"I think it is possible to tell, by the flight of and , whether they are seeking to escape their hereditary enemy, the eagle, or their more recent but much more deadly enemy, man. As a general rule, when the eagle is the cause of disturbance the grouse fly at a greater height above ground and their flight is more precipitate and aimless than when man is the cause of alarm. It is of interest to realise how strong is the hereditary instinct of dread felt towards the eagle, and in obedience to this instinct grouse will cheerfully face in great numbers a whole line of guns which must spell death to them, rather than approach the locality where the eagle has been spied. I was travelling on the recently, from to , and just at the county march, where the line borders on the 1500 feet level, I saw a grouse cross the line above the train, flying high and with a distinctive rocking flight. I was almost certain that an eagle, and not the Highland express, was the cause of alarm, and sure enough, on looking out of the opposite window, I saw the enemy there sailing far off above the top of a neighbouring hill."
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University of Oxford alumniNon-fiction authors from ScotlandNaturalists from ScotlandPhotographers from Scotland
Original Language: English
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|year=1915}} (quote from pp. 9–10; 300 pages; illustrated; text at archive.org)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Seton_Gordon
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Seton Gordon
, (11 April 1886 – March 1977) was a Scottish , photographer, , and author.
9 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Seton Gordon →
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