GLASS II. AVES: ORDER 1. RAPTORES. 47 



good case, but, like those among men wlio live by sharping and robbing, he is generally poor, 

 and often very lousy. Besides, he is a i-ank coward : the little kingbird, not bigger than a spar- 

 row, attacks him boldly, and drives him out of the district. He is therefore by no means a 

 proper emblem for the brave and honest Cincinnati of America, who have driven all the King- 

 birds from our countiy ; though exactly fit for that order of knights which the French call Chev- 

 aliers (T Industrie r We can, indeed, account for the taste which led to this choice, for the de- 

 scendants of those who cherish the lion as their emblem, might naturally select the eagle as theirs. 

 This, however, is only an explanation, not an excuse. Perhaps our legislators who chose the 

 eagle were rather puzzled, for we are told that among the various devices suggested at the time 

 of the discussion upon the subject in Congress, were the shad, the hog, and the turkey. It ap- 

 pears, therefore, that all things considered, in taking the eagle, which is only detestable, we escaped 

 something ridiculous, and therefore, as the world goes, may thank heaven that it is no worse. 



The Washington Sea Eagle ; Falco Washingtonii. — This bird is about forty inches in length, 

 and was discovered by Audubon in Kentucky, in 1814, and is described by him as disdaining the 

 piratical habits of the bald eagle, and as flying closer to the earth, and in wider circles. Cassin 

 says, on this subject, that he considers Audubon's description as referring to the young bird, and the 

 adult as yet unknown. He adds, " No specimen precisely corresponding with Mr. Audubon's bird, 

 has been obtained since its discovery, and it has latterly been looked upon by naturalists, especially 

 in Europe, as an unusually large specimen of the young wliite-headed eagle." The engraving of 

 a bird of this kind, on the preceding page, suggests the probable accuracy of this opinion. 



The Great Sea-Eagle, or Gray Eagle, or Cinereous Eagle, H. alhir.illa — the Orfraie of 

 Buffon ; the Falco ossifrar/us of Gmelin — is common in Europe and the high northern parts of 

 North America. Its color is an ashy-gray, lighter on the head and neck; the tail a pure white ; 

 the bill a pale yellow ; the iris a brilliant yellow. Its flight is less elevated than most other 

 eagles ; it feeds on fish, sea-birds, seals, and also on quadrupeds, and hunts by night as well as by 

 day, both on sea and land. It robs other fishing-birds inferior to itself of their prey. Such is its 

 voracity that it sometimes buries its talons in a seal bigger than itself, and, unable to withdraw 

 them, is plunged in the sea and drowned. The Greenlanders eat its flesh, and make amulets of 

 its bills and claws. This species is not found in the United States, and appears only to exist on 

 this continent very sparsely in the arctic regions. 



The Black and White Eagle, U. ar/uia, is a South American species, thought by the inhabit- 

 ants to be a hygrometer ; Avhen it is seen to circle high in the air, and heard to utter a scream, 

 it "is regarded as monitory and a sure presage of a storm. 



The PiscivoRors Eagle, IT. vocifer, and Blagrus Eagle, JI. hlar/riis, are African species, liv- 

 ing along the borders of the sea, and feeding chiefly on fish ; the Garuda Eagle or Pondicherry 

 Eagle, II. Garuda, or JI. Ponticerianus, or If. Indus, is found in India. The latter, called Little 

 Fast India Fagle by Bufton, is consecrated to Vishnu by the Brahmins. 



Genus CUNCUMA : Cuncuma .—'Y\\\%, according to the Catalogue of the British Museum, em- 

 braces Mace's Eagle, C. Macci ; the White-bellied Eagle, C. leucogastcr ; the Black and 

 White Eagle, C. melanoleucus. These species resemble those of the preceding genus. 



Genus HALIASTUR : Haliastur. — According to the British Museum Catalogue, the following 

 belong to this genus : the White-headed Rufous Eagle, H. leucosternus, and the Whistling 

 Hawk, II. sphcma-us. 



Genus HELOTARSXJS : Hclotarsus, includes the Buffoon Eagle or Short-tailed Eagle, 

 H. ecaudatus, a small species of South Africa; the plumage is black tinged with red; the tail 

 is of a bright red; the bill black; in flying it has the appearance of a bird with the tail cut off". 

 Lcvaillant gave it its name from its habit of tumbling like a buffoon in the air. 



Genus GAMPSONYX : Gampsonyx. — Under this the British Museum Catalogue arranges the 

 Falcon-like Hav^k, G. Swainsoni. 



Genus ROSTRUAIMUS : Iiosfrha7mis.—Th\s includes a single species, the Fish-hook Eagle, 

 R. hamafus, so named from the shape of the upper mandible, which bends down in the form of 

 a fish-hook. Its plumage is black, and its length seventeen inches. It is found in South America. 



Genus GYPOHIERAX : Gypohierox. — This term, signifying Vulture-Hawk, is descriptive 



