THE GREAT FOREST EAGLE 279 



the heroic episodes of * high life above stairs ' in the 

 jungle, and it may be hoped that when the pacification 

 of the Philippines renders it possible for Mr. Whitehead 

 to revisit the islands, he may bring back some ' field- 

 notes ' on the daily life of the new eagle. It is charac- 

 teristic of the difficulty of making such observations, 

 that though he never saw the bird on the neighbouring 

 island of Leite, he often heard its cry above the tree- 

 tops, and identified it by his experience in Samar. It is 

 also said to be found on the island of Luzon. 



Mr. Ogilvie Grant conjectures that the crowned harpy 

 eagle of tropical America is the nearest known ally of 

 the great forest eagle of the Philippines. In this con- 

 nection it is interesting to note how very little is still 

 known of this other forest eagle. Mr. Salvin, during 

 several years spent in the forests of Central America, 

 only once saw a harpy eagle. Oswald in his * Birds of 

 America ' gives perhaps the fullest account of its habits. 

 The list of its prey shows how formidable a creature it 

 is, and enables us to form some idea of the prowess of 

 the great raptor of Samar. In Mexico the harpy eagle 

 * kills fawns, sloths, full-grown foxes and badgers, 

 middle-sized pigs, and the black Sapa-jou monkey, 

 whose weight exceeds its own by more than three 

 times/ This last feat may be compared with the 

 natives' statement that the Samar eagle also lives on 

 monkeys. 



