THE 
BIRDS OF SHETLAND. 
RAPTORES. 
T. FALCONID^. 
THE GOLDEN EAGLE. 
Aqitila chrysaetus. 
Gratifying though it would be could this noble species be 
placed at the head of the list of resident birds of Shetland, and 
reluctant though I have been at length to abandon the hope of 
obtaining even one authentic instance of its having bred there, 
the result of the most careful investigation proves it to be but 
a rare — it may be said, very rare passing visitor. 
Dr Arthur Edmondston, in his ‘'View of the Zetland Islands,” 
published in 1809, makes not the slightest allusion to it, 
although in the “Fauna of Shetland,” compiled by the late 
Thomas Edmondston, Jun., in 1844, it is mentioned as “appa- 
rently very scarce — probably only a straggler.” The difficulty 
experienced in distinguishing the present from the follow- 
ing species when seen at a distance, even by observers well 
acquainted with the forms and habits of birds, has probably 
been the main cause of the numerous contradictory reports as 
to the residence of the former in these islands; nor is it by 
any means safe to place reliance on the assertions of the 
inhabitants themselves, who almost invariably apply the term 
“ golden” to any white-tailed eagle which appears to them to be 
beyond the ordinary size. Even as lately as the year 18G9, I 
A 
