Eagles Teaching Their Young.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 420, 16 November 1889, Page 6

Eagles Teaching Their Young.

A short time ago (says a correspondent oi»the 'Field ') Mr G. Barrow, of the Geological Survey of Scotland, who is surveying the district of Alyth, N.8., saw, when on the highest point of my deer forest (Glencally), two goHen eagles flying towards him, and on their approaching nearer he perceived that one of them was carrying what appeai'ed to be a ball in its talons. When they came to a large soft pic"c of ground, which seemed to suit their purpose, one bird remained flying round and round close to the ground, while the other, carrying the ball, mounted to a considerable height, when it let it drop ; but after it (the ball) had fallen a little way, the bird swooped down and caught ib. and took it up again, and again dropped it, and again caught it. This occurred three or four titnes, till at length, on being dropped, the ball opened its wings, and Mr Barrow perceived it was a young eagle, which had steadied itself in it 3 fall. The parent bird who had dropped ifc did not attempt to catch it this time, but allowed it to lower itself, and the other parent bird caught it with its talons before ife quite reached the ground. These tactics having been accomplished to their satisfaction the old birds carried their offspring back to their nest in the next forest to mine (Caenlochan). Surely the above shows the great natural instinct in wild animals — i.e., the parent birds teaching their young one to fly, in case it might fall out of its nest, which was high up in the rocks, with a fall of 200 feet on to the rocks below. It is generally supposed that eagles only strike their quarry on the ground, but Mr Barrow not long ago saw one of the eagles above referred to strike a ptarmigan when about 30 feet in the air, dash it to the ground, and then kill ifc (the bird'screamed when on the ground), pick ib up, and fly off with it.

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