T h e Golden Eagle, though occasionally seen and sometimes
obtained in the southern part of Great Britain, is
far more commonly found in Scotland. In the time of
Willugliby, who died in 1672, it was reported to breed
annually upon the high rocks of Snowdon. The same writer
describes a nest found in Derbyshire in 1668. Bewick
quotes from Wallis the remark, that this species formerly
had its eyry on the highest part of Cheviot, and Sir William
Jardine speaks of the precipices of Westmoreland and Cumberland
having once boasted a similar distinction. “ Upon
the wild ranges of the Scottish Border,” he, writing in 18B8,
continues, “ one or two pairs used to breed, but their nest
has not been known for twenty years, though a straggler in
winter sometimes is yet seen amidst their defiles and Mr.
Robert Gray, whose new work on the ‘ Birds of the West of
Scotland ’ contains a long and interesting account of the Golden
Eagle, says, that though looked upon throughout the country
generally as a rarity, it is, from its habit of wandering in
the autumn, frequently seen in the Lowlands. Indeed, the
Rev. T. B. Bell informed Mr. A. G. More, only a few years
since, that it still bred in East Galloway; but it is not till
one enters the Highlands that one can confidently expect to
see this species. Even there the number of birds, though yet
considerable, is far less than by all accounts it was some years
ago, and it is probably still diminishing, notwithstanding the
protection afforded to them on some of the larger deer-forests.
In most of the western and northern counties of Scotland, it
is believed that a few nests are still tenanted by the Golden
Eagle, as is also the casein the Hebrides, where, according to
Mr. Gray, in the work before-mentioned, the birds “ are
smaller and darker in colour than those bred on the mainland.”
In the Orkneys it used also to breed, but, according
to the best authorities, not in the Slietlands. The habits of
this species, as observed by the late Mr. John Wolley, who
was very familiar with it, are recounted in much detail, from
his notes, in the ‘ Ootheca Wolleyana,’ and representations
of two eyries in Argyllshire are there given, from drawings
made on the spot by Mr. Wolf. With a few exceptions
it takes up its quarters in some mountainous district, but
the locality chosen is often remarkably accessible, and occasionally
even on the ground. The nest usually consists of
a platform of sticks, upon which is laid freshly-gathered
heather, and sometimes large sprigs of fir-boughs. The
lining is composed of fern, grass, moss, or any convenient
material, but principally, and almost invariably, of tufts of
Luzula sylvatica. The nest is repaired every year, so that
an old structure is frequently of very large size, and while it
appears loose, is yet so firm as scarcely to yield to the weight
of a man. Instances are known, however, in Scotland, of
the nest being placed in a tree. One of these has been
examined by that excellent observer, Mr. A. E. Knox, who
kindly showed some drawings of it to the Editor. Another
has been described in ‘ The Ibis,’ by Captain Powlett-Orde,
and this contained four eggs—an unusual number for this
bird to lay.
The Golden Eagle breeds early in the year, often with
the country under deep snow. The hen sits very close, but
when disturbed flies off in alarm, and seldom reappears until
her enemies have retired. The eggs are generally two in
number, but three are not unfrequently found. They are
laid at intervals of a few days, and are hatched in the same
order. In size and shape they do not vary so much as do
those of some other birds, but they are subject to great difference
in colour, ranging in this respect from a pure, spotless
white to the richly-dyed carnations of a pair figured by Mr.
Hewitson, in the third edition of his ‘ Illustrations,’ well-
marked examples being rather the rule than the exception.
The colour of the mottling is commonly some shade of red,
but eggs are not unfrequently found where it is of a purplish-
brown, while spots of delicate lilac are seen underlying the
darker blotches and streaks. They measure from 3-23 to
2-72 by 2-55 to 2-11 in.
The eggs are hatched in Scotland about the end of April,
and the young are at first covered with snow-white down,
which gives place to the dark-coloured nestling plumage.
The bird described from the Derbyshire nest by Willugliby