Popular HBtrttanarg of 3nimatrtt flature. 205 



the length of the middle finger : the back, 

 wings, and tail are brown, spotted with 

 black, and variegated with whitish or yellow- 

 ish streaks ; the belly white, the feathers 

 being very soft, and equal in elegance to 

 those of an egret. It flies with majestic 

 rapidity, and such is the expanse of its wings, 

 that it sometimes strikes and kills its prey 

 with them before it touches it with its claws. 

 Its strength is such as to enable it to tear 

 in pieces in an instant the largest sheep ; 



the northern : the two birds being, in fact, 

 beautiful analogues of each other in their 

 respective habitats, and doubtless performing 

 similar offices in the great scheme of crea- 

 tion." In courage, power, rapacity, and 

 size, they are also very similar ; but the 

 lengthened and wedge-shaped form of its 

 tail gives to the Australian bird a far more 

 pleasing and elegant contour. One, but by 

 no means the largest, of those which were 

 killed by Mr. Gould, weighed nine pounds, 



and it pursues, almost indiscriminately, wild and measured six feet eight inches from tip 

 animals ; but its principal food consists of a to tip of the opposite pinions. The Wedge- 

 particular kind of monkeys, called Guaribaa, tailed Eagle frequents the interior portions 

 which it instantly kills, and devours with j of the country rather than the neighbour- 

 extraordinary voracity. Its general residence hood of the sea ; preying indiscriminately 

 is on lofty mountains, and it builds its nest on all the smaller species of Kangaroo which 

 on the highest trees, employing for their , tenant the lulls and plains ; and whose re- 

 construction the bones of the animals it has treats, from the wonderful acuteness of its 

 slaughtered, and some dry branches of trees, vision, it descries while soaring and perform- 

 which it binds together with the ends of ; ing its graceful evolutions in the air. The 

 climbers. It is said to lay two or three eggs, ] enterprising ornithologist, from whose 

 which are white, spotted with reddish-brown, splendid work we have derived the fore- 

 It is chiefly found about the borders of the ' going information, goes on to say, that " its 

 river Amazon. Many virtues are attributed ! tremendous stoop and powerful grasp carry 

 to its burnt feathers. Such is the account, inevitable destruction to its victim, be it 

 witli some slight abridgment, of the de- I ever so large and formidable. The breeders 

 scription given by Sonnini, and copied by > of sheep find in this bird an enemy which 

 Shaw ; the whole resting on the authority commits extensive ravages among their 

 of Don Laurent Alvarez Roxo de Postflitz, lambs, and consequently in its turn it is 

 Portuguese ecclesiastic at Brazil. | persecuted unrelentingly by the shepherds 



who emi " 



of the stock-owners, 



WEDGE-TAILED EAGLE. (Aguilafwota.) fi'en their Dower to e 

 This noble bird is the species of Eagle com- ud ?n Van Diemen's 



stf s^^;(sS&5 5^; 

 vs^^ystfis&s\^SaSriStv^^ 



ploy every arti- 

 flect its extirpation, 

 Land considerable 

 the accomplishment 

 He adds, that " the tracts 



WE!)OE-TAII,Er> EAGI,lt. (iQDII.A FUCOSA.) 



northern portion of Australia or any other 

 country, "in all probability it will hereafter 

 be found to extend its range as far towards 

 the tropics in the southern hemisphere as 



waging war upon it, its numbers must neces- 

 sarily be considerably diminished." In the 

 adult bird, the head, throat, and all the upper 

 and under surface of the plumage is blackish 

 brown, stained on the edges and extremities 

 of many of the wing and tail feathers with 

 pale brown ; back and sides of the neck 

 rusty -red ; irides hazel ; cere and space 

 round the eye yellowish white ; bill yel- 

 lowish horn colour, the tip black ; feet light 

 yellow. The colour of the young birds is 

 altogether lighter, and the tail is indistinctly 

 barred near the extremity. The nests are 

 of a very large size, built of sticks and 

 boughs, nearly flat, and, placed on trees 

 which from their vast height, are all but 

 inaccessible to man. It appears that al- 

 though the Wedge-tailed Eagles mostly feed 

 on living prey, they do not scruple to feast 

 on the carcase of a dead bullock when they 

 find one, or refuse to devour carrion, though 

 it may be almost in a state of putridity. 



We lately saw three specimens of this 

 very fierce Eagle in the Gardens of the Zo- 

 ological Society. Their piercing eyes and 

 enormous beaks clearly indicated their " will 

 and power," while their restlessness was a 

 convincing proof that they could ill brook 

 captivity. 



XE EAGLE. (Aquila vulturina.') 



the Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaeta) does in The general colour of this species, which in 



