534 
BIRD-LIFE. 
himself lost annually at least twenty Fowls and Turkeys 
through the pair of Golden Eagles which had their eyrie 
on the nearest rock. It is on this account that you hear 
the shrill cry rising from farm to farm, which is alike 
intended to scare the Eagle and warn the Fowls. The 
Lammergeir is a perfectly harmless creature; while the 
Eagle is a bold, barefaced robber, who has not its equal 
in the land. The sudden appearance of a boy, the 
son of our host, interrupted our conversation with the 
words :—“ Father, come along, an Eagle has just carried 
off our biggest Turkey-cock; there he goes dragging him 
along!” We sprang to our feet and seized our guns, 
while the peasant ran yelling after the thief. The latter 
was dragging off its prey with difficulty, and the man 
gradually gained on the Eagle, till at last the bird left 
the wounded Turkey to its owner. After this proof of 
the truth of our host’s statement, I had no further reason 
to doubt his previous assertion. 
From what has been said it is easy to see what a 
destructive creature the Golden Eagle is. It dashes with 
terrible velocity upon its prey, striking mammals while 
running at the top of their speed, or large birds in full 
flight: nothing can save them but a rapid retreat into 
either a burrow, a thicket, or water. The Eagle is an utter 
stranger to mercy. It usually kills its prey by strangu¬ 
lation in its terrible talons, though it will often devour 
the poor creature alive, despite its agonising screams ! 
Not unfrequently it will pursue other robbers, such as the 
noble Falcon, and relieve them of their booty, after this has 
been almost disdainfully abandoned to it. The Eagle will 
not despise a dinner from a fresh carcase, and I have seen 
the Eagles in Africa taking such food, in company with 
Vultures; and other observers have also seen our Golden 
