250 



ACCIPITRES. BIRDS. FALCONID^E. 



The nest which is very large and nearly flat, is 

 placed amongst the most inaccessible branches of trees, 

 and composed of sticks and branches. Mr. Gould was 

 unable to procure the eggs. 



THE MAKTIAL EAGLE (Spizaetus bellicosus) Plate 

 2, fig. 6 often called the Gri/ard by the French 

 writers, is a large and powerful species found in the 

 southern parts of Africa. It is about the size of the 

 golden eagle, of a brown colour above, with the edges 

 of the feathers pale. The lower surface is whitish, and 

 the feet are feathered down to the toes. The Martial 

 eagles are generally seen in pairs in the mountainous 

 districts. They prey upon antelopes and hares, and 

 during the period of incubation, the male bird provides 

 his partner with food. They are described as exceed- 

 ingly courageous, driving all other birds of prey from 

 the localities which they inhabit. The cry of this bird 

 is very sharp and piercing, and may be heard when the 

 eagle has soared quite out of sight. The nest, which 

 is built either on the top of a high tree, or amongst the 

 steepest and most inaccessible rocks, constitutes a flat 

 platform of four or five feet in diameter, and often two 

 feet in thickness ; and so solid in its construction, that 

 it will bear the weight of a man. Its foundation is 

 composed of several stout sticks, interlaced with a 

 quantity of flexible twigs, serving to form a solid sub- 

 stratum, when the nest is made on a tree ; and this is 

 surmounted by a thick mass of small twigs, moss, dry 

 leaves, roots, and reeds, which constitute the greater 

 part of the nest. The surface of this platform is covered 

 with a layer of small fragments of dry wood, upon which 

 the eggs are laid ; and this edifice, as might be expected 

 from the labour attending its construction, serves the 

 couple for several consecutive years. The eggs are 

 nearly round, of a pure white colour, and almost three 

 inches in diameter. 



THE HARPY EAGLE (Thrasaetus Harpyia). The 

 preceding are some of the principal species of eagles 

 inhabiting the eastern hemisphere, and one of them, the 

 golden eagle, also extends its range into the northern 

 part of the American continent; we have now to 

 describe two species which belong exclusively to South 

 America. The first of these, the Harpy eagle, is a 

 formidable bird which inhabits the vast forests of inter- 

 tropical America, especially along the course of the 

 great rivers. It is the only species of its genus, which 

 is distinguished from the other eagles by having a 

 very strong beak, undulated at the margins, and very 

 greatly hooked at the tip; the wings short, scarcely 

 reaching the base of the tail, which is long ; and the feet 

 very stout, the tarsi reticulated and the toes scaled in 

 front. The head in this fine bird is clothed with large 

 rounded feathers, which can be raised at pleasure to 

 form a sort of crest. 



This large and powerful eagle is said to prey almost 

 entirely upon Mammalia, and to have a particular pre- 

 ference for the monkeys and sloths which abound in the 

 forests of South America. In the morning it is seen 

 flying over the forest in search of these articles of diet, 

 but it is also said to attack other quadrupeds, and even 

 the fawns of the South American deer are not free from 

 its attacks. According to the natives it never attacks 

 birds. Mauduit asserts that the strength of this bird 



is so great that it can split the skull of a man by a blow 

 with its beak, and it is certain, from M. D'Orbigny's 

 experience, that, when wounded, the Harpy eagle does 

 not hesitate to attack ita human enemies. That dis- 

 tinguished traveller, when navigating the Rio Securi in 

 a canoe, saw a large specimen of the Harpy perched 

 upon one of the lower branches of a tree ; he landed in 

 order to shoot it, but the soil being muddy, his Indians 

 got ashore first and wounded the bird with an arrow. 

 It flew to a short distance, when it was again wounded, 

 and finally knocked on the head, until life being sup- 

 posed to be extinct, the Indians plucked out the feathers 

 of the wings, tail and head, upon which they set a high 

 value, and even stripped the bird of some of its down, 

 which they employ, as we do spiders' webs in England, 

 for stopping the bleeding of wounds, &c. In this muti- 

 lated condition they brought the bird to the canoe, to 

 the great disgust of the enterprising voyager. What 

 followed will be best told in his own words: " Being 

 regarded as dead, the bird," he says, " was placed in 

 the canoe in front of us ; and we did not remark that, 

 recovering from its state of insensibility, it revived 

 by degrees ; we did not perceive this until, becoming 

 furious, and no doubt longing for revenge, it threw 

 itself violently upon us, although, fortunately, it could 

 only make use of one of its talons ; with this, however, 

 it pierced through my arm from one side to the other, 

 between the cubitus and the radius, and at the same ( 

 time tore the remainder of the arm. It also endea- 

 voured, happily without success, to pierce me with its 

 beak ; and, notwithstanding its wounds, it required two 

 people to make it let go its hold." 



THE TJRUBITINGA (Morphnus Urubitinga), another 

 inhabitant of the South American continent, is found, 

 according to D'Orbigny, only in the plains, and there 

 always on the borders of lakes, rivers, and marshes. 

 It is a solitary bird, and rather sedentary in its habits, 

 taking up its position on the top of some dead tree, 

 where it will sit for hours watching for the appear- 

 ance of its prey, which consists principally of reptiles, 

 small mammalia, and dead birds. On catching sight 

 of its prey it descends upon it rapidly, and after its 

 meal returns quietly to its post. It flies but little ex- 

 cept in the morning and evening, and then sometimes 

 beats about the neighbourhood of its lodging, flying 

 slowly at a considerable height. It generally sleeps 

 on the lower branches of trees. The habits of the 

 other species of the genus Morphnus, of which several 

 occur in South America, are very similar. 



THE SEBPENT EAGLE (Circa'etus galliciis}, called 

 the J ean-le-Blanc in France, is a small species, mea- 

 suring only about two feet and a half in length. It has 

 a large head, with a strong black beak, enveloped to 

 the base in a large bluish cere, near the margin of 

 which the nostrils are pierced; the tarsi are long, and 

 the toes short, and terminated by short and slightly 

 curved claws. The plumage of the head, throat, and 

 lower part of the body is white, spotted with brown ; 

 that of the upper surface is brown ; and the tail, which 

 is of a square form, is greyish-brown, banded with a 

 darker brown. The feet are bluish-grey. 



In Europe this bird is found principally in the vast 

 pine forests of the north and east, but it also occurs, 



