GOLDEN EAGLE. 
found every thing quiet that he managed to search out the prey lie was originally in quest of and then 
make off. 
There can be hut little doubt that Eagles arc able to take Grouse and other birds should they be forced 
to make the necessary exertion. I have seen remains of Grouse and Blackgame within a short distance of their 
breeding-quarters ; while, if all the stories that I have heard from shepherds and others arc to be believed, so 
plentifully do they stock their larder, that the nest at times must bear a resemblance to a well-furnished 
stall at a poulterer’s. 
bile the young arc small and helpless they arc probably supplied by the old bird with partially digested 
food. I have watched the female shortly after her arrival at the nest apparently disgorging something j but I 
u as unable to get a view of the young at the same moment. I have also observed a young one calling 
continually, evidently needing food, but perfectly unable to help itself to a mountain-liare and the remains of a 
lamb which were both close at hand on the side of the nest. 
Should any accident happen to one of the old birds, the survivor has hard work to procure food for the 
nestlings and keep watch at the same time. I observed an instance where the female having been shot shortly 
after hatching, the male brought food and regularly attended to the young one; before many days had passed, 
on visiting the spot, I discovered the nestling dead and partially eaten. This, I conclude, must have been 
the work of Grey Crows. I did not catch them in the act, but I noticed one flying along the hillside 
croaking loudly within about a quarter of a mile of the spot. 
. Th ° situatl0ns chosen by the Golden Eagle for breeding-purposes vary considerably. I have never seen 
their nests so open and exposed to the storm and wind as those of the Sea-Eagle ; they appear, in most 
instances, to seek a more sheltered and hidden position. At times the eyrie may be in the face of a precipitous 
range of rocks, utterly inaccessible except to those well acquainted with the use of ropes ; but more frequently 
it requires but little skill to scramble within a few feet of the spot, and, with the assistance of a single line from 
a ove, to reach the nest itself. Numbers of ledges showing more or less of the old and weather-beaten 
nests have been pointed out to me, where, without the slightest help, a very moderate climber might easily 
make his way to the spot. These localities, with the exception of those in the strictly preserved deer-forests, are 
now nearly all deserted. I have, however, during the last few years frequently heard of Eagles taking up their 
quarters and nesting in districts where their presence formerly, except during an occasional flying visit was 
entirely unknown. ’ 
The most curious and striking nest of this species that I ever came across was placed just above a slopin'- 
bank that was a perfect bed of primrose-roots. A stunted holly-bush formed a background and broke the 
dull appearance of the dark and sombre slab of rock that rose straight from the back of the lcd<-e. The 
primroses were a mass of bloom, but the holly looked as dried and uncomfortable as if it was stru'Min'* for 
existence in the smoky atmosphere of some London garden. 
It is seldom, I believe, that the nests are now to be found on trees. The old and decaying remnants of 
the deserted structures may still he seen, but the tenants have long been evicted. I am aware of° but two eyries 
so placed which are still used in the Northern Highlands; in both instances a large Scotch fir is the tree 
resorted to The materials used for building by the Golden Eagle vary according to the district; I have seen 
the foundation formed of the dead branches of the nearest trees (pine or birch as a rule), while heather 
coarse grass, and the roots or leaves of any strong-growing plant arc worked round the upper portion 
. 1 quitc ^rant how many years scientific authors arc in the habit of allowing to this species before it 
ail™ at maturit y- M y own °V^on, formed entirely from specimens I have obtained or watched in a state 
of nature, is that the bird is at least flvo or six years of age before it gains the perfectly adult dress The tat 
feathers on the back breast, and wings are a dark brown, with a rich deep plum-ooloured tint or bloom It is 
a strange fact that m the Golden Eagle the tail is at first almost white, with only a black bind round “he 
