as is well known, the eagle lives largely on carrion such as dead deer and carcases of sheep, differing in this respect from the peregrine falcon, which lives exclusively on what it kills. generally speaking, the eagle secures its prey by pouncing on it on the ground and carrying it away in its talons. he swoops down at a great pace in a slanting direction, and in this way not only captures hares and rabbits, but also grouse and ptarmigan on the ground and young ducks[137] on the loch. it is very interesting to watch the great bird searching slowly along the side of a hill, about 50, 100, or 150 yards above the ground; then he suddenly pounces, and in a moment is up again and away with his prey in his talons. so regularly does the eagle adopt this method of capturing his prey on the ground, that i have met stalkers who have told me that they do not believe that an eagle can overtake any swift-winged bird such as grouse or black game. this is certainly wrong, for the eagle does sometimes, though comparatively rarely, adopt the other method of securing his prey—the method which i have already described (see p. 64, supra)—that of pursuing and catching his prey in the air, and in this way without doubt captures blackcock, grouse, and ptarmigan. i have already stated (see pp. 57-70, supra) that in my opinion the eagle in his downward flight is faster than the peregrine. even in his horizontal flight, once he gets going he can fly very fast if he chooses, but of course is not nearly so agile and cannot turn and twist with the rapidity of the peregrine, and the result is that when he overtakes his quarry he frequently misses him.
nearly a hundred years ago one of the most[138] acute observers amongst ornithologists wrote as follows: “in another part of the western highlands of scotland we had an opportunity of witnessing the powers of flight of this bird in pursuit of its quarry. an old blackcock was sprung and was instantly pursued by the eagle (who must have been on a neighbouring rock unperceived) across the glen, the breadth of which was at least 2 miles.
“the eagle made several unsuccessful pounces, but as there was no cover and the bird large, it probably fell a victim in the end.”[28]
lastly, as i have already said in the pages just mentioned where i have fully discussed the matter, the eagle on rare occasions swoops down at a terrific pace on his prey in the air, striking it to the ground but not clutching it or, to use the falconer’s phrase, binding on it.
the eagle has a great partiality for hares, cats, young fox cubs, and young lambs. i remember james macintosh, head stalker at loch rosque, telling me that on two occasions whilst waiting at a fox den he had shot an eagle. he added that, whilst the old foxes are away, the cubs, when they[139] get hungry, sometimes make such a noise that they can be heard at a considerable distance, and that he believed this attracts the eagles, particularly if their eyrie in which they are rearing their young happens to be in the vicinity. he went on to say that he thought this accounted for his sometimes finding fox dens containing only one or two cubs instead of the usual number of three to seven. there is no doubt that eagles sometimes attack deer calves, fixing their talons in their victim’s neck or back and striking the calf with their wings. they frequently hunt in pairs, and have been seen to drive the calf over a precipice.
on rare occasions eagles have been known to attack a full-grown stag. in certain parts of the highlands they have lately increased in numbers, and perhaps as a consequence, their ordinary food not being so plentiful, have become bolder.
only last year i was stalking in a forest where a few days earlier a stalker had witnessed a most unusual incident. the following is his account of what he saw:
“a gentleman and i were out stalking on the 25th of september, and while the gentleman was having lunch, i went off about 200 yards to have a spy. i got a stag lying at the foot of a rock.[140] while i had the glass on him, an eagle suddenly swooped down and attacked him. the stag went headlong into a bog, but managed to get up. i then ran back for the gentleman thinking we would have a shot, but by the time we got back the stag and eagle were over the sky-line and the eagle still following while going over the sky-line, but after that we don’t know what happened, as both eagle and stag went out of sight.”
donald matheson, who has had a lifelong experience in the forest and has only recently retired after having been for many years stalker at glen shieldaig to mr. c. j. murray of loch carron, told me that on one occasion, but on one occasion only, he saw an eagle attack an adult stag.
“it would be, as far as i remember,” he said, “between the 6th and 10th of october in the year 1888 when i was spying one morning at the forest stables. i picked up a stag on the top of glen shieldaig, quietly feeding on the glaschnoc side, and while having my glass still on the stag an eagle swooped down on his head. the stag fell on his hind-quarters, but was soon on his feet again and ran for his life while the eagle was fixed on him. the stag made for a thick clump[141] of birch-trees, and immediately the stag got under cover the eagle could not keep its hold, owing to the thick branches of the trees, and left the stag. the eagle kept hovering for some time above the wood where the stag was concealed, but at last flew away.”
whilst stalking in the neighbouring forest of applecross two years ago, colonel the hon. claude willoughby had a most interesting experience, a description of which he has kindly given me permission to reproduce here:
“on 30th september, 1921,” he writes, “i was stalking with alick mackenzie on applecross. we had come through corrie chaorachan into corrie na na and spied a stag with hinds on the west face above the loch. the wind was west, and after a difficult and exceedingly good stalk across the corrie and above these deer, avoiding hinds, also another stag with hinds, we arrived at a point within 150 yards of the stag we were after and found him lying down. owing to the light and the distance, i determined to wait for him to rise before shooting. after waiting half an hour, hinds which we had seen beyond the place where he was lying came galloping past him. he rose and i shot[142] him; he fell dead. we at once saw that the reason of these hinds galloping was that an eagle was after a calf which had separated from the herd. we saw the eagle land on the calf’s back twice, but the calf escaped.
“the eagle then attacked a hind in the herd. a kestrel hawk now joined in, and mobbed the eagle. this attack lasted only a short time. the eagle then circled round my dead stag, the kestrel soon after disappearing. the eagle settled on a rock about five yards from the dead stag, and remained there until we showed ourselves. all this took place within 200 yards of us.
“on the tuesday following lord derwent was also stalking on applecross, near corrie attadale. he and the head stalker finlayson saw an eagle attack a calf, which it knocked down twice, but the calf escaped.”
there has been much difference of opinion, and from time to time considerable controversy as to how the peregrine kills its prey. some stalkers and ornithologists believe that it is done with the edge of the wing, a smaller number with the beak, whilst others think it is done with the talons. the last-mentioned view is that which[143] is, i believe, universally held by falconers, who after all have many more opportunities of seeing how it is done than any other class of men. i have frequently discussed this question with naturalists and stalkers, keepers and others interested in this subject, and have listened to all they could tell me. i have also had the great advantage of hearing at first hand from falconers of experience their views and their reasons for them. further, i have myself been so fortunate as to see the wild peregrine pursue and stoop at its quarry. i have seen it strike and kill it and on occasion miss it. in addition to this, i have read everything i could find on this subject, both in the older and more modern books of authority. i am satisfied myself that the view held by the falconers is the true one, and i cannot state their conclusions better than, or indeed so well as, by quoting from three letters that i have received. the writers of these three letters have kindly given me permission to quote their views.
major c. e. radclyffe, who has had almost unrivalled experience as a falconer, writes as follows:
“all forms of falcons and short-winged hawks, such as sparrow-hawks and goshawks,[144] always strike their quarry with their feet, and never with anything else. the killers are those which ‘bind to’ their quarry in the air, that is, pick up a bird in their feet, and never let go of it until they come to the ground. a really experienced old trained falcon does this nine times out of ten.
“sometimes, however, when stooping from a great height, the impetus of the falcon is so terrific that she seems to know if she ‘binds to’ her quarry, the impact will be so great as nearly to tear her legs from her body. thus, when stooping at a heavy bird like a grouse, or a pheasant, at great speed, the falcon slightly throws upwards on her impact with the quarry, and delivers a raking blow with her single long back talon. by this means (her back talon being sharp as a razor) i have seen a grouse ripped open from its tail to its neck. i have seen its wing broken and i have seen its head cut off.
“all falcons are very careful not to risk touching anything with their wings, hence a falcon will never really stoop at a bird on the ground with an idea of catching it, but they will keep stooping just over a bird they can see on the[145] ground in the hope of flushing it, and then they will catch it in a minute.
“i have seen falcons and hawks break their wings by striking the smallest twig on the branch of a tree when misjudging a stoop at a bird.
“therefore, you can imagine how easily a hawk would smash its wing if it attempted this, to hit a heavy bird like a grouse or pheasant going at terrific speed.
“if you threw a lawn-tennis ball against a falcon’s wing coming at you at the rate of over a hundred miles per hour, and hit its wing-bone, that hawk would never fly again.
“i have many times in my life, when casting lightly with a very small trout rod, just touched the wing of a swift or swallow with the tip of the rod. i never broke a rod thus, but nearly always broke the bird’s wing. i think, when you come to consider these things, you will see that a hawk dare not strike the smallest bird with its wing.
“it uses its beak only to finish off a bird on the ground, and this she does by breaking the bird’s neck with its beak.
“i have lived amongst wild and trained hawks[146] all my life, and i can assure you the above facts are true.”
the reference in the above letter to the peregrine killing a grouse by striking it with its talon reminds me of the following interesting note in birds of great britain (5 volumes), published by the author, john gould, f.r.s., in 1873.
“evidence forwarded to mr. james burdett, keeper to the earl of craven.... on dissecting a coot i saw taken and dropped by a peregrine falcon, i found the neck dislocated at the third joint from the head and an appearance as if the sharp point of the hind claw had penetrated the brain at the occiput.”
captain c. f. a. portal, d.s.o., writes as follows:
“i have seen many dozens of game-birds struck down by trained peregrines within 50 yards of me, and i can definitely state that the hawk invariably aims a blow with the talons at his quarry....
“so true is a peregrine’s aim that he generally gets home with both his hind talons somewhere near the middle of the quarry’s back, but often he hits a wing and breaks it, and occasionally he[147] breaks the neck in the same way. i have examined hundreds of birds (partridges) killed by hawks, and i have always found the mark of two hind talons or one of them. the decapitation is generally performed within a few seconds of the hawk’s alighting on the dazed or crippled victim. it is performed by one powerful wrench of the beak. no peregrine will eat or even pluck a living bird.... in my experience it is a rare thing for a peregrine to strike a bird dead in the air. it does occasionally happen that the blow falls on the head or neck, but what generally happens is that the bird is thrown violently to the ground with a wing broken or the back dislocated. the concussion with the ground dazes it, and the hawk quickly drops down upon it and kills it with its beak.
“the merlin often kills comparatively large birds (e.g. the thrush, fieldfare, golden plover, etc.) by strangling them, as its beak is not strong enough to break their necks. it kills larks, etc., in the same way as the peregrine kills his quarry, that is, by sudden dislocation of the neck.
“the sparrow-hawk kills its prey by gripping it with its feet and driving the claws into its body; this is a slow death sometimes, and the[148] sparrow-hawk has none of the true falcon’s scruples about plucking (and even, i fear, beginning to devour) a living bird.
“i do not like the sparrow-hawk for this reason, though, of course, the falconer can generally prevent cruelty by killing the quarry himself.”
captain g. s. blaine, another falconer of great experience, also has no doubt on the matter. in a letter to me on this question he writes:
“a peregrine strikes with its talons only. of this i am certain, having seen the blow given to countless quarries at close quarters. how the other idea (that of striking with the wing) could possibly have originated i do not know. it is quite obviously impracticable.... if a peregrine administered the terrific blow which she delivers when striking a quarry with her wing, breast, or beak, she would be knocked out at once, and permanently injured. a peregrine can easily, after recovering from her stoop, turn over again and catch the quarry in the air. i have seen this often done, when the bird had been struck high up in the air. if near the ground, it would fall before the hawk could get hold of it. many also often catch and hold a quarry without knocking it down. this is the way most successful[149] game hawks catch grouse or partridges. when struck, the blow is delivered on any part of the body—it may be the head and it may be the back or the wing which may be broken.”
in reminiscences of a falconer (john nimmo, london, 1901) major c. h. fisher writes:
“the blow is given by the falcon’s strong and sharp hind talon of each foot—usually sharp as a needle and driven at great speed by a bird weighing over 2 lb.”
as illustrating the falcon’s stoop major fisher describes how he saw a wild falcon strike a greyhen twice. he says (p. 97):
“as illustrating the force of a falcon’s stoop, i may mention an incident which occurred to me on the banks of the river orrin when fishing. from some bracken i put up three greyhens. down came a wild falcon from the sky at the middle bird. i saw and heard the blow. the greyhen staggered on, leaving the usual tribute of feathers behind her. up rose the falcon in the grand and stately style so few trained hawks can ever adopt or regain (so much do they lose by captivity); over and down she came, and down fell the quarry, as dead as though shot by a bullet.... down too went my long rod and off went i.[150]... on this occasion i took possession ... of the wild hawk’s prey. on examining the effect of her two blows, i found that three ribs on one side were clean cut through and separated from the backbone as by a chop with a heavy knife and strong hand, and one talon had entered and split the base of the skull, from which the brains were protruding.”
one of the foremost advocates of the contention that the fatal blow is inflicted by a stroke of the wing is mr. tom speedy, who deals with this subject in his natural history of sport in scotland with rod and gun (pp. 102, 103). he bases his argument first on the supposition that when the fatal blow is struck on the back of the quarry, the skin is only bruised and not torn. he writes:
“a keeper friend of mine near kingussie witnessed a grouse struck down by a peregrine, and as there was not a mark on it he sent it to me. carefully plucking it, i noted that with the exception of a bruise along the spine there was no other mark on it; yet the blow had been sufficient to cause instant death. this comports with my own observations, and it is difficult to understand how this blow could be struck by[151] these terrible talons without the skin being torn. as the heads of grouse are frequently cut off when struck by a peregrine, it is the opinion of foresters who have watched them with their glasses that it is done by the wing. falconers deny this and maintain that it is done by the hind talon. how, then, it may be asked, can this be done when there is not a scratch on the victim, but only a bruise indicating where the blow was struck?”
the answer to this argument is that there is absolutely reliable evidence to the contrary—in other words, that sometimes the skin is torn.
major radclyffe in his letter referred to above writes: “i have seen a grouse ripped open from its tail to its neck.”
captain portal says: “i have examined hundreds of game-birds killed by hawks, and have always found the marks of the two hind talons or one of them.”
sometimes, no doubt, as in the instance referred to by mr. speedy, there is a bruise along the spine and the skin is not torn, but this is no doubt to be explained, as is pointed out by a writer cited below, by the way in which a falcon shuts its feet when stooping, the hind talon on each foot[152] closing over the fore talons, thus forming a kind of keel—and the bone on the back of the grouse is strong enough to prevent more than a severe bruise.
mr. speedy continues:
“it is argued that it is impossible the bird could be killed by a blow from a hawk’s wing, as the wing would certainly be injured. i have seen a retriever stunned by a blow from the wing of a swan, and but for my being in close proximity in a boat it would certainly have been drowned. those who have put their hand into the nest of a wood-pigeon are familiar with the blow even a half-fledged bird can give with its wing. i have been struck with the fight a wounded wild goose can put up, and the blows it can inflict on a retriever with its powerful wings.”
but, with all respect, surely the blow of a large powerful bird like a swan or a goose delivered in this way is a very different thing to the blow which is delivered by a peregrine when stooping at its quarry at the terrific speed with which it then flies, and, in my opinion, the view taken by experienced falconers, such as those quoted above, that the wing would most certainly be broken or badly injured, is the correct one.
[153]
finally, mr. speedy says:
“when a falcon strikes a bird in the air there is a loud ‘clap’ which i have heard several hundred yards away. this would not be the case if struck by the talons.”
i venture to think, however, that the argument based on the sound caused by the impact carries mr. speedy’s contention no further. would not this loud “clap” naturally be expected if the peregrine struck its quarry in the manner described?
in conclusion, then, what is the correct view of the matter? in the words of a recent writer:[29] “the truth ... seems to be that the falcon shuts its feet when stooping, the hind talon on each foot closing over the fore talons, thus forming a kind of keel. when the falcon strikes a grouse, the latter may be partially or wholly decapitated, or it may be severely bruised on the back. the neck of a grouse is soft, and the ‘keel’ of a peregrine’s hind talon is sufficiently sharp to cut it, whereas on the back of a grouse the bone is strong enough to prevent more than a severe bruise. the shock of impact must,[154] however, be tremendous, for a bird so struck hurtles to the ground at once. when the peregrine strikes, one hears a loud ‘clap’ audible at a considerable distance, and it is this noise that has given rise to the theory that the falcon strikes with its wing. if the peregrine used the latter, however, in all probability the wing would be seriously damaged or broken, because the pace at which a falcon stoops must be seen to be believed.”
there is another interesting fact in regard to this fine bird which is not generally known. there seems little doubt that he deserves the description which has more than once been applied to him—that of a wanton murderer. thus charles st. john in his classic work, wild sports and natural history of the highlands, says (chap. x.): “the peregrine seems often to strike down birds for his amusement, and i have seen one knock down and kill two rooks, who were unlucky enough to cross his flight, without taking the trouble to look at them after they fell.”
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