THE IMPERIAL EAGLE HARPY EAGLE. 47 



tbout two inches below the wing, so that he lay down upon the grass 

 without a single flutter. 



" Upon laying hold of his monstrous carcass, I was not a little sur- 

 prised at seeing my hands covered and tinged with yellow powder or 

 dust. On turning him upon his belly, and examining the feathers 

 of his back, they also produced a dust, the color of the feathers there. 

 This dust was not in small quantites ; for, upon striking the breast^ 

 the yellow powder flew in full greater quantity than from a hair- 

 diesser's powder pun . The feathers of the belly and breast which 

 were of a gold color, did not appear to have any thing extraordi- 

 nary in their formation ; but the large feathers in the shoulder and 

 wings seemed apparently to be fine tubes, which, upon pressure, 

 scattered this dust upon the finer part of the feather ; but this was 

 brown, the color of the feathers of the back. Upon the side of the 

 wing, tne ribs, or hard part of the feathers, seemed to be bare, as if 

 worn ; or, I rather think, were renewing themselves, having beforo 

 railed in their functions. 



"What is the reason of this extraordinary provision of nature, it i 

 not in my power to determine. As it is an unusual one, it is pro- 

 bably meant for a defence against the climate, in favor of birds which 

 live in those almost inaccessible heights of a country doomed, even 

 in its lowest parts, to several month's excessive rain." 



THE IMPERIAL EAGLE. 



This is the largest species of Eagle known, measuring three feet 

 and a half from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail; and to it may 

 be referred all the accounts of the ancients respecting the strength, 

 courage, and magnanimity of these birds. Its color above is rufoua 

 gray, barred with black, the black prevailing most on the wings ; the 

 head is strongly crested with long gray feathers, the two middle ones 

 being five inches long ; the tail is gray, barred and spotted with black, 

 and tipped with rufous : the under parts of the bird are pale cinereous, 

 r ery soft and downy ; the beak and cere black ; the feet and legs yel- 

 ow It is a native of South America, inhabiting the deep recesses of 

 <h< forest ; and has the reputation of being extremely bold and fere- 



THE HAEPY EAGLE. 



It has been correctly observed by Mr. Selby, that the members of 

 the aquiline division of the Raptorial order do not possess the same 

 facility of pursuing their prey upon the wing which we see in the 

 Falcons and Hawks: for though their flight is very powerful, they 

 are not capable of the rapid evolutions that attend the aerial attacks 

 of the above-named groups, in consequence of which their prey is 

 mostly pounced upon the ground. The shortness or' the wings of the 

 Harpy Eagle, when compared with those of the Golden Eagle of 

 Europe, and their rounded form and breadth, though well adapting 

 them for a continued steady flight, render them less efficient as organs 



