288 



NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



and monkeys or foxes which in their death-struggle snap at what they mistake for the 

 throat of their captor, shut their fangs upon a mass of elastic down, which baffles 

 their efforts till the grip of the destructor closes upon their own throats. 



" The harpy can overtake the swiftest birds of the tropical woods, and in spite of 

 its size steers its way through the labyrinth of forest trees and hanging vines with 



FIG. 135. ThrasaMus harpyia, harpy-eagle. 



amazing skill, and rarely fails to rise with a pheasant, a woodcock, or a small mammal 

 in its claws, after plunging like a meteor from the clouds into the leafy maze of the 

 tierra caliente" 



When adult, its general color above is gray, while the head and neck all round, as 

 well as the entire underparts, are white, excepting the long crest feathers, and an 

 indistinct chest-band, which inclines to gray. The tail-feathers are brown, crossed 



