BIKUS. 53 



fng forwards ; and by some feathers on the head that stand out, 

 resembling horns. 



The screech-owl by the feathers at the base of the bill stand- 

 ing forward, and being without horns. A description of one in 

 each kind, will serve for all the rest. 



CHAP. IL 



THE EAGLE AND ITS AFFINITIES. 



The Golden Eagle is the largest and the noblest of all those 

 birds that have received the name of eagle. It weighs above 

 twelve pounds. Its length is three feet ; the extent of its 

 wings, seven feet four inches ; the bill is three inches long, and 

 of a deep blue colour ; and the eye of a hazel colour. The sight 

 and sense of smelling, are very acute. The head and neck are 

 clothed with narrow sharp-pointed feathers, and of a deep 

 brown colour, bordered with tawny; but those on the crown 

 of the head, in very old birds, turn grey. The whole body, above 

 as well as beneath, is of a dark brown ; and the feathers of the 

 back are finely clouded with a deeper shade of the same. The 

 wings, when clothed, reach to the end of the tail. The quill- 

 feathers are of a chocolate colour, the shafts white. The tail 

 is of a deep brown, irregularly barred and blotched with an ob- 

 scure ash-colour, and usually white at the roots of the feathers. 

 The legs are yellow, short, and very strong, being three inches 

 in circumference, and feathered to the very feet. The toes are 

 covered with large scales, and armed with the most formida- 

 ble claws, the middle of which are two inches long. 



In the rear of this terrible bird follow the ring-tailed eagle, the 

 common eagle, the bald eagle, the whi(e eagle, the hough-fooled 

 eagle, the erne, the black eagle, the osprey, the sea eagle, and the 

 crowned eagle. These, and others that might be added, form 

 ditterent shades in this fierce family ; but have all the same ra- 

 pacity, the same general form, the same habits, and the same 

 manner of bringing up their young. 



In general, these birds are found in mountainous and ill- 



e3 



