144 Zoological Society. 



better part of valour is discretion, causes them to fly off to some 

 neighbouring tree and set up a glorious "lo Paean" of Kiskadee, 

 Kis-kis-kiskadee over their victory. I have seen this Hawk capture 

 snakes more than once and fly ofl' to its perch to devour the prey. 

 Another species, 



The Crab-eater, 



Frequents the courida trees, from whence it sights its prey on the 

 mud-flat, namely crabs. It pounces upon any unwary crab that quits 

 its hole, and, unlike the Snake-eater, consumes it on the spot where 

 it takes it, and then returns to its look-out. They build a nest of 

 sticks in the courida bush. Another species. 



The Insect-eater, 



Is the most ignoble of all our Hawks. Its feet and claws are sin- 

 gularly weak, and it feeds almost exclusively on beetles and other 

 insects, which it captures on the courida bush, which it frequents. I 

 have opened them and taken a large quantity of the fragments of in- 

 sects out of the stomach. 



The Crested and Booted Eagle. 



A live specimen of this beautiful bird was brought to me as a 

 present by an old servant who had left me a long time, and had been 

 living far up the Demerary river. He unfortunately knew nothing 

 of its habits, and told me that it was the only one he had seen. I 

 have never seen one in the wild state. This bird lived for some days, 

 but would not eat. Apparently, the beautiful semicircular crest of 

 black feathers with a white central star was only elevated when the 

 bird was excited. This however was almost constantly the case, 

 from extreme wildness. The cry was a loud, plaintive, diminishing 

 ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. This bird certainly has most of the characters 

 of a true Eagle. It is heavy and robust, with a beak somewhat 

 straight at base ; tarsi plumed to the toes ; wings moderately long, 

 with the fourth feather the longest ; and the general air is that of an 

 Eagle. 



There are only three Falcons that I have seen here ; the first two 

 true Falcons, with the typical characters and habits marked, and the 

 third with all the typical characters (excepting the two-toothed beak) 

 and the habits wanting. The first two are little Falcons, namely. 



The Chestnut-bellied Falcon, and 



The White mottle-bellied Falcon. 



They are both birds that strike their prey on the wing, and are 

 capable of killing birds nearly as large as themselves. The yellow- 

 bellied species may be seen very busy at dusk, hunting bats with 

 amazing swiftness. I have never been able to find either of their 

 nests. 



The Two-toothed Baridi. 



A bird with precisely similar habits to the next three birds. Like 

 them, the Baridi never strikes, but confines himself to pillaging 



