Gould commented 'As civilization advances, this noble bird, the lord of our ancient forests, will either become extirpated or driven to seek an asylum in the parts of the country where nature still preserves a savage aspect.' Gould pleaded that landowners should protect the remaining Golden Eagles and quoted figures revealing that many were being destroyed.

Day by day, during the spring of 1862, Wolf watched and drew the Golden Eagle eyries at Black Mount, Glencoe, on the estate of the Marquis of Breadalbane. Two tiny downy eaglets in a large bulky nest perched on a crag can be seen in the background of the illustration. The foreground adult, three or four years old, is about one-third life-size.

DISTRIBUTION: Throughout Europe, north Africa, Asia and North America. Intense persecution in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries eliminated Golden Eagles from England, Wales and Ireland and reduced numbers in Scotland. There has been a steady increase in Scotland since the first World War and there are now over 400 pairs