The Golden Eagle 



brute force of some of the larger animals, sheep, goats and even bucks. 

 Mr. F. C. Willard reports a case from the Chiricahua Mountains where 

 Golden Eagles attacked a four-point white-tailed deer, as it was flounder- 

 ing in the snows, and killed it by sinking their talons deeply into its back. 

 Fawns frequently fall victims to the Eagle's claw, and a successful attack 

 of this sort often involves keeping the mother deer at bay. It is for this 

 reason that Eagles usually hunt in pairs; and I have been told, on what I 

 consider good authority, that calves are sometimes killed by the combined 

 ferocity and cunning of a robber team. In such a case, one bird devotes 

 itself to distracting the mother cow by an aggressive mien, by hectoring 

 and swooping, or by actual buffets of the wing. The Eagle's mate, mean- 

 while, is pulling down the calf; and the two birds feast when the mother's 

 sorrow has been forgotten. 



Of course the Eagles oftener subsist upon a plainer fare. Rabbits, 

 ground squirrels, and spermophiles are consumed in enormous quantities, 

 sometimes to the decided benefit of local agriculture ; and sometimes the 

 birds descend to snakes, lizards, and the lowly rat. Marmots are great 

 favorites in the northern hilly sections; whereas, in more open country 

 the birds take up the pursuit of grouse or waterfowl. Some fifteen years 



Taken in San Diego County 



NEST AND EGGS OF GOLDEN EAGLE, IN SITU 



Photo by the Author 



1704 



