ClafsII. GOLDEN EAGLE. 123 



white at the roots of the feathers : the legs are yellow, 

 fhort, and very flirong, being three inches in circum- 

 ference, and are feathered to the very feet : the toes 

 are covered with large fcales, and armed with moft 

 formidable claws, the middle of which are two inches 

 long. 



Eagles in general are very deftrudive to fawns. 

 Iambs, kids, and all kind of game ; particularly in 

 the breeding feafon, when they bring a vaft quantity 

 of prey to their young. Smith, in his hiftory oiKerrv^ 

 relates that a poor man in that county got a comfort- 

 able fubfiftence for his family, during a fummer of 

 famine, out of an eagle's nefl, by robbing the eaglets 

 of the food the old ones brought, whofe attendance 

 he protradled beyond the natural time, by clipping 

 the wings and retarding the flight of the former. Ic 

 is very unfafe to leave infants in places where eae;les 

 frequent ; there being inftances in Scotland * of tv/o 

 being carried off by them, but fortunately, 



Illaifum unguibus hsfit onus. 



the theft was difcovered in time, and the children re- 

 itored unhurt out of the eagles nefts, to the affrighted 

 parents. In order to extirpate thefe pernicious birds, 

 there is a law in the Orkney ifles, which entitles any 

 perfon that kills an eagle to an hen out of every houfe 

 in the parifh, in which it was killed -f. 



Eagles are remarkable for their longevity ; and for 

 their power of fuflaining a long abflinence from food. 



* Martins hift. Weji. Ijles, 299. Stb. hift. Scot. 14. 



t Camden's Brit. I. 1474. The impreffion of an eagle and 

 child on the coin of the IJJe of Man, was probably owing to fome 

 accident of this kind. 



K 2 One 



