of prey. The eyrie generally consists of a
mass of dry branches which cross and mutually support one another,
constituting a whole which is fairly resistant.

Even these primitive nests are not, however, without more complicated
details of interest. Thus Mr. Denis Gale wrote to Bendire concerning
the Golden Eagle in America: "Here in Colorado, in the numerous glades
running from the valleys into the foothills, high inaccessible ledges
are quite frequently met with which afford the Eagles secure sites for
their enormous nests. I know of one nest that must contain two
waggon-loads of material. It is over seven feet high, and quite six
feet wide on its upper surface. In most cases the cliff above
overhangs the site. At the end of February or the beginning of March,
the needful repairs to the nest are attended to, and the universal
branch of evergreen is laid upon the nest, seemingly for any purpose
save that of utility. This feature has been present in all the nests I
have examined myself, or have had examined by others; it would seem to
be employed as a badge of occupancy."[90] This curious feature is also
found in the nests of the Bald or American Eagle. Thus Dr. W. L. Ralph
furnished Bendire with the following observations made in Florida on
the dwellings of this, the national bird of the United States:--"The
nests are immense structures, from five to six feet in diameter, and
about the same in depth, and so strong that a man can walk around in
one without danger of breaking through; in fact, my assistant would
always get in the nest before letting the eggs down to me. They are
composed of sticks, some of which are two or three inches thick, and
are lined with marsh grass or some similar material. There is usually
a slight depression in the centre, where the eggs are placed, but the
edge of the nest extends so far beyond this that it is almost
impossible to see the bird from below, unless it has its head well up.
I have frequently found foreign substances in their nests, usually
placed on the edges of it, the object of which I cannot account for.
Often it would be a ball of grass, wet or dry, sometimes a green
branch from a pine tree, and again a piece of wood, bark, or other
material. It seemed as if they were placed in the nests as if to mark
them. From its frequent occurrence, at least, it seemed to me as if
designedly done."[91]

[90] _Life Histories of North American Birds_, 1892, p. 265.

[91] _Life Histo