2 BIRDS OF THE WEST OF SCOTLAND. 



winter seasons, whether much good could be accomplished. Not 

 long ago a correspondent wrote to me that a gentleman of his 

 acquaintance, in roaming over his Highland estate, was in the habit 

 of pointing out with a strong feeling of sadness the deserted eyries 

 of the eagles, and looking with something like veneration upon 

 the moth-eaten specimens that had been killed by his sires. May 

 this be the feeling and lament of many such chiefs, and may eagles 

 hereafter be inherited with their mountain home ! 



On all the Outer Hebrides the Golden Eagle is still a well-known 

 bird, and from Barra Head to the Butt of Lewis various eyries 

 existed in the breeding season of 1867. In the islands of Lewis 

 and Harris they are best known, especially in certain districts 

 distinguished for a grandeur of scenery which the presence of 

 .an eagle B is t sure to invest with an additional charm. On North 

 JJist A e " r 4 Vfife/two eyries last year; one of these had only a 

 ..single jf oji ng bird in-jt, and was easily reached, being on a rocky 

 * :p}tifonri2iicessA}'fi to'the most timid cragsman. This eagle, which 

 was uncommonly black in the plumage, I had an opportunity of 

 seeing three weeks after it was taken. It was then in the posses- 

 sion of Mr John M'Donald at his residence near the Sound of 

 Harris, and appeared to be thriving well in confinement. On 

 Benbecula, where eagles are frequently seen, there are no eyries ; 

 but on the next island South Uist there is one every year on 

 Mount Hecla. Mr D. Lamont informed me, when I crossed to the 

 locality with him last year, that he had seen the old birds of this 

 hill coming almost daily from Skye with a young lamb each to 

 their eaglets. The distance is about twenty-five miles. They 

 never, he says, destroy the flocks in South Uist itself; hence the 

 maintenance of their family does not add to the local taxation. 

 But while some of the lairds of Skye might be rejoicing at the 

 sight of the feathered monarch of their own Alps circling above 

 his rocky throne, their shepherds were probably breathing 

 vengeance against the King of Hecla and his mate for their 

 plundering visits. Thus, even within comparatively narrow 

 limits, the bird may well be called the " pride and the pest of the 

 parish ! " 



Over the whole of the western counties there is but one Gaelic 

 name lolair dhubh given to this bird, signifying Black Eagle ; 

 but in no quarter is it more entitled to this appellation than in the 

 outer islands. After examining upwards of a dozen specimens 



