The Golden Eagle
 Morris's British Birds 1891
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Golden Eagle
Image Title: Golden Eagle
Description: Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)

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GOLDEN EAGLE.
ERYR MELYN, IN ANCIENT BRITISH.
RING-TAILED EAGLE. BLACK EAGLE.
Aquila chrysaeta, FLEMING. MEYER. Falco niger, GMELIN.
Falco chrysaetos, MONTAGU. LINNAEUS. BEWICK. Falco fulvus, LINNAEUS.
Aquila chrysaetos, SELBY. SHAW. JENYNS. Aquila fulva.
Aquila—An Eagle, possibly from Aquilus—Dark—sunburnt. Chrysaetos, Chrusos—Gold. Aielos—An Eagle.

The Golden Eagle is so called from the golden red feathers on the head and nape of the neck. It seems to have established a prescriptive right, though on what exclusively sufficient grounds it might be difficult to say, to the proud appellation of the king of birds, as the Tiger, in the corresponding predatory class among quadrupeds, has obtained that of 'Royal.' The epithet would however be more appropriately conferred upon the Lion, 'huic des nominis hujus honorem,' to whom many noble qualities, to be looked for in vain either in the Tiger or the Eagle, have in all ages, been attributed, though whether even in his case justly, is more than doubtful. The Golden Eagle is rather a Vulture than a true Falcon.
The appearance, however, of this bird, is certainly very noble and majestic, though not more so, perhaps, than that of many others of its family, and if his aspect is fine in the only state in which we can have an opportunity of observing him closely, how much more striking would it appear, if we could, ourselves unseen, behold him in his state of nature, standing on the outermost projection of some overhanging precipice of the mountain, and looking out with his large and piercingly lustrous eye into the far distance below, for some quarry on which to stoop, for his own food, or that of his young ones in the nest.
The Golden Eagle seldom strays far from its native haunts and dwelling-place, and is, probably from the nature of its habits, not numerous in any particular spot; but those habits make it but too much so where it is found, which is, as may at once be imagined, in the most mountainous, precipitous, and rocky districts-the natural haunts of those 'ferae natural which are its food-or in large forests on the plains. It is met with in India, and various portions of Asia, as well as in every part of the continent of Europe; in Norway it is plentiful, as also, in Sweden, Switzerland, in some parts of France and Germany; and so in North America, on and near the Rocky Mountains, and in various parts of the United States, in greater or less numbers: Audubon saw one in Labrador.
It was formerly far from uncommon in England, and in still more ancient times, in all probability, was much more frequent. In Yorkshire, one has been recorded by Arthur Strickland, Esq., as having occurred in the East Riding; a second was killed by Admiral Mitford's gamekeeper at Hunmanby; and one was caught in a trap in the year 1838, at Beningbrough, one of the seats of Lord Downe; also one killed in March, 1864, at Thornton Hall, near Pickering, the seat of the Rev. Richard Hill. Another was shot in 1847 at Littlecott, the seat of Mr. Popham, near Hungerford, in Berkshire : it had glutted itself on a dead deer, and was unable to fly away on the approach of the keeper, who fired six times before he killed it. Another was captured in Cheshire, in the year 1845, at Somerford Park, the seat of Sir Charles Peter Shakerly, Bart., and another in the same county a few years previously, near Eaton Hall, the seat of the Marquis of Westminster. One, Sir Charles Anderson, Bart., informs me, was shot at Osberton, Nottinghamshire, the seat of George Savile Foljambe, Esq., in 1857. 'It was first seen sitting on a tree near a place where a cow had been buried a few days before, and it continued flying about the locality for some days, always returning to the same tree, as if attracted towards it. There was partial snow on the ground at the time/ Another near Lydd Vicarage, Kent, the latter end of November, 1867. One shot at Lanherne Downs, in the parish of Mawgam in Cornwall, the 20th. of October, 1861; another about the year 1770, was shot at Hardwick Park, a seat of His Grace the Duke of Devonshire, one of the foundations of the celebrated 'Bess of Hardwick'; another about the year 1820, near Cromford, and another was seen at Matlock in 1843, but though frequently shot at, it was not procured; also in Devonshire, on Dartmoor.
Others have also been seen; one at Rye in Sussex, in 1849; two in the neighbourhood of the park of Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire, in the winter of 1820, and one of them was shot by Mr. Thomas Judge, the Duke of Bedford's gamekeeper; another occurred in the same neighbourhood late in the autumn of 1844. Specimens have also been obtained in the counties of Northumberland, Norfolk, a dead one picked up on Stiff key Marsh, in December, 1868, as added by Mr. Thomas Southwell, to his 'Birds of Norfolk'; Suffolk, a recent one at Somerleyton, near Lowestoft, December, 1879, and Durham. One was shot in the park of Sherborne Castle, Dorsetshire, the seat of Lord Digby; it was by the carcass of a dead deer. Another at Fillgrove in the same county; one near Shrewsbury, in Shropshire, in December, 1884.
They are still not very unfrequently to be seen in the highlands of Perthshire and Sutherlandshire, at Stathspey and Badenoch, in Statherrick, and near Strathglass, chiefly in the north and northwest parts, where they breed in the rocks of Ben Laighall; also at Wallace's Crag and Muskeldie by the Grampian range; in Caithness, and on the mountains of other counties in Scotland, such as Ben Lomond and Ben Nevis, as well as on the Scottish border, and have been observed in the Braemar district in Aberdeenshire; and still more frequently on the mountains of Ireland, as in the Crougan Mountain in the Island of Achill, Mayo; also in Caithness and East Lothian. Thirteen or fourteen were killed between the years 1828 and 1832, in the county of Donegal; others in the county of Antrim, and some have been in the habit of breeding in the island of Achill, as well as near Killarney, and at Rosheen, near Dunfanaghy, and the Horn Head; others have been met with near Belfast, Tralee, Monasterevan, the mountain of Croagh Patrick; also in Connemara, and in many other parts of that Island, one at Craigbeg, Newtonmore, November 18th., 1869; in the highlands of Wales, as well as, though but rarely, in Shetland. In Foula they used to be common; also in Orkney and the Hebrides, at Snook, to the east of Rackwick, and a rock to the west of the same place, in Hoy, and the meadow of Kaimes.
It has been known to breed regularly, even up to a comparatively recent date, in Cumberland and Westmoreland, and also formerly in the Peak of Derbyshire, in which county one was captured alive, near Glossop, in some severe weather, in the year 1720.
The flight of the Golden Eagle when not pursuing its prey, is at first slow and heavy like that of a Heron, and when sailing in the air much resembles that of the Common Buzzard. In beating a small space of ground it flies about in circles, alternately sailing and flapping its wings, the wings seeming as if rather turned upwards during the former. It prowls generally along the sides of hills, but often ascends to a vast height when looking out for food, and on perceiving its quarry, descends upon it like a flash of lightning, though sometimes in doing so, it will make several spiral turns at intervals, as if to break the extreme violence of the shock of its fall. The impetus, aided by the weight of the bird, must be very great. If it does not then at once discern its victim, which has, perhaps, attempted to hide itself, it peers about with its outstretched neck in every direction, when, if it again catch a glimpse of it, as it is almost sure to do, it is down upon it directly with extended legs, and scarce seeming to touch it, bears it off in triumph. It usually thus secures the animal, seizing it before it can even attempt to escape, or perhaps paralyzed through fear, but occasionally, as in the instances hereafter stated, follows in pursuit. One is mentioned which was seen hovering above a hare, which it frightened from bush to bush, until at last it forced it to leave its cover, and attempt escape, when it was almost immediately overtaken and pounced upon.
Its pounce is not always however unerring. Montagu mentions one which was seen to strike several times without success at a Black Grouse, and as long as they were kept in sight the latter succeeded in baffling it. A wounded Red Grouse was less fortunate. An Eagle perceiving that it flew badly, dashed at it, and in defiance of the shooters, and before their guns could be reloaded, made off with the fruit of its successful raid. Before alighting on a carcass it generally sails about in short circles, often very rapidly.
The Bishop of Norwich gives the following graphic account of the flight of these birds:—'In the midst of the loud roar of waters a short shrill cry met our ear, coming as it were from the clouds. On looking in the direction from whence it came, we soon perceived a small dark speck moving steadily on towards us. It was a Golden Eagle, evidently coming from the p]ain countries below: on drawing nearer we could see that his wings scarcely ever moved; he seemed to float or sail in midair, rather than fly, though now and then, indeed, they slowly flapped as if to steady him. As he was approaching in a direct line, we hid ourselves behind a rock, and watched his motions. When first seen he could not have been at a less distance than a mile, but in less than a minute he was within gunshot, and after looking round once or twice, he dropped down his legs, slightly quivered, and alighted on a rock within a few yards. For a moment he gazed about with his sharp bright eyes, as if to assure himself that all was safe; he then, for a few moments more, nestled his head beneath one of his expanded wings, and appeared to plume himself. Having done this, he stretched out his neck, and looked keenly and wistfully towards the quarter of the heavens from whence he came, and uttered a few rapid screams; then stamping with his feet, we saw him protrude his long hooked talons, at the same time snapping his beak with a sharp jerking noise, like the crack of a whip. Then he remained for about ten minutes, manifesting great restlessness, not a single instant quiet; when suddenly he seemed to hear or see something, and immediately rising from the rock on which he stood, launched himself into the air, and floated away as before, uttering the same shrill cry, and looking round we beheld the cause of his emotion; he had seen his mate approaching. He rose to meet her, and after soaring in a circle a few times, they went away, and were soon invisible to the naked eye.'
It is a curious fact that two Eagles will sometimes course a hare together-one flying directly over it, and the other following it near the ground; and one has been known to stoop at a hare pursued by the hounds, and to carry it off, a hundred yards before them-a singular realization of the fable of Tantalus.
The female is noisy and clamorous at the approach of spring, and also before wet or stormy weather.
The food of the Eagle consists principally of the smaller animals, such as sheep, lambs, dogs, cats, young fawns, hares, mountain hares, rabbits, and rats, as also of birds, both old and young, the latter even from the nest, such as blackcock, grouse, ptarmigan, among which it makes great havoc, seagulls, and even gannets. It does not hesitate, however, on oc¬casion, to attack larger game, but assails with characteristic resoluteness even roebucks and other deer. It is said to fix itself on the head of the victim it has aimed at, and to flap with its wings in the animal's eyes, until in distraction it is driven over some precipice, or into some morass, where it then becomes a secure and easy prey. In the case of the smaller of such which it seizes, life is believed to be extinguished with the talons before any attempt is made with the bill. It generally bears its quarry away, but sometimes, as, for instance, when it is of large size, devours it on the spot. It is said to hunt the low grounds and the higher at different times of the day; and it is possible that it may be so on account of its being able to see better into the distance when such is the case.
One was seen flying in one of the Orkney Islands with a pig in its talons, which it dropped alive when fired at. Another, in Ireland, alighted and carried off a lamb, with which it flew in a straight direction towards its haunt in the Mourne Mountains. There arrived it was seen to soar upwards, probably towards its nest, but dropped the lamb at the edge of a wood, and it was recovered unhurt-the distance flown was reckoned to be more than two miles with this burden to support. There are at least three authenticated instances of their having carried off children in this country-one of these in one of the Orkney Islands, and another in the Isle of Skye, but both, providentially, were rescued.
A third instance of the kind is mentioned by Bishop Stanley, out as it happened in one of the Eerroe Islands, it is, at the least, possible that the bird may have been a Sea Eagle. It is said that the child was carried to a precipice so tremendous, that no one, even of the daring climbers of those parts, had ever ventured to ascend it, but the unfortunate mother of the unfortunate child attempted and scaled it, alas ! alas ! too late. It is melancholy indeed to even think of so sad a chapter in human woe.
One can easily believe the truth of another record of a similar event, said to have occurred in Sweden. A mother saw her child, which had been laid down at some distance from her in the fields, carried off by an Eagle, and heard its cries for some time in the air, till it was taken beyond her hearing and sight. She lost her reason, and became an inmate of a lunatic asylum-an asylum truly, for unless the mercy of Providence had thus shrouded her with the mantle of forgetfulness, had provided this anodyne for such heart-rending grief as hers, surely the last cry of her child must for ever have echoed in her ears.
The following legend is given by Bishop Stanley, in his 'Familiar History of Birds.'-'Alfred, king of the West Saxons, went out one day a hunting, and passing by a certain wood, heard, as he supposed, the cry of an infant from the top of a tree, and forthwith diligently enquiring of the huntsmen what the doleful sound could be, commanded one of them to climb the tree, when in the top of it was found an Eagle's nest, and lo! therein a pretty sweet-faced infant, wrapped up in a purple mantle, and upon each arm a bracelet of gold, a clear sign that he was born of noble parents. Wherefore the king took charge of him, and caused him to be baptized, and because he was found in the nest, he gave him the name of Nestingum, and in after time, having nobly educated him, he advanced him to the dignity of an earl.'
'Another case is on record of one of these birds attacking a cat, when a battle actually took place in the air, and lasted some minutes. The cat, aware, it may be supposed, of her danger, clung with her claws to the Eagle, and prevented him from letting her drop. At length tired of struggling, and impeded by the clinging of the cat, he descended to the earth, when the fight still continued, and in the end some lookers-on captured both the combatants.
A cat, however, if once within the grasp of an Eagle on firm ground, has but a poor chance. One was seen to make its way through the lattice-work of a large hut in which a fine Golden Eagle had been long kept. In an instant, the bird was observed to pounce from its perch, and seize poor puss so rudely and suddenly with its claws, that notwithstanding the vivacious nature of the cat kind, she was killed in a moment, without an appearance of struggling or even quivering of her limbs.' The 'biter was bit.'
Doubtless there have often been such cases, some not recorded, having occurred in remote districts, and others possibly not even known of in India, and other countries, there are numerous accounts of young children having been carried off by Eagles, but as it must now be impossible to say with any certainty what species they were of, though possibly in some, or even in many cases, they may have been of the one I am treating of, yet as in others, beyond all doubt, they have been birds of the Vulture kind, or of other species of Eagles, I omit them from this account, recording those instances alone in which the bird at present before us has been the robber.
The number of animals and birds destroyed by Eagles must be very great: the remains of three hundred ducks and forty hares were found in the eyrie of one in Germany; and it is on record that a peasant in the county of Kerry, and another in the county of Antrim, supported their families for a considerable time, by means of the animals brought by parent Eagles to their nests. In an eyrie found by Willughby, lay a lamb, a hare, and three heath-poults. In another in Scotland were found a number of grouse, partridges, hares, rabbits, ducks, snipes, ptarmigan, rats, mice, etc., and sometimes kids, fawns, and lambs. With these the house of the owner of the property where the nest was built was frequently supplied. They are very careful in watching, feeding, and defending their young.
The Golden Eagle never feeds on carrion, or fish cast up, unless forced by hunger, when unable to meet with prey to kill for itself.
The age attained by the Eagle is unquestionably very great: one that died at Vienna, is reported to have lived, even in confinement, one hundred and four years. It rarely drinks, but is fond of washing itself. It is said to keep fat to the last, as if the faculties of its natural instinct did not deteriorate as its age increased, but were sufficient, with the benefit of its experience, to supply the place of its pristine strength. One which I have lately seen the body of, previous to the skin being stuffed by Mr. Graham, of York, was remarkable for the quantity of fat upon it. It appeared to be a very old bird, and the talons were of an extraordinary length. It had just been sent from Assynt, in Sutherlandshire, for W.. M. E. Milner, Esq., M.P. These birds have been known to live a long time without food. One has been known to have abstained from any for twenty-one days.
The Golden Eagle is easily kept in confinement, and in some cases becomes to a certain extent tamed, from being constantly familiarized with the sight of its keeper. It is, nevertheless, on the whole extremely intractable; one however is related to have been tamed at Fortwilliam, near Belfast, by Richard Langtry, Esq., which would come at its master's call; so also one kept for years by Mr. Pike of Achill Island, which flew about at pleasure, and another to have been trained by Captain Green, of Buckden, in Huntingdonshire, to take hares and rabbits. Another, as I presume it to have been, is mentioned by the late Bishop Stanley, in his 'Familiar History of British Birds,' as having been so thoroughly tamed as to have been left at perfect liberty, neither chained or pinioned: of this freedom it would often avail itself, and after having been absent for two or three weeks would again return. It never attacked children, but on one occasion, it is supposed from its master having neglected to bring it its usual supply of food, it assailed him with some violence. Young pigs it would occasionally make a meal of. After having been safely kept for ten or twelve years, it was unfortunately, in the end, killed by a savage mastiff dog. The battle was not witnessed, but it must have been a long and well-fought one. The Eagle was slain on the spot: he did not, however, die unrevenged, for his antagonist very shortly afterwards expired of his wounds. Again, instances have occurred where Eagles which have carried off such animals as weasels, stoats, etc., have been attacked with relentless bite by these fell blood-suckers, and have at last fallen to the ground lifeless in consequence. There is a similar story told of the encounter of one in the air with a cat, which it had carried off : he was fairly brought to the ground, the talons of the cat proving more effective than his own, and both were captured together.
In another like instance, recorded by Macgillivray, and which he states to be well authenticated, a cat, carried off by an Eagle to its nest and left there for dead, (the captor being ignorant of the proverb about its 'nine lives,') soon after revived, and in the absence of the parents made a meal of the Eaglets, and effected her own escape after all. Again, he mentions that two youths having taken an Eagle's nest with the young, one of the old birds having returned, 'made a most determined attack upon them. They said they had never been in such peril: for the Eagle dipped her wing in a burn that ran by, and then in sand, and sweeping repeatedly by them, struck at them with her wing. Although each had a stick, it was with great difficulty that they at length effected their escape, when almost ready to sink with fatigue.'
A curious conflict was witnessed between two Eagles in the month of March, in the year 1836, near Cromarty, on Moray Firth. Two males contending about an eyrie, were so intent on battle, that they fell together into the sea after a conflict of two or three hours.
When the Golden Eagle has pounced upon its victim, it kills it, if small, by a stroke with its talons behind the head, and another at the region of the heart. It seems not to use the bill for slaughter, but only for tearing up its prey when killed. It generally, in spite of its care and skill in skinning or plucking, swallows part of the fur or feathers, or small bones, or part of the bones of the animal or bird it has seized, and these it afterwards disgorges from its mouth in large pellets. It feeds on the young of game, such as fawns, hares, rabbits, and grouse, and does not disdain such 'small deer' as rats, mice, and moles, etc.
By the Ancients the Eagle was denominated the bird of Jove, and alone deemed worthy of bearing his thunder. The Highland Chieftain at the present day, exhibits the Eagle's plume as the designation of his nobility, and so uncivilized nations have also always associated birds of this tribe with the idea of courage, quickness, and dignity, their warriors too in like manner pride themselves on the badge which the feathers of the Eagle furnish them with, either as an emblematic trophy of past, or a pledge of future bravery and daring. They prize it so highly, that they will often exchange a valuable horse for the tail feathers of a single Eagle. They also adorn with them their arrows, and the calumet or pipe of peace. The feathers of the Eagle are used in our own country for making certain salmon flies.
The note is a clear, loud, and sharp cry, of two tones, repeated many times in succession.
Nidification commences towards the beginning of March.
The nest, which is very large and flat, and has no lining, according to some authors, but is stated by others to be lined a little with grass o'wool, and where these cannot be procured, or not in sufficient plenty, with small sticks, twigs, rushes, seaweed, or heather, is generally built on high and inaccessible thunder-blasted rocks, and precipices, or the stump of some tree projecting from them, or the lofty trees of the forest.
It builds, however, less frequently on the latter than in other situations,but is said to alight on trees more frequently than the Sea Eagle.
Itis always, where possible, rebuilt of the same materials-the accustomed eyrie being made use of for many successive years, or, most likely,
from the most favourable locality as to food and security combined having been chosen, for many generations, if its owners are not drivenfrom it by their only superior enemy, man.
This latter assertion must, however, be understood with certain exceptions, as in the instances recorded above.
The young are sent away by the parent birds beforewinter sets in. A female kept in confinement is mentioned by Selby as having laid one or more eggs for three successive years. One variety
is a dull faint purple white, with a tinge of both yellowish and greenish, dashed here and there all over with marks of a rather dark hue. A second is dull yellowish white, irregularly striated here and there with streaks of small dots of pale brown run together, and spotted also with spots of the same, but lighter in colour.
The eggs, laid towards the end of the month of March or the beginning of April, generally two in number, but in some cases only one, and in others three, and of a rather oval shape, are white, greyish, or yellowish white, and sometimes completely mottled or marbled over with light russet brown. Incubation is described as lasting thirty days.
If the eggs are removed, it is said that the bird does not lay any more that season.
The length of the male bird is about three feet to three feet and a half, and the expanse of the wings eight feet to eight feet and a half. The female, as is the case with the rest of the Eagle tribe, is larger, measuring about three feet and a half in length, and nine feet in width.
In the adult, which weighs from nine to twelve or even sixteen or eighteen pounds, (the latter according to Bewick,) and measures variously from two feet six to three feet or more as just stated, the bill, (with which it sometimes makes a snapping noise,) is horn-colour, or deep blue black, the tip the darkest; the cere, pure greenish yellow, covered on the sides with hairy feathers, which also cover the space between the bill and the eye; the iris, which is dark in the young bird, grows lighter as the bird advances in age, and ends in being of a clear orange brown, the pupil black; the crown of the head and the nape, the feathers of which are hackles, are sometimes bright golden red, but generally of a grey or hoary colour, some of the feathers being edged with white; chin and throat dark brown; breast brown, ending in a reddish tint; back dark brown with purple reflections, the lesser wing coverts lighter. The primaries nearly black, their inner webs irregularly barred with greyish white; secondaries brownish black, barred and shaded with different hues of grey and brown, but the outer webs very obscurely; greater and lesser wing coverts, reddish brown varied with dark brown; breast, reddish brown; all the rest of the body is obscure dark brown, more nearly approaching to black as the bird grows older; but when in extreme age, to which the Eagle is known to reach, its plumage becomes very light coloured, thin and worn, so much so, as to make it appear that the bird had ceased to moult. The wings, which are rather rounded in shape, vary in extent from five feet six to eight feet or upwards, and one is recorded to have been shot at Warkworth, in Northumberland, in the year 1735, which measured eleven feet three inches across. The tail, which is a little longer than the wings, and of a square shape, with the exception of the two middle feathers, which exceed the others in length, and are rather pointed, is deep brown, paler at the base, barred irregularly with dark brown, with one broad band of the same colour terminating it; upper tail coverts, pale brown tinged with grey; under tail coverts, light yellowish brown. The legs are feathered down to the toes, and the plumage on them is of a clearer brown than that on the rest of the body, the short feathers paler, and the longer hind ones darker, the shafts dark brown. The feet, which are reticulated, are at first greyish yellow, which merges into pure yellow; the expanse of the foot, seven inches, including the claws; the middle toe measures three inches and a half in length, and there are on it three or four large chesnut brown; the legs are clothed with pale reddish brown feathers; toes, yellow; claws, black, very strong and much hooked.
The young are at first covered with greyish white down; when fledged the bill is brownish black, the base paler than the rest; the cere, pale greenish yellow; iris, dark brown; the head, neck on the back, and nape, pale yellowish brown, the base of the feathers white, making a patch behind the neck; the rest of the plumage deep brown; the wing coverts patched with white; the tail dark brown on the end for a third of the whole, the remainder white; under tail coverts, dull white, with a lighter brown patch at the end of each feather; the short feathers on the legs, pale yellowish brown; the legs, pale yellow; claws, brownish black.
As it advances, the light yellowish brown of the head and hind neck becomes of a richer tint; the white at the base of the feathers diminishes in extent, so that the patches wear out; the feathers on the legs are brighter, and the tail becomes barred irregularly with brown, the white interstices becoming less, and shaded with greyish brown.
White varieties have been recorded.

"Where Falcons hang their giddy nests, Mid cliffs from whence his eagle eye For many a league his prey could spy."
The Lay of the Zatt Minstrel.

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