Jan., i?o6[ THE GOLDEN EAGLE 9 we started to climb the tree. The eggs had hatched, but the eaglets were small and weak, only about nine days old. Exactly sixteen days after our second visit to the eagle's nest, we were in the big sycamore again. By that time, April 28, the eaglets had grown from the size of an egg to the size of an ordinary chicken, but they had not begun to change from the color of snowy white. The fledglings resented our company when we climbed into the nest and planted the camera right beside them. At that time they were not strong enough to offer effective resistance; they could not help being imposed upon. They endured silently, laying up wrath for the days of strength when they could strike a blow that would bring the blood. The growth of the eaglets was very slow. Fifteen days after our last visit, ou May t 3 we found that the stiff, black feathers were beginning to push their way through the thick coat of white down, and the young eagles took on a mot- tled appearance. Ve concluded that the golden eagle is a valuable inhabitant of any cattle A SAVAGE GFIEETING; 40 DAYS OLD Copyrighted b_r Fi?tley and Jgohlman rauge or farnfing community. His food consists almost entirely of the ground squirrels that are so abundaut thru the Califoruia hills. On our second trip, wheu we looked into the nest, we found the remains of the bodies of four squirrels lying on its rim. At each visit we examined the food remaius aud the pellets about the nest, and we are sure that a very large proportion of the eagles' food- supply consisted of squirrels. The hills in many places were perforated with their burrows and the eagles seemed to have regular watch-towers on the high rocks about, from which they swooped dowu on their quarry. If it were not for the birds of prey about these hilly districts, some of the places would surely be over- run with harmful rodents. I am satisfied that this family of eagles regularly cousumed au average ot six ground squirrels a day during the period of nesting, and. very likely, more than that. Those young, growing eagles required a fair amount of nourishment each day for about three months, and they were well supplied, to say nothing of what
