THE GOLDEN EAGLE. 
535 
Eagle do the same: it feeds slowly and quietly, without 
showing an over-greedy disposition, and is more than 
ever on the alert when thus engaged, keeping a sharp 
look-out for an enemy; it drinks the blood of its victims, 
and often does not touch water for weeks together: in 
short, the description given of this bird in the Bible is 
true to the very letter. 
Thus w T e see that the Golden Eagle is a very scourge to 
the territory over which it rules, if it he only to supply itself 
and family with food: it is a terrible enemy to all the weaker 
animals during its breeding season. The building of the 
nest, or rather the necessary repairs, are carried out early 
in March. The eyrie is usually placed in the cleft of an 
inaccessible rock amongst the mountains; when in the 
plains, however, the crown of the tallest tree in the 
neighbourhood is generally selected, often on the banks 
of a river. The bottom layer of the nest is formed of 
large sticks, upon which another layer is placed composed 
of dead twigs, upon this again is a flat and saucer-like 
bed lined with .dried plant-stalks, heather, wool, and 
hair. The construction of the nest is inartistic, hut 
grand, and so firm that a man can without fear lay down 
on it. Both the old birds carry the materials for building 
in their claws, and that often from a great distance. 
During the building season one may watch the pair 
circling high among the clouds, rising higher and higher, 
as though amusing each other with their marvellous 
evolutions. When his mate is sitting, the male continues 
these flights for her entertainment. One usually finds 
from two to three eggs in a nest: these are large, round, 
and white, speckled with chestnut-brown. The young 
never exceed two in number, and at first look more like 
balls of wool than birds, for they are covered with a thick, 
