240 THE OSPREY. 
In England the Golden Eagle has long been extinct ; but it is still found 
in some plenty in the highlands of Scotland and Ireland, where it is observed 
to frequent certain favourite haunts, and to breed regularly in the same spot 
for a long series of years. The nest is always made upon some elevated 
spot, generally upon a ledge of rock, and is most inartistically constructed of 
sticks, which are thrown apparently at random, and rudely arranged for the 
purpose of containing the eggs and young. A neighbouring ledge of rock is 
generally reserved for a larder where the parent Eagles store up the food 
which they bring from the plains below. 
In hunting for their prey, the Eagle and his mate mutually assist each 
other. It may here be mentioned that the Eagles are all monogamous, 
keeping themselves to a single mate, and living together in perfect harmony 
through their lives. As the rabbits and hares are generally under cover 
during the day, the Eagle is forced to drive them from their place of con- 
cealment, and manages the matter in a very clever and sportsmanlike 
manner. One of the Eagles conceals itself near the cover which is to be 
beaten, and its companion then dashes among the bushes, screaming and 
making such a disturbance that the terrified inmates rush out in hopes of 
escape, and are immediately pounced upon by the watchful confederate. 
The prey is immediately taken to the nest, and distributed to the young, 
if there should be any eaglets in the lofty cradle. 
Owing to the expanse of the wings and the great power of the muscles, 
the flight of this bird is peculiarly bold, striking, and graceful. It sweeps 
through the air in a succession of spiral curves, rising with every spire, and 
making no perceptible motion with its wings, until it has attained an altitude 
at which it is hardly visible. From that post of vantage the Eagle marks 
the ground below, and swoops down with lightning rapidity upon bird or 
beast that may happen to take its fancy. It is not, however, so active at 
rising from the ground as might be imagined, and can be disabled by a 
comparatively slight injury on the wing. One of these birds, that was 
detected by a young shepherd boy in the act of devouring some -dead sheep, 
was disabled by a pebble hurled at him from a sling and- was at last 
ignominiously stoned to death. 
The Eagle is supposed to be a very long-lived bird, and is thought to 
compass a century of existence when it is living wild and unrestrained in its 
native land. Even in captivity it has been known to attain a good old age, 
one of these birds which lived at Vienna being rather more than a hundred 
years old when it died. 
ONE of the most interesting of the predaceous birds which belong to Great 
Britain is the celebrated OSPREY, or FISHING Hawk. This fine bird was 
formerly very common in England, but is now but rarely seen within the 
confines of the British Isles, although isolated species are now and then 
seen. 
As the bird is a fish-eater, it is generally observed on the sea-coast or on 
the banks of some large river, but has occasionally been observed in some 
comparatively waterless situation, where it has probably been driven by 
stress of weather. In some parts of Scotland the Osprey still holds its own, 
and breeds year after year on the same spot, generally choosing the summit 
of an old ruined building or the top of a large tree for that purpose. The 
nest is a very large one, composed almost wholly of sticks, and contains two 
or three whitish eggs, largely blotched with reddish brown, the dark patches 
being collected towards the large end of the egg. As is the case with the 
Eagles, the Osprey is monogamous ; but on the death of either of the pair, 
the survivor soon finds another mate, and is straightway consoled by a new 
alliance, From all accounts it is an affectionate and domestic bird, paying 
