64 THE BOOK OF BIRDS 



forget. It is true that the word " Eagle " should in some 

 cases be translated " griffon vulture " (also a grand-looking 

 bird), but many of the allusions may well be to the real 

 Eagles, at least three or four species of which are dwellers 

 in the Holy Land. 



It would, indeed, have been very strange if those old 

 writers had not noticed such splendid birds. As it Wa;s, 

 they observed them closely — their boldness, their swift- 

 ness, their power of soaring, their strength of wing, their 

 tender care of their young. One beautiful verse, from the 

 Book of Deuteronomy, will be remembered by many of my 

 readers: "As an eagle stirreth uj) her nest, fluttereth 

 over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, 

 beareth them on her wings : so the Lord alone did lead 

 him." 



As to this last-named habit, a nineteenth -century 

 scientist, Sir Humphry Davy, gives a striking illustration. 

 " I once saw a very interesting sight," he says, " above the 

 crags of Ben Nevis [the highest mountain in Scotland]. 

 Two parent Eagles were teaching their offspring, two 

 young birds, the way to fly. They began by rising from 

 the top of the mountain, in the eye of the sun. It was 

 about midday and bright for the climate. They at first 

 made small circles, and the young birds imitated them. 

 They paused on their wings, waiting till they (the 

 eaglets) had made their flight, and then took a second 

 and larger gyration [circling], always rising towards 

 the sun." 



The watcher saw the young birds copying closely the 

 example of their parents, rising higher and higher, and 

 ever circling, their little wings moving more freely and 

 more strongly as they mounted into the clearer, brighter 

 air. At last the dazzled eyes of the watcher could follow 



