170 ornithologist's text-book. 



ping addled eggs occasionally on the mountain 

 tops ; but the tale wants verification, 



" The Eagle generally strikes her prey upon the 

 ground, and the stoop is almost instantly fatal to 

 any animal on which she pounces. The mere fall 

 of a body of twelve or even eighteen pounds in 

 weight, from an elevation of 1500 or 2000 feet, 

 would be powerful ; but the Eagle shoots down 

 with a great initial velocity, and as she delivers 

 the whole of her momentum with the claws, she 

 not only dashes the animal to the earth, but plunges 

 the claw into its body up to the toe, dislocating the 

 spine or breaking the skull of the feebler quadru^ 

 peds, such as hares, and the death of Red Grous 

 and Black Grous, which form a very large portion 

 of the prey, is instantaneous. The view upon 

 which the Eagle proceeds must be a steady one, 

 for on the ground she seldom misses her pounce, 

 though she often does when she attempts to hawk 

 on the wing, as her broad wings and forward rush 

 are both unfavorable to turning so as to follow the 

 motions of the bird. If the prey is small, she has 

 the power of slackening her speed as she descends, 

 so as to temper the ultimate effect to the necessity 

 there is for it, otherwise, strong as she is, she might 

 be injured by the collision with the ground. An 

 unrestrained stoop from her greatest height would 

 be sufficient to dash even an Eagle to pieces. If 

 the pounce is not fatal, the clutch instantly follows, 

 in the giving of which the whole weight of the bird 

 — in the utmost excitement, with the head elevated, 

 the neck stiff, the feathers of the head and neck 

 erected, and the wings shivering so as to keep the 

 pressure on the instruments of death — is upon the 

 claws. With small animals, even when they show 

 signs of life after the pounce, the clutch is given 

 with one foot only, and the bird is less excited; 



