6 



THE OOLOGIST 



watching one collecting sticks for its 

 nest. It would alight in the top of 

 a half dead juniper tree, walk clum- 

 sily out on a dead branch and break 

 off a stick with its beak. It carried 

 this stick in its beak as far as I 

 could see it, passing close by me en- 

 route to its nest. I watched it make 

 several trips, using a powerful glass 

 to assure myself that it really carried 

 the sticks in its beak and not in its 

 talons. A short time there after I 

 watched another eagle carrying dried 

 "nigger-head" leaves in its talons. It 

 was using them as lining. The rag- 

 ged bunch of leaves hung down prom- 

 inently and an occasional piece drop- 

 ped off as the bird sailed toward its 

 nest. 



Each pair has two or more sites 

 for a nest which are usually quite 

 close together tho sometimes a mile 

 or more apart. One of these sites is 

 the favorite and is used year after 

 year unless they are disturbed. Then 

 it is deserted for a year or two and 

 one of the other sites is used. One 

 pair I know has five old nests scat- 

 tered along a single cliff within a dis- 

 tance of half a mile. Sometimes the 

 birds seem undecided which sites to 

 use and fix up two of them at the 

 same time. A few sticks are added 

 and the lining renewed each year that 

 the nest is used. 



The weak voice of the Golden Eagle 

 is a disappointment to one who ex- 

 pects to hear an eagle "scream." A 

 Redtail Hawk does a much better 

 screaming act. The only time that an 

 eagle's note seems really fitting is 

 when they are at play, gamboling in 

 the air. I watched an immense big 

 one doing some aeronautic stunts over 

 the summit of the Huachuca moun- 

 tains. Soaring to a height of some 

 thousand feet, it closed its wings and 

 dropped like a black bomb, head first, 

 straight down, Within a short dis- 



tance from the tree tops it half open- 

 ed its wings and, turning a sharp 

 curve upward, shot straight up as far 

 as its momentum would carry it. It 

 then turned a back sumersault, caught 

 itself with extended wings and soared 

 away aloft to repeat the performance 

 time after time. During all the time 

 it was at play it gave frequent utter- 

 ance to its call, the rather don't care 

 tone fitting admirably with its antics. 



Fast as the Bandtailed Pigeon (col- 

 umba fasciata) is, I have seen it fly- 

 ing its fastest to get away from a 

 pursuing eagle. While seated near 

 the summit of the Huachucas watch- 

 ing some warblers, a sudden rush and 

 roar of wings startled me and close 

 by, on a level with my eye shot a 

 bandtailed pigeon. Its short, quick 

 wing beats fairly made it sizzle as it 

 dodged along close to the ground, 

 under and among the towering pines. 

 Almost within reach, followed a huge 

 eagle, its motionless wings almost 

 closed. In spite of its great size it fol- 

 lowed accurately the track of the flee- 

 ing pigeon, its swiftly moving bulk as 

 it rocked from side to side, making a 

 roar like an express train. I am hap- 

 py to say that a few seconds later a 

 thick clump of fir trees enabled the 

 pigeon to dodge its pursuer and it 

 dashed down the mountain side into 

 the safety of the deep canon below. 



Most of the eagles' hunting takes 

 place on the treeless plains at the 

 foot of the mountains. Here a scanty 

 growth of bushes offers little cover 

 to its principal quarry, the Jack Rab- 

 bit. In company with some friends 

 one day, I watched a pair of these 

 eagles hunting jack rabbits. They 

 swooped down and drove the rabbit 

 to cover under a mesquite bush. Then 

 one alighted close by and began to 

 walk toward the rabbit. He was so 

 frightened he dashed from his shel- 

 ter only to be snatched up by the other 



