Page:The Zoologist, 1st series, vol 1 (1843).djvu/66

38 stone. He crept cautiously along the shelf till close to the erne, and then suddenly raising himself, and throwing his body over the stone, seized the bird by a wing and leg. The so-called king (or in this instance queen) of the feathered tribes, seemed completely cowed by his presence, and made no resistance to this rude and unexpected interruption, on the contrary, she merely opened her bill, apparently in a furtive attempt to call in the assistance of her lord and master, who, by the way, was soaring at a safe distance above, while this lawless "spulzie" was perpetrating, and then resigned herself to her fate. The non-resistance of the bird was the more singular, as one of her wings and feet, and her head, were entirely free, and the powerful struggle she could have made would have either soon freed herself, or, what is more probable, dragged the spoiler over the precipice. To use his own simile, she made no more resistance than had it been a hen or a goose in similar circumstances. He, however, seeing her thus passive, leisurely undid his garters, tied up the bill and feet, twisted the wings together, and the vulture-eagle lay in her own nest, bound, gagged and powerless. The only path by which the man could return was too steep and difficult to allow of his carrying such a heavy bird, and consequently he was obliged to let her fall, and the unfortunate captive rolled down helpless through the air she had so often cloven with such ease and safety, and met an ignominious death on the rocks beneath. The successful fowler retraced his steps by another and a safer path, and secured his prize, which, with the egg obtained at the same time, is now before me, being in the possession of my uncle, Thomas Edmonston, Esq. of Burress. The nest was constructed chiefly of heather twigs and the dried stems of Laminaria digitata, uprooted and cast ashore; it was lined with wool, feathers and "sinna," and contained few of the remains usually found in the nests of birds of prey, as the young ones had not come out, but a dead guillemot and two kittiwakes were found, which renders it probable that one bird feeds the other while sitting on the eggs. It is also asserted that the male regularly takes his turn at the duty of incubation. The stomach contained, among some nearly digested fragments, an entire puffin.

The following description of this individual, a very old female, in perfect summer plumage, may perhaps be interesting to some of your