THE EAGLE-LIKE SUBFAMILY 1997 



The largest of the three is the last-named species, of which the total length is 

 thirty-eight inches. The figured species occupies a middle position in point of size, 

 measuring thirty-six inches in length. L,ike the others, it has the greater portion 

 of the metatarsus naked, and a powerful and strongly-curved beak. In this species 

 the crest is very long and pointed, but varies considerably according to the age of 

 the bird. The Prince of Wied describes the head, neck, breast, abdomen, rump, 

 and thighs as being white, faintly spotted here and there with yellow; the feathers 

 of the back, shoulders, and wing coverts mottled with reddish gray; the quills black- 

 ish brown, with small, reddish gray oblique bars; and the tail similarly colored, but 

 with the bars horizontal. This stage, which is the one represented in our illustra- 

 tion, is, however, according to Von Penzeln, the plumage of the immature bird. 

 The adult is much darker, having the head and throat grayish brown, most of 

 the upper parts dark blackish brown shaded and mottled with ashy, the upper tail 

 coverts with white tips and irregular white barrings, the chest dark colored, and 

 the remainder of the under parts white. The dark tail, according to Dr. Sharpe, is 

 tipped with whitish brown and crossed with only three pale bars, above which it has 

 some whitish markings. But little is known of the mode of life of this handsome 

 bird, which occurs both in the forest near the coasts, and the wooded districts of the 

 plains, but more commonly on the banks of the rivers. During its periods of repose 

 this eagle will sit for hours on the summit of some dead tree, uttering at intervals 

 its peculiarly loud and harsh cry. Its prey comprises mammals and birds, and its 

 nest is said to be generally built in a hollow tree. More is known concerning the 

 true harpy eagle, which is the most powerful bird of prey in North America. It 

 breeds in Southern Mexico, and then to Brazil and Bolivia. Known to the Span- 

 iards as the king eagle, and to the Aztecs as the winged wolf, the harpy attacks and 

 kills animals of more than thrice its own size and weight. Turkeys, fawns, foxes, 

 badgers, peccaries, sloths, and monkeys alike fall victims to this fell destroyer. In 

 regions which it frequents the harpy may be seen sailing in the early morning high 

 up in the clear sky, or wheeling in circles over the forests; while from March to June 

 the tree tops resound with the loud cries of its young. The nest, it is stated, may 

 be situated either in a lofty tree or on the ledge of a cliff. 



The whole of the three genera above mentioned are characterized by 

 the shortness of the interval between the tips of the primary and sec- 

 ondary quills, which is less than the length of the metatarsus. Three other genera 

 from South and Central America, viz., Urobitinga, Buteogallus, and Busarellus, 

 comprise much smaller buzzard-like birds, agreeing with the harpies in the above- 

 mentioned characteristic but differing by the absence of crests. The last two genera 

 have but a single species each, but there are several kinds of urobitingas, two of 

 which range northward into the south of Mexico. 



"The buzzard," writes Gilbert White, " is a dastardly bird, and 

 beaten not only by the raven, but even by the carrion crow;" and no 

 better description could be given of the pusillanimous disposition of the birds of the 

 genus Buteo. The buzzards are the typical representatives of the subfamily under 

 consideration, and belong to that section in which the interval between the tips of 

 the primary and secondary quills equals or exceeds the length of the metatarsus. 



