146 FACULTIES OF BIRDS. 



to excite surprise and astonishment at the expense of 

 truth, or to attempt to elevate and embellish his 

 subject beyond the plain realities of nature. On this 

 account, he cannot assent to the assertion, however 

 eloquently made, in the celebrated parallel drawn by 

 the French naturalists between the lion and the eagle, 

 namely, that the eagle like the lion ' disdains the pos- 

 session of that property which is not the fruit of his 

 own industry, and rejects with contempt the prey 

 which is not procured by his own exertions ;' since 

 the very reverse of this is the case in the conduct of 

 the bald and the sea-eagle, who, during the summer 

 months, are the constant robbers or plunderers of the 

 osprey or fish-hawk, by whose industry alone both 

 are usually fed. Nor that, ' though famished for want 

 of prey, he disdains to feed on carrion,' since we 

 have ourselves seen the bald eagle, while seated on 

 the dead carcass of a horse, keep a whole flock of 

 vultures at a respectful distance, until he had fully 

 sated his own appetite*." 



There can be no question, moreover, respecting 

 the general accuracy of Aristotle's remark, that some 

 birds of prey prefer striking their prey on the wing, 

 others to pounce upon birds at roost or other animals 

 on the ground, circumstances which give some colour 

 to the distinctions of noble and ignoble. M. Belon 

 tells us that it is a common amusement with the Turks 

 at Constantinople to toss from the tops of the houses 

 pieces of bullock's lungs, which were pounced upon 

 with such velocity and unerring aim by kites that 

 they rarely fell to the ground f. 



The hen harrier, or ring-tail hawk (Circus pygar- 

 gus, FLEMING), appears to have similar manners to 

 the falcons observed by M. Belon. Bingley tells us 



* Amer. Ornithol. vii. 1 7. 

 t Observ. dans ses Voy. en Orient. 4to. 1553. 



