Nov. 17, 1906.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
773 
this period the food apparently consisted almost 
entirely of spermophiles (probably Citellus 
beeclieyi) . As many as four of these were found 
lying on the nest at one time, and the remains 
about the nest, as well as the pellets cast up by 
the young, came almost wholly from ground 
squirrels. Mr. Finley estimated that at least six 
spermophiles were consumed daily by this family 
of two young and two adult eagles, which seems 
to be a conservative statement; on this basis, 
540 spermophiles were destroyed during the three 
months the young occupied the nest. In an 
eagle’s aery near Marathon, Texas, the writer 
found, among other things, a spermophile 
{Citellus mexicanus parvidens) , but in this 
region, doubtless owing to the greater abundance 
of other food, particularly rabbits and prairie 
dogs, this animal is apparently not so frequently 
eaten. Along the Anderson river in Arctic North 
America, however, the spermophiles {Citellus 
parryi ) that there abound, are, according to Mr. 
R. MacFarlane, an important source of food. 
Tree squirrels ( Scinrus ) are sometimes cap¬ 
tured, though by no means so often as spermo¬ 
philes. The former have been found in Califor¬ 
nia aeries by Mr. H. R. Taylor and Mr. C. Bar- 
low, and Dr. C. H. Merriam records that an 
Abert squirrel ( Sciurus aberti) was found in 
the stomach of an eagle killed in August, 1899, 
on San Francisco mountain, Arizona. 
Where prairie dogs ( Cynomys ) occur abund¬ 
antly in the vicinity of an eagle’s aery they fur¬ 
nish by no means a small part of the bird’s food, 
and the number destroyed must be large. In the 
aery near Marathon, Texas, we found two prairie 
dogs {Cynomys ludovicianus ) practically un¬ 
touched, while many bones of the same species 
were recognized in the debris scattered on the 
rocks below. Mr. Bailey found bones at a nest 
near Cuervo, New Mexico. Prof. D. E. Lantz 
informs the writer that in Haskall county, Kan., 
at a time when prairie dogs were being poisoned, 
he has seen eagles, principally of the present 
species, come often to feed on the dead and dying 
animals, but without apparent injury from the 
poison. 
Marmots, woodchucks, or ground hogs {Mar- 
mota ), as they are variously called according to 
locality, are not infrequently devoured, particu¬ 
larly in the western part of the United States. 
Mr. J. A. Loring saw an eagle pursuing a half- 
growm hoary marmot {Marmota caligata ) at 
Henry House, Alberta, in July, 1896, and Major 
C. E. Bendire records that at Camp Harney he 
has_ found the half-eaten carcass of a yellow- 
bellied marmot {Marmota daviventra ) in a nest 
of this eagle, and has even surprised an eagle 
from the ground as it was feeding on one of 
these animals it had just killed. Brehm states 
that the European hedgehog (Erinaceus euro- 
pceus) is sometimes captured by the golden eagle, 
and that this animal’s spiny coat, so efficient a 
protection against many of its enemies, is appar¬ 
ently little or none against the eagle. 
Various smaller mammals, particularly rodents, 
are at times eaten. Mr. Vernon Bailey dis¬ 
covered bones of a pocket gopher {Cratogeomys 
castanops ) among those of other animals at an 
aery near Cuervo, New Mexico, and these and 
similar gophers are doubtless elsewhere taken. 
In Europe the native rats (Mus) and in North 
America the wood rats ( Neotoma ) are eaten by 
both adults and young. Mr. R. MacFarlane re¬ 
cords that in the region of the Anderson river in 
Arctic America mice and lemmings form a part 
of the food, but such ignoble quarry is probably 
a last resort. 
Domestic Animals. 
Tbe golden eagle seldom attacks full-grown 
domestic animals, but often kills their young, 
particularly where easily accessible or when other 
food is not readily obtainable. Lambs are ap¬ 
parently the most frequent victims, and although 
the eagle probably seldom if ever carries a weight 
of more than 10 or at most 12 pounds, and the 
lambs taken are therefore of rather small size, 
the damage to flocks in many localities, in both 
Europe and America, is considerable. Accord¬ 
ing to Mr. William Brewster, young lambs in 
the valleys of the mountain region of western 
North Carolina are subject to the attacks of this 
eagle, but the bird is not common enough there 
to do much damage. In the west, however—in 
California as elsewhere—it is troublesome on 
many of the sheep ranches, and is therefore 
cordially hated by the sheep owners, who lose no 
opportunity for its destruction. Mr. E. S. Cam¬ 
eron, writing for the vicinity of Fallon, Mont., 
states that the eagles whose nest he watched 
carried off a number of lambs, but ceased tbeir 
depredations after one of their young was killed 
by a shepherd. Mr. Cameron states also that 
some thirty years ago this eagle was abundant 
on the western coast of Scotland and that each 
pair during the breeding season taxed tbe sheep 
farmer one or two lambs every day. So numer¬ 
ous and so destructive did the eagles become 
that a war of extermination was waged against 
them by the farmers, and hundreds were killed. 
Golden Eagle {Aquila chrysaetos). 
Drawn by R. Ridgway. 
On the continent of Europe a single sheep farm 
is said to have lost from raids of the golden 
eagle alone as many as 35 lambs in a single 
season. 
Other domestic animals are not infrequently 
seized for food. In some places in Europe and 
America kids and even goats are atacked by 
this eagle. Calves, too, are sometimes killed, even 
in well-settled regions, and Mr. Oliver Davie 
records that a golden eagle captured near Colum¬ 
bus, Ohio, had caused the farmers considerable 
annoyance in this way. Mr. J. A. Loring in 1892 
was informed by Mr. J. Tevebaugh, of Coche- 
topa Pass. Colorado, that one of these birds once 
assailed one of his young calves, but was beaten 
off by the mother. Pigs are sometimes attacked 
even in their pens, and Mr. A. W. Butler states 
that an eagle was killed in White county, Ind., 
in December as it was hovering and about to 
swoop down on a litter of little pigs. It once 
in a while makes a meal off a dog; and it has 
been known to pounce upon a domestic cat, but 
such an occurrence is doubtless unusual. 
Birds of various kinds, together with mam¬ 
mals, form the bulk of the golden eagle’s food. 
The larger species of birds are the ones most 
commonly taken, while the smallest song birds 
pass practically unnoticed. Upland game birds 
appear to be preferred to all other birds and are 
persistently hunted. 
The different kinds of grouse, no doubt from 
their general distribution over the areas occupied 
by this eagle, are much sought by it as food, both 
in Europe and America. In eastern North 
America the ruffed grouse {Bonasa umbetlus) 
suffers, in the west the blue grouse {Dendragapus 
obsciirus), the sage grouse {Centrocercus uro- 
phasiatius) , and especially the sharp-tailed grouse 
{Pedioecetes pliasianellus and subspecies). Mr. 
Robert Ridgway records an instance of tbe pur¬ 
suit of a sage grouse by a pair of eagles on the 
East Humboldt mountains, Nevada, in which the 
grouse was overtaken in open chase and seized 
and borne away the moment it alighted on the 
ground. Near Lewiston, Idaho, Mr. PI. W. Iden- 
shaw shot a golden eagle that was eating a freshly 
killed sharp-tailed grouse, and the Nez Perces 
Indians told him that grouse were often killed 
by golden eagles. Dr. J. C. Merrill found a dead 
sharp-tailed grouse {Pedioecetes pliasianellus 
colmnbianus ) in an eagle’s nest near Fort Custer, 
Mont., and Mr. E. S. Cameron, in regard to the 
nest in Montana previously referred to, says that 
his eagles must have destroyed large numbers 
of sharp-tailed grouse, since he never visited the 
nest without finding one; and when the young 
eagles were nearly grown they were fed almost 
exclusively on this game bird. The killing of so 
many in their breeding season is of course par¬ 
ticularly disastrous to the species. From what 
is known, the golden eagle seems to be partial 
to this grouse, and the total annual destruction 
must be very larg;e, though there are no accurate 
means of determining its extent. Still an esti¬ 
mate of the probable number of sharp-tailed 
grouse destroyed may be interesting. Allowing 
a pair of eagles to every 100 square miles in 
Montana, which is probably conservative, there 
would be 1,450 pairs in the State, and should 
each one of these pairs kill only one grouse per 
day for the three months during which eaglets 
remained in the nest, 130,500 grouse would be 
destroyed in Montana during this period alone, 
while it is to be supposed that at other times 
the eagles refrain entirely from a diet of game 
birds. Furthermore, since at this time the 
grouse themselves have young or eggs, the death 
of the parent birds means usually the loss of 
the brood, and this would amount at the lowest 
calculation to double the number of adults (prob¬ 
ably much more) or 261,000 young. Adding to 
this the adults, there results a total of 391,500— 
a number that is astonishingly large, yet doubt¬ 
less well within the truth. The destruction of 
young is of course not as detrimental as that 
of an equal number of adults, for the young have 
less chance in the struggle for existence, and in 
the above calculation ample allowance has been 
made accordingly. 
In Europe the black grouse {Lyrurus tetrix) 
and other species of grouse, as well as pheasants, 
are assiduously sought by the golden eagle and 
in some localities their numbers seriously de¬ 
pleted. Mr. E. S. Cameron states that on the 
island of Jura, Inner Plebrides, the grouse, once 
abundant on the moor, were so much molested 
by this bird of prey, which hunted them much 
as does a peregrine falcon, that they left the 
place. 
In the northern regions ptarmigans ( Lagopus) 
often furnish a part of this eagle’s food. The 
red grouse of Great Britain {Lagopus scoticus) 
and the various other ptarmigans of Europe, as 
well as those of Alaska and Arctic North 
America, are among the victims. Mr. R. Mac¬ 
Farlane has found ptarmigans in the nest of the 
golden eagle on the Anderson river, Mackenzie, 
and these birds are probably often fed to the 
young. 
Wild turkeys, particularly in regions where 
they are numerous and not wary, are. owing to 
their size, attractive quarry for the golden eagle; 
and, at least formerly, probably occupied no in¬ 
significant place on its bill of fare, to which effect 
we have the testimony of Audubon and other 
authors. 
Also Bobwhites ( Colinus ) are sometimes taken, 
as is evidenced by a specimen of the golden eagle 
killed near Wooster, Ohio, which had remains 
of one in its stomach. Mr. J. B. Purdy records 
