(ii IMPERIAL EAGLE. 
E.APACES — DlURN^E. 
FALCONID^F. 
Genus Aquila. (Brisson.) 
Generic Characters. — Beak strong, not bending suddenly from its base ; feet 
strong and sinewy; tarsi naked or covered with feathers; toes strong, and 
armed with powerful and much-curved claws. Wings long; the first, second, 
and third quill feathers the shortest, the first short, the fourth and fifth the 
longest. — Temminck. 
IMPERIAL EAGLE. 
Aquila heliaca. 
Aquila imperialis, Cuvier. Gould. Schlegel. 
" heliaca, Savigny. Bonaparte. 
" mogilnik, Gmelin. Latham. Gray. 
Falco imperialis, Temminck. Bechstein. Bree, ist. ed. 
Aigle de Thebes, Of the French. 
Specific Characters. — Five scales on the last joint of the middle toe; only 
three or four, according to age, on the others. Some of the scapularies 
white, or tipped with white. 
Measurement. — Length of adult male thirty inches. Length of adult female 
about thirty-three inches. 
The Eagles form M. Temminck 's second division of the Falconidce, 
the typical Falcons or noble birds of prey being the first. The sepa- 
ration of this family into two classes — the noble and ignoble birds of 
prey — had its origin in the pastime of Falconry. A higher principle, 
however, that arising from structure, especially in the beak and wings, 
and a greater amount of intelligence, places the Falcons, according to 
the strict rules which guided men like Temminck and Cuvier, before 
the larger and more powerful Eagles. 
The Eagles, particularly the large species, are from five to six years 
in arriving at their perfect plumage. Their vision is very acute, and 
