28 EAGLES. 



curious fact, tliat during the season of reproduction the male bird slightly changes his 

 aspect, the yellow bill becoming orange, and retaining that tint until the Ijreeding season 

 is over. Like many rajjacious animals and birds, the Egyptian Vulture does not disdain 

 to feed on insects, and has been observed in the act of following a ploughman along his 

 furrows, picking up the worms and grubs after the fashion of the common rook. 



EAGLES. 



Next in order to the vultures, are placed the splendid birds which are so familiar to 

 us under the general title of Eagles, and which form the first group of the great family 

 FalconidjB, which includes the Eagles, falcons, and hawks. Tn common with the Vulturidas, 

 the whole of the Ealconidre are diurnal birds, and are therefore classed into one large 

 order, termed Accipitres Diurni. All the Falconidee possess powerful hooked beaks, 

 not running straight for some distance, and then suddenly curved, as in the vultures, 

 but nearly always bent in a curve from the very base. The head and neck are covered 

 with plumage, and above the eyes the feathers are so thick and projecting, that 

 they form a kind of roof or shade, under w^hich the eye is situated and effectually 

 sheltered from the bright rays of the noontide sun. There is often a tooth-like projection 

 in the upper mandible, and the nostrils are placed within the cere. The females are 

 always larger and more powerful than theii' mates, and the colour of both sexes 

 is very variable, according to the age of the itidividual. 



The preceding characteristics are common to the entire family of Falconidse, and the 

 true Eagles may be distinguished by the following additional particrdars. The beak 

 is remarkably powerful, and for a short distance from the base is nearly straight ; when 

 the mouth is open, the edges of the upper mandible are seen to be slightly wavy, 

 something like the cut edges of an indenture. The tail is of no very great length, but 

 strong and rigid, and the legs are feathered down to the toes. Upwards of forty species 

 have been placed in this genus ; but as many of them present characteristics which 

 admit of a further subdivision, they have been grouped together in certain sub-genera, 

 for the purpose of attaining greater perspicuity. 



The whole of the Falconida3 are eminently destructive birds, gaining their subsistence 

 chiefly by the chase, seldom feeding on carrion except when pressed by hunger, or when 

 the dead animal has only recently been killed. Herein they form a complete contrast 

 to the vultures, whose usual food is putrefying carrion, and fresh meat the exception. 

 Destructive though they may be, they are by no means cruel, neither do they inflict 

 needless pain on the object of their pursuit. Like the lion and other carnivorous animals, 

 they certainly carry out the great principle for which they were made, and which 

 has already been mentioned in Volume I. They are not cruel birds, for although they 

 deprive many birds and beasts of life, they effect their purpose with a single blow, 

 sweeping down upon the doomed creature with such lightning velocity, and striking 

 it so fiercely with the death-dealing talons, that in the generality of instances the victim 

 must be absolutely unconscious even of danger, and be suddenly killed while busily 

 engaged in its ordinary pursuits, without suffering the terrors of anticipation, or even 

 a single pang of bodily pain. There certainly are some instances where an animal, such 

 as a lamb, has been carried whUe still living to the Eagle's nest, and there slaughtered. 

 But we must not judge the feelings of such a victim by our own, for the lamb can form 

 no conception of the purpose for which it is conveyed through the air, and doubtlessly 

 feels nothing but astonishment at the strange journey which it is making. 



Wlien the Eagle perceives a bird on the wing, the mere shock caused by the stroke of 

 the Eagle's body is almost invariably sufficient to cause death, and the bird, should 

 it be a large one, such as a swan, for example, falls dead upon the earth without 

 even a wound. Smaller birds are carried off in the talons of their pursuers, and 



