28 



THE OOLOGIST 



Tfie ©«fo3tst« 



FOURTH PUBLICATION YEAR. 



JUNE, 1878. 



Wanted : — Numbers two and four, vol- 

 ume three of this journal. Those of our 

 readers willing to dispose of these issues, 

 please send to this office and state price. 

 None but good specimens wanted. 



Ward's Catalogues. — Those among 

 our readers especially interested in oology, 

 cannot fail to notice the advertisement of 

 Professor Ward. The magnitude of his 

 establishment of natural science at Roches- 

 ter, is a guarantee that his collections em- 

 brace specimens of birds' eggs exceedingly 

 rare and valuable to collectors. Send six 

 cents for his catalogue of North American 



Our correspondents and patrons would 

 greatly facilitate the filling and forwarding 

 of orders for supplies or specimens by spec- 

 ifying the articles desired on a separate slip 

 of paper, written distinctly. We would al- 

 so request that those who require the pi-ices 

 of certain specimens or supplies, should, in 

 ordering, re-specify them in full, and there- 

 by save the time that would otherwise be 

 consumed in correspondence. 



With this number we mail our recent 

 subscribers for the plate of eggs, a copy of 



the March number containing it. Oolo- 

 gists desiring the plate should subscribe 

 early, as the number is limited, and we shall 

 be unable to supply more. 



The Harpy Eagle (Harpyia 

 destructor).* 



f|-T HE Harpy Eagle constitutes the type 

 if I of a distinct section among the birds 

 ^ of prey, a section first established by 

 Cuvier, and adopted by most naturalists. 

 The species comprehended in this genus, 

 Harpyia, are exclusively American : they 

 are characterized by the enormous thick- 

 ness and strength of the tarsi, which are 

 feathered half way down ; the wings are 

 short and rounded ; the beak is strongly 

 hooked, as are the talons also, and of for- 

 midable magnitude. Comparing the Har- 

 py witli the Golden Eagle, we observe the 

 former to be distinguished not only by 

 shorter, but by more rounded wings, by 

 tarsi far more robust, and only partially 

 feathered, by more powerful talons, and by 

 a more stout and curved beak : the physi- 

 ogaomy of the two birds is also very differ- 

 ent ; both have a stern, but glistening eye, 

 indicative of courage and ferocity ; of both 

 the port is royal, but the arrangement of 

 the feathers of the head in the Harpy in 

 some degree reminds us of the Great-eared 

 Owl. In the Golden Eagle, the head and 

 neck are covered with long, narrow point- 

 ed feathers, which fall over each other, and 

 yet preserve their distinctness of appear- 

 ance. On the contrary, the feathers of the 

 neck and sides of the head in the Harpy Ea- 

 gle are broad and rounded at their anterior 

 margin, and capable of being puffed up ; 

 while on the back of the head, the feath- 

 ers, still of the same character, but longer, 

 form a crest, which the bird can raise or 

 depress at pleasure. Tiie middle feathers 

 of this ci'est are shorter than the more lat- 

 eral, so that when erected it is lowest in the 



* Kniglifs Museum of Animated Nature : 

 Vol. I, p. 259. 



