances are on record, but it is certain that the 

 White-tailed Eagle has often been mistaken for it ; and it is not 

 possible always to determine where this error has been made. 

 One of the best-authenticated, as well as the most recent cases, 

 however, is that published by Mr. Henry Stevenson, in ' The 

 Zoologist' for 1869 (p. 1863), from which it is clear that a 

 Golden Eagle was found dead at Stiffkey, in Norfolk, in 

 November, 1868. 



In Ireland, this fine bird, according to the late Mr. 

 Thompson, " inhabits permanently several of the most lofty 

 and retired mountain ranges" throughout the island ; but 

 it is to be feared that since his time Eagles of both species 

 have become far rarer. In the wilder parts of Mayo and 

 Donegal, however, the Golden Eagle probably still breeds, 

 though in the county last mentioned it was believed that 

 a few years since only a single pair remained. The well- 

 known "Eagle's Nest" at Killarney whether formerly 

 occupied by this species or the White-tailed Eagle has 

 been long deserted; but it is possible that some of the hilly 

 tracts of the south are still tenanted by the Golden Eagle, 

 whence, and from the more northern localities, examples 

 may wander to other parts of Ireland. Smith, in his 

 ' History of Kerry,' relates that a poor man in that county 

 got a comfortable subsistence for his family during a 

 summer famine out of an Eagle's nest, by robbing the 

 Eaglets of part of the food brought by their parents, 

 whose attendance he protracted beyond the natural time by 

 clipping the wings, and thus retarding the flight, of the 

 young birds. 



The Golden Eagle is not found in Iceland ; but, with 

 this exception, it inhabits and breeds in suitable localities 

 in nearly all the countries of Europe, from Lapland to 

 Sicily, and from Portugal to Bulgaria. In Asia it occurs 



