THE EAGLE. 637 



There are at least four species of swallow that make these curi- 

 ous nests, and the natives say that the entrance to the caves is al- 

 ways occupied by another kind of swallow, which makes a nest 

 of mixed moss and gelatine, and which fights the valuable birds 

 and drives them away. They therefore always attack the intrud- 

 ers, and endeavor to knock down their nests with stones. The 

 nests are very small and shallow, and seem scarcely capable of ac- 

 commodating either eggs or young birds. My own specimen is 

 exactly two inches in length, one inch and three quarters in 

 breadth at its widest point, and scarcely more than half an inch 

 deep. Its internal shape is exactly that of a spoon-bowl, one 

 third of which has been cut off abruptly near the handle. 



None of the purely predaceous birds are remarkable for their 

 skill in architecture, and the Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is no ex- 

 ception to the general rule. The nest of this magnificent bird is 

 nothing more than a huge mass of sticks flung at random on some 

 rocky ledge, and having a shallow depression in which the young 

 can lie. In general shape, or rather in shapelessness, it is not un- 

 like the nest of the osprey, which has already been described, and 

 it is so rudely put together that the sticks seem to afford even a 

 less commodious bed than the bare rock. 



The portion that is occupied by the young is comparatively 

 small, and the general platform of the nest serves as a sort of lard- 

 er, on which are deposited the birds, hares, lambs, and other ani- 

 mals which the parents have killed and brought home. Some- 

 times the nest will be amply supplied with food, but sometimes 

 the parent birds are obliged to hunt daily. Young eagles are vo- 

 racious beings, and if there be no sheep-flocks within reach, the 

 task of supplying them with food is a very heavy one, especially 

 when they have nearly attained maturity. In feeding its young 

 for the first few weeks of their life, the eagle tears the prey into 

 little pieces, and impartially distributes the bleeding morsels to 

 the gaping and screaming offspring. Afterward, however, when 

 the young eagles have gained a stout beak, the prey is merely 

 dropped near them, and they tear it to pieces for themselves. 



Generally the nest of the Eagle is placed in some inaccessible 

 spot, and the bird seems never to be so pleased as when it can 

 find a rocky ledge situated about half way down a precipice, and 

 sheltered from above by a large projecting piece of rock. This 

 projection answers two purposes. It prevents the nest from be- 



