204 



Cmtfurg) of jtahtral ^ 



able to look stedfastly on the sun, and tc 

 sustain his most dazzling rays : which alone 

 must give him a decided superiority ove 

 every other denizen of the air : this is ac 

 counted for by his being furnished with 

 double eyelids, one of which may be shut 

 while the other is open, so that the glaring 

 light of any dazzling object may be renderec 

 more easily supportable. The nest is com- 

 posed of sticks, twigs, rushes, heath, &c., anc 

 is generally placed upon the jutting ledge 

 of some inaccessible precipice ; or in forests 

 near some lofty tree. The largest species o: 

 Eagles seldom lay more than two eggs, and 

 the smallest never more than three. 



The IMPERIAL EAGLE. (Aqufla imperialis.', 

 This is the largest species of Eagle known, 

 measuring three feet and a half from the tip 

 of the bill to the end of the tail ; and to it 

 may be referred all the accounts of the an- 

 cients respecting the strength, courage, and 

 magimnimity of these birds. Its colour 

 above is rufous gray, barred with black, the 

 black prevailing most on the wings : the 

 head is strongly crested with long gray fea- 

 thers, the two middle ones being five inches 

 long ; the tail is gray, barred and spotted 

 with black, and tipped with rufous : the 

 under parts of the bird are pale cinereous, 

 very soft and downy ; the beak and cere 

 black ; the feet and legs yellow. It is a 

 native of South America, inhabiting the 

 deep recesses of the forest ; and has the re- 

 putation of being extremely bold and fero- 

 cious. 



The GOLDEN EAGLE. (Aquila chrysdeta.') 

 This bird is the largest and noblest of the 

 European Eagles ; its length being three 

 feet three inches, the extent of its wings 

 seven feet six inches, and its weight from 

 twelve to sixteen pounds. The bill is of a 

 deep lead colour, with a yellow cere ; eyes 

 large, deep sunk, and covered by a projecting 

 brow ; the irides golden hazel-colour, bright 

 and lustrous. The general colour of the 

 plumage is deep brown, mixed with tawny 

 on the head and neck, and the feathers on 

 the back being finely shaded with a darker 

 hue. The wings, when closed, reach to the 

 end of the tail ; the quill -feathers are cho- 

 colate-coloured, with white shafts ; and the 

 tail brown, the base being generally marked 

 with irregular ash-coloured bars or blotches : 

 the legs are yellow, short, and very strong, 

 being three inches in circumference, and 

 feathered to the very feet, which are covered 

 with large scales, and armed with most for- 

 midable claws. It occurs in various moun- 

 tainous parts of Europe and Asia, and also, 

 though more rarely, in America : in Ireland, 

 Scotland, and Wales, it has also occasionally 

 been found. The eyrie or nest of the Golden 

 Eagle is extremely large and strong, being 

 composed of twigs and brandies, interlaced 

 and covered by layers of rushes, heath, &c., 

 and built on the summits of rocks or lofty 

 cliffs. The female lays two or, at most, 

 three eggs, one of which is said to be gene- 

 rally un prolific. The longevity of this spe- 

 cies is said to be great indeed, instances 

 being quoted of its having survived more 

 than a century. 



The RING-TAILED EAGLE (the Falco 

 fulvus of Buffon), though described i 

 separate species by him, is no other than the 

 notiit'j bird of one and two years of the preced- 

 ing. Its colour is a deep brown, the base o: 

 the tail being distinguished by a white ring 

 the bill is of a dark horn-colour, the upper 

 mandible, which is arched, hanging over the 

 lower one about an inch, and having an 

 angle or tooth on each side ; and the feet are 

 feathered to the toes. The breast is marked 

 with white triangular spots in the middle of 

 each feather : between the bill and the eyes 

 there are spaces of bare skin of a dirty hu 

 thinly set with small black hairs : and the 

 tail, which is of an equal length with the 

 wings when closed, is white, except the tips 

 of the feathers, which are black, or dark 

 brown ; and the coverts under the tail are a 

 reddish brown or bay. The toes are very 

 thick and strong, and covered with yellowish 

 scales ; and the talons, which are black and 

 very powerful, bend almost into semicircu- 

 lar figures, and terminate in very sharp 

 points. 



" It is held," says Dr. Richardson, " by the 

 aborigines of America, as it is by almost 

 every other people, to be an emblem of might 

 and courage, and the young Indian warrior 

 glories in his Eagle plume as the most 

 honourable ornament with which he can 

 adorn himself. Its feathers are attached to 

 the calumets, or smoking pipes, used by the 

 Indians in the celebration of their solemn 

 festivals, which has obtained for it the name 

 of the Calumet Eagle. Indeed, so highly 

 are these ornaments prized, that a warrior 

 will often exchange a valuable horse for the 

 tail feathers of a single eagle." He further 

 observes that the mature British Golden 

 Eagle has a darkish brown tail and wings, 

 blackish-brown back, clouded with brown- 

 ish-black, and a paler and brighter-brown 

 head. The identity of the Ring-tails with 

 ;he Golden Eagles may now be considered 

 inquestionable, the observations of so many 

 ate ornithologists concurring to establish 

 ;he fact. And though Dr. Richardson 

 says that the Golden Eagle is seldom seen 

 'arther to the eastward than the Rocky 

 Mountains, M. Audubon asserts that he has 

 seen it on the coast of Labrador, and various 

 )ther parts of the United States. It inhabits 

 clussia, Iceland, and Germany, and is said 

 ;o occur in Northern Africa and Asia 

 Minor. It is also frequently met with in 

 Scotland, and its northern and western 

 slands ; in Ireland also, though much less 

 jfteu ; and occasionally even in the western 

 counties of England. 



The ROYAL EAGLE (Aquila regalis) is 

 i bird of great beauty, having an elegantly 

 varied plumage and commanding attitudes ; 

 n fact, the account given of it by M. Sonnini, 

 n his edition of Buffon's Natural History, 

 rould lead to the belief that it is much 

 arger and more ferocious than any one of 

 which we have a knowledge. His descrip- 

 ion of it is to this effect : The head is large, 

 and furnished with a crest in form of a 

 iasque : the bill long ; the eyes bright and 

 >iercing ; the claws black, crooked, and of 



