i8o THE BIRDS OF OUR RAMBLES. 



black mist, the last golden sunlight is pouring 

 through a rift in the rapidly closing clouds, and 

 all nature seems preparing, in silence, for the 

 coming strife among the elements. Then, indeed, 

 does the Eagle assume an unusual grandeur as he 

 wings his flight across the dark valley on recurved 

 and slowly beating pinions, perhaps to the accom- 

 paniment of distant peals of thunder, betaking 

 himself to a mountain refuge where in safety he 

 can defy the tempest and wait the passing of the 

 storm. Or see him yet again on the bright, hot 

 summer days, sailing with no apparent effort high 

 above the highest mountain-tops, looking black 

 against the blue, cloud- flecked sky, and imagine 

 if you can a better or a more harmonious ornament 

 to this upland wilderness. All praise be then 

 accorded to those landed proprietors of the north 

 that endeavour to preserve him on their property ; 

 and there are men well worthy of the approbation 

 who guard their Eagles as they do their game ! 



Upon the wing these two Eagles appear very 

 much alike : but the Golden Eagle is much the 

 darkest looking of the two, and his feathered legs 

 are at all ages a never-failing distinction from the 

 White-tailed Eagle, in which the lower half of the 

 leg is bare. This latter bird, when adult, has a. 

 white tail ; it is also much more of a maritime 

 species, and is by far the most frequently seen 

 among mountains on the coast. Of the two- 

 species, the Golden Eagle is on an average 

 slightly the biggest. The Golden Eagle breeds 

 early. He who would see their eggs must be pre- 

 pared to ascend the hills before the last snows 

 have melted from them. These birds pair for 



