[To THE EDITOR OP THE ' Bpaciwros."]
Sin,—The following letter, which I have received among others on the subject of the increase of the golden eagle, seems to me so interesting and so fresh, that I venture to ask you to insert it in your columns. My correspondent writes :— "Eagles are more plentiful at B—, I should say, than anywhere else in Scotland, as they have always been pre- served. Three years ago, indeed, while I was stalking hinds in the winter, I saw eight in one day. One rarely goes out stalking without seeing one or more in the forest. On the other side of the river, also, they are comparatively plentiful. Their food consists of all sorts of game, sheep, and lambs. They appear to prefer young deer and hares to anything else, though they usually attack the former when sick, and unable to help themselves. They are also rather destructive among lambs. They do kill grouse and other birds, but not often, as far as I have observed. An eagle, unless hungry, appears to be a cowardly bird, and seldom attacks anything that is likely to give it much trouble. Last year I was stalking, and shot a calf by accident which was coming up beside a hart in a sort of gully. The remainder of the deer ran over the rocky bank of the gully, about 20 ft. high, and I ran after them, and shot another hart. I then ran back to see what I had done with my first shot. There I found my calf with its eyes already torn out by an eagle, which was sitting on it, and just about to begin a good meal. It must have been very hungry, as after I had shot the calf I was never twenty yards from where I had fired the first shot, and had fired a second, though out of sight, on the other side of the rocks. It was a misty day, which would make a little difference. They nest here mostly in two groups of high rocks, and on either side of a glen.
"We often shoot grouse at the end of the season under a kite, without which it would be impossible to get near them. The kite is made in the shape of an eagle, which causes the grouse to sit better, and rare sporting shots they give when they rise. This kite is a sure draw for any eagles or hawks in the neighbourhood. They come swinging round it utterly puzzled, and cannot make it out at all. The other day, we were accompanied for two or three hours by an eagle, a falcon, and a merlin, all at the same time."—I am, Sir, &c., THE WRITER OF THE ARTICLE ON "THE EAGLE IN ENGLAND."
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