108 
THE EAGLE. 
At the same moment, the young birds, as if aware of some 
danger, shrunk hack, and buried themselves in the chink of 
the rock ; and, as further waiting would have been unavailing, 
the observers went to the bottom of the precipice, and picked 
up the fish that had fallen ; it proved to he a sort of large 
perch, weighing about five pounds and a half ; the upper part 
of the head was broken in, and the hack much torn by the 
talons of the Eagle. The sport being over, as they journeyed 
home, they agreed to return, and endeavour to procure, dead 
or alive, both the old and young birds. 
Accordingly, on the third day following, they assembled 
with some additional hands, well provided with guns, and 
materials for ensuring success, and proceeded to post them- 
selves, some at the foot and some at the top of the rock ; hut 
all in vain. The eagles had been beforehand, and proved too 
cunning for them. The young birds had disappeared, and 
they passed the whole day without seeing or hearing anything 
of either them or the old ones. It appeared from their obser- 
vations, that the old ones had actually removed their young 
to fresh quarters, hut as they did not seem sufficiently grown 
to use their wings, how they could accomplish such a removal 
was a mystery not to he solved. 
Two years afterwards, the same person was fortunate 
enough to shoot one dead on the spot, as it sat upon a low 
tree, attracted, as was supposed, by the scent of some slaugh- 
tered hogs. The bird in this case seemed to he perfectly fear- 
less, not only allowing the sportsman to approach within easy 
gunshot distance, hut looking at him all the time with an 
undaunted eye. 
Having had, since first seeing one of this species, other 
opportunities of observing their habits, he has given some 
very interesting details. In its flight it differs from another 
sort of Eagle for which it is often taken. When looking after 
fish in the water below, it makes very wide circles, and when 
it sees one, it falls gradually in a circuitous, spiral manner, as 
if with an intention of checking any retreating movement of 
its prey. When within a few yards, however, it darts down 
like a shot, and seldom misses its object. As it is so con- 
