EAGLES 333 



justification. Even in captivity, with the inevit- 

 able accompaniment of bedraggled feathers pro- 

 duced by its narrow quarters, this poor semblance 

 nevertheless possessed some small remnants of 

 its former majestic appearance. Feathered all 

 the way down to the talons, the prevaiUng hue of 

 these birds is a dark, slaty grey, turning to pale 

 grey on the breast. The head, surmounted by its 

 short, gay plume, is dull black, whilst the fierce- 

 looking hooked beak is of dark yellow. These 

 birds prey upon all sorts of reptiles and small 

 mammals. With a wing-spread of about 6 feet, 

 they are enabled to capture and fly off with 

 considerable weights. 



The bateleur eagle is easily identified as he 

 soars aloft in the clear African sky. Owing to his 

 practically imperceptible tail his form, with wings 

 outstretched, is almost exactly that of a new 

 moon. His colour scheme is much gayer than is 

 that of the species just referred to, being dull 

 black, reddish chestnut on back and wing covers, 

 whilst the sides of the face, beak, and legs are of 

 brightest red. The head is black, and the ap- 

 pearance of the bold eyes and terrible beak is the 

 last word of untamable ferocity. 



The habits of the bateleur are said to be far 

 less predatory than those of the other African 

 eagles ; in fact it is confidently and authoritatively 

 stated that his method of maintenance is neither 

 more nor less than bare-faced scavenging. In any 

 case he is a splendid creature, and said, in cap- 

 tivity, to grow extraordinarily tame. 



There are, in addition to the foregoing, many 



