4 falconidjE. 



the Horn. When visiting about the same time the precipitous 

 mountain of Rosheen, near Dunfanaghy, in that county, I was 

 told that for a long time previous to the preceding twelve years, a 

 pair of eagles had built their eyrie in one of the inaccessible cliffs, 

 and as their young advanced in growth, they levied such contri- 

 butions from the surrounding neighbourhood, that the country- 

 people finally resolved upon their destruction. This was effected 

 by lowering from the summit of the precipice a lighted brand, 

 which ignited and consumed the nest, and three unfortunate eaglets 

 fell scorched and dead to the ground. The old birds from that 

 time deserted the mountain. The situation selected for this eyrie 

 indicates that the species was most probably the golden eagle."* 



One of these birds, shot at the end of November, 1837, in the 

 county of Londonderry, has come under my notice. 



In October, 1833, when looking over a collection of the Brit- 

 ish Falconida belonging to Wm. Sinclaire, Esq. with Mr. Adams, 

 lately gamekeeper at Glenarm Park (county of Antrim), lie at once 

 recognised a golden eagle as the species of winch he had killed 

 four individuals in that locality. The first he saw, was in the 

 month of March, when two visited the park. At this time there 

 were but five lambs dropped, and on each of the first two days of 

 the eagles' appearance, a couple of them were carried off. Find- 

 ing that lambs were in such request with these birds, the keeper 

 procured two as bait for his traps, and successfully, as both eagles 

 were captured. In November, a third individual was seen in pur- 

 suit of a hare by my informant and several other persons. The 

 poor animal took refuge under every bush that presented itself, 

 but, as often as she did, the eagle approached the bush so near as 

 apparently to beat its top with his wings, and thereby forced the 

 hare to leave it. In this way she was eventually driven to open 

 ground, where the eagle soon came up with, and bore her off in 



* Mr. R. Ball mentions a similar circumstance, in the following note. " In the 

 summer of 1837, I saw a pair of golden eagles in the county of Kerry, that were 

 proprietors of an eyrie in a cliff, from which they for a long time issued to commit 

 depredations on the poultry and lambs of the neighbouring peasantry, who in vain 

 endeavoured to get at their nest. At length a boy contrived to sling fire into it, and 

 so destroyed the young, but the old birds still boldly defy all attempts made for their 

 destruction." 



