Volume 20, Plate XII / Ornithology (Birds)

Golden Eagle

Aquila chrysaeta

A noble mountain bird, the Golden Eagle is rare in England and southern Scotland but occurs in the Highlands and locally in Ireland, building a large unlined eyrie of branches on inaccessible inland cliffs and laying two white eggs blotched with brown. It soars to immense heights in circles, then rushes down on hares, lambs, deer, grouse, and plovers, though its numbers steadily decrease through relentless destruction during the lambing season.