Golden Eagle
World Eagle Day
Mar 18
Other Scottish Country Dances for this Day
Today's Musings, History & Folklore
The Golden Eagle
A day for raising awareness for protecting the eagle, Eagle Day promotes educational outreach and assistance in recovery of their natural environments.
The golden eagle breeds primarily in Scotland, where there are open, treeless areas down to sea level. Adult golden eagles are famous for the light golden brown colouring on their head, neck and shoulders. Their bodies are mostly a medium brown colour with lighter mottling. Golden eagles are rarely heard and adults generally only call when agitated. Hungry young birds make a loud 'yip-yip' sound that can be heard from some distance.
The white-tailed eagle, found in Shetland and parts of mainland Scotland has the Gaelic name of "Iolaire suile na grein," 'the eagle with the sunlit eye' for its striking, pale eyes.
Ancient peoples in Scotland would leave their dead in the open to be scavenged by birds of prey such as eagles.
"Eagle", in golf refers to a score of two under par for a given hole, and is an extension of the bird theme of good scores, such as "birdie."
Click the golden eagle for some Celtic eagle lore. And for our featured eagles, click here for the Double Eagle cocktail recipe.
To see the dance performed by RSCDS Edinburgh, at the City Chambers, Edinburgh, 2018, scroll down.
