THE HARPY EAGLE. 259 



descriptions of this bird, and so great was its rarity, 

 that ahiiost every specimen of it that occurred down 

 to the close of the last century was regarded as the 

 type of a new species, and named accordingly. This 

 abuse of nomenclature has caused mucli confusion in 

 the synonymy, which we shall endeavour to rectify in 

 the course of the present article. 



The characters of the Harpy in its adult state are so 

 simple as to excite our surprise that such mistakes 

 should have occurred with respect to it. Its usual 

 length from beak to tail is three feet and a half, or even 

 more. The entire head is covered with a thick soft 

 downy plumage of a light slaty gray. From its back 

 part arises a crest composed of numerous broad feathers, 

 increasing in length towards the middle line of the 

 head, and thus assuming a rounded form, of a dull 

 black, with the exception of a slight margin of gray on 

 the tips of the longer feathers, and a more extensive 

 tinge of the same colour on those of the sides. This 

 crest is slightly raised above the level of the feathers of 

 the back of the neck when the bird is quiet, but is 

 capable of being elevated at right angles with them 

 upon any sudden excitement. In this state, to an 

 observer placed in front of the bird, the middle feathers 

 of the crest are rarely visible, on account of their being 

 inserted much lower down than the lateral ones ; while 

 the latter converging on either side form as it were two 

 lax ear-like processes, which combine with the general 

 looseness of the plumage to give to the physiognomy of 

 the Harpy no little resemblance to that of some of the 

 owls. Below the crest the whole of the back and 

 wings, together with a broad collar encircling the fore 

 part of the neck, is black without gloss or reflection, 

 each of the feathers of the back terminating in a nar- 

 row transverse somewhat lighter streak. The under 



