24 NORTH AMERICAN EAGLES. 



the bird to the spot with the hope of a repast. Foxes are occasion- 

 ally eaten, as the stomach examinations made in Germany by Doctor 

 Rorig testify. Audubon says that raccoons are sometimes taken as 

 food. 



Probably no mammals are more frequently fed upon than hares 

 and rabbits, due no doubt to their abundance, wide distribution, 

 and ease of capture. Nearly all writers on the golden eagle mention 

 rabbits as a component of its food. Mr. W. Steinbeck reported that 

 at Hollister, Calif., rabbits formed one of the principal parts of the 

 bird's diet, as they do in many other localities. These animals are 

 frequently brought to the young, and at almost every aery the skulls 

 and other bones of rabbits are conspicuous. In Europe the com- 

 mon rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is sometimes captured, though 

 apparently not so often as other species of the family. Mr. E. S. 

 Cameron, who has recently published a very interesting account of 

 the nesting and food habits of this eagle, a mentions that on one occa- 

 sion when one of his birds made a swoop at a j ack rabbit and missed, 

 whereupon the rabbit sought refuge in a prairie dog burrow, the 

 eagle took up a position near by to await its appearance. While 

 usually content to secure its prey by stealth, the golden eagle some- 

 times exerts its powers of flight in open chase. In one instance, 

 witnessed by Mr. W. L. Atkinson near Santa Clara, Calif., a pair of 

 eagles pursued a large jack rabbit across a field and caught it after 

 an exciting hunt. The large northern hares, in both Old and New 

 Worlds, even more frequently than other rabbits fall a prey to this 

 eagle. In Scotland, according to Saunders, these animals form a 

 considerable part of its food, and in many of the deer forests of the 

 European Continent, at least 'during some seasons of the year, little 

 else is eaten. An eagle of this species killed March 19, 1897, at Ait- 

 kin, Minn., is recorded by Mr. Albert Lano & to have made a meal 

 off the common white hare (Lejms americanus virginianus) of that 

 region; and the stomach of a female shot by Mr. J. Alden Loring at 

 Jasper House, Alberta, in 1895, contained the remains of young 

 hares {Lepus americanus colurnbiensis) . 



In some parts of the western United States, particularly in Cali- 

 fornia, where ground squirrels, or spermophiles (Citellus), are numer- 

 ous, these animals form an important food supply, and their destruc- 

 tion is probably the best service rendered by the golden eagle. At 

 Sargents and Hollister, Calif., according to Major Bendire, they are the 

 principal regimen, and Mr. J. E. McLellan reported the same condi- 

 tion in San Mateo County and at Pescadero, Calif. Mr. W. L. Finley, 

 in a recent article on the nesting of the golden eagle, c has some inter- 



aAuk, XXII, 1905, pp. 158-167, pis. II-VI. 



b Auk, 1897, p. 317. 



c Country Calendar, I, 1905, pp. 41-46. 



