The Golden Eagle 



Taken in California 



GOLDEN EAGLETS 



Photo by Finley and Bohlman 



the northern 

 hemisphere, it is 

 probable that the 

 Eagle was a lit- 

 tle more abun- 

 dant a generation 

 ago in west cen- 

 tral and southern 

 California than it 

 was anywhere 

 else on earth . I ts threatened 

 disappearance within this 

 generation has been brought 

 about by two factors: First, 

 the insensate use of fire- 

 arms; and second, the per- 

 secutions of oologists. We 

 should enter a fiery brief 

 against the latter (in spite 

 of our own profession), were 

 it not for the fact that an 

 honest effort was made for 

 several years to curb the 

 egg-traffic. All the satisfac- 

 tion the law-abiding oologist 

 got for abstaining from his 

 favorite plunder was in see- 

 ing his erstwhile benevolent 

 hen eagles shot down ruth- 

 lessly by sportsmen, idlers, 

 and alleged indignant farm- 

 ers. What was the use? 

 Even the Fish and Game 

 Commission gave over its 

 futile but well meant efforts 

 to protect this vanishing 

 bird, and the season on 

 Eagles is fatally open. 



In California, Golden 

 Eagles nest chiefly at mod- 

 erate altitudes down almost 

 to sea-level. The particular 



Photo by F. H. Holmes 

 NEST OF GOLDEN EAGLE IN DIGGER PINE 



