250 



ACCIPITRES.- 



-BIRDS.- 



-Falconid.e. 



The nest which is very large and nearly flat, is 

 placed amongst the most hiaccessible branches of trees, 

 and composed of sticks and branches. Mr. Gould was 

 unable to procure the eggs. 



THE MARTIAL EAGLE {SpizaetushelUcosus)—P\s.i<i 

 2, rtg. 6 — often called the Grifard by the French 

 writers, is a large and powerful species foimd in the 

 southern parts of Africa. It is about the size of the 

 golden eagle, of a brown colour above, with the edges 

 of the feathers pale. The lower surface is whitish, and 

 the feet are feathered do^vn to the toes. The Martial 

 eagles are generally seen in pairs in the mountainous 

 districts. They prey upon antelopes and hares, and 

 during the period of incubation, the male bird provides 

 his partner with food. They are described as exceed- 

 ingly courageous, driving all other birds of prey from 

 the locaUties which they inhabit. The cry of this bird 

 is very sharp and piercing, and may be heard when the 

 eagle has soared quite out of sight. The nest, wliich 

 is built either on the top of a high tree, or amongst the 

 steepest and most inaccessible rocks, constitutes a flat 

 platform of four or five feet in diameter, and often two 

 feet in thickness ; and so solid in its construction, that 

 it will bear the weight of a man. Its foundation is 

 composed of several stout sticks, interlaced with a 

 quantity of flexible twigs, serving to form a solid sub- 

 stratum, when the nest is made on a tree; and this is 

 surmounted by a thick mass of small twigs, moss, dry 

 leaves, roots, and reeds, which constitute the gi'eater 

 part of the nest. The surftioe of this platform is covered 

 with a layer of small fragments of dry wood, upon which 

 the eggs are laid ; and this editice, as might be expected 

 from the labour attending its construction, serves the 

 couple for several consecutive years. The eggs are 

 nearly round, of a piu'e white colour, and almost three 

 inches in diameter. 



THE HAKPY EAGLE (Thrusaetus Harpyia). The 

 preceding are some of the principal species of eagles 

 inhabiting the eastern hemisphere, and one of them, the 

 golden eagle, also extends its range into the northern 

 part of the American continent; we have now to 

 describe t\vo species which belong exclusively to South 

 America. The first of these, the Harpy eagle, is a 

 formidable bhd which inhabits the vast forests of inter- 

 tropical America, especially along the course of the 

 great rivers. It is the only species of its genus, which 

 is distinguished from the other eagles by havmg a 

 very strong beak, undulated at the margins, and very 

 gi'catly hooked at the tip ; the wings short, scarcely 

 reachmg the base of the tail, which is long; and the feet 

 very stout, the tarsi reticulated and the toes scaled in 

 front. The head in this fine bird is clothed with large 

 rounded feathers, which can be raised at pleasure to 

 fomi a sort of crest. 



This large and powerful eagle is said to prey almost 

 entirely upon Mammalia, and to have a particular pre- 

 ference for the monkeys and sloths which abomid in the 

 forests of South America. In the morning it is seen 

 flying over the forest in search of these articles of diet, 

 but it is also said to attack other quadrupeds, and even 

 tlie fawns of the South American deer are not free from 

 its attacks. According to the natives it never attacks 

 birds. Mauduit asserts that the strength of this l)ird 



is so great that it can split the skull of a man by a blow 

 with its beak, and it is certain, from M. D'Orbigny's 

 experience, that, when woimded, the Harpy eagle does 

 not hesitate to attack its human enemies. That dis- 

 tinguished traveller, when navigating the Rio Securi in 

 a canoe, saw a large specimen of the Harpy perched 

 upon one of the lower branches of a tree; he landed in 

 order to shoot it, but the soil being muddy, his Indians 

 got ashore first and wounded the bird with an arrow. 

 It flew to a short dis-tance, when it was again wounded, 

 and finally knocked on the head, until life being sup- 

 posed to be extinct, the Indians plucked out the feathers 

 of the wings, tail and head, upon which they set a high 

 value, and even stripped the bird of some of its down, 

 which they employ, as we do spiders' webs in England, 

 for stopping the bleeduig of wounds, &c. In this muti- 

 lated condition they brought the bird to the canoe, to 

 the great disgust of the enterprising voyager. What 

 followed will be best told in his own words: — " Being 

 regarded as dead, the bird," he says, " was placed in 

 the canoe in front of us ; and we did not remark that, 

 recovering from its state of insensibility, it revived 

 by degrees ; we did not perceive this until, becoming 

 furious, and no doubt longing for revenge, it threw 

 itself violently upon us, although, fortunately, it coiUd 

 only make use of one of its talons ; with this, however, 

 it pierced through my arm from one side to the other, 

 between the cubitus and the radius, and at the same 

 time tore the remainder of the arm. It also endea- 

 voured, happily ^vithout success, to pierce me with its 

 beak ; and, notwithstanding its wounds, it required two 

 people to make it let go its hold." 



THE URUBITINGA [Morphnus Uruhilinga), another 

 mhabitant of the South American continent, is found, 

 accordhig to D'Orbigny, only iu the plains, and there 

 always on the borders of lakes, rivers, and marshes. 

 It is a solitiiry bird, and rather sedentary in its habits, 

 taking up its position on the top of some dead tree, 

 where it will sit for hoirrs watching for the appear- 

 ance of its prey, which consists prmcipally of reptiles, 

 small mammalia, and dead birds. On catching sight 

 of its prey it descends upon it rapidly, and after its 

 meal returns quietly to its post. ■ It flies but little ex- 

 cept in the morning and evening, and then sometimes 

 beats about the neighbourhood of its lodging, flying 

 slowly at a considerable height. It generally sleeps 

 on the lower branches of trees. The habits of the 

 other species of the genus Morphnus, of which several 

 occur in South America, are very similar. 



THE SERPENT EAGLE {Circaetus (jallicus), called 

 the Jean-le-Blanc in France, is a small species, mea- 

 suring only about two feet and a half in length. It has 

 a large head, with a strong black beak, enveloped to 

 the base in a large bluish cere, near the margin of 

 which the nostrils are pierced; the tarsi are long, and 

 the toes short, and terminated by short and slightly 

 curved claws. The plumage of the head, throat, and 

 lower part of tlie body is white, spotted with brown ; 

 that of the upper surface is brown ; and the tail, which 

 is of a square form, is greyish-brown, banded mtli a 

 darker brown. The feet are bluish-grey. 



In Europe this bird is found pruieipally in the vast 

 pine fi rests of the north and east, but it also occurs. 



