562 



ORNITHOLOGY. 



Raptores. It lives in pairs, flies rapidly, and preys on birds and small 

 *""" ""v— -' quadrupeds, as well as on insects and reptiles. The fe- 

 male is said to build upen the ground when in the pampas, 

 and on trees when located in wooded countries. This ac- 

 commodating habit is known to prevail among many other 

 birds. 



The three preceding genera, which some regard as form- 

 ing the tribe of Caracaras, are all native to the new world, 

 and may be said to form a link with the vultures, both in 

 regard to the bareness of the face, and their alleged ten- 

 dency to prey on carrion. 



We now proceed to the tribe of eagles, of which the 

 bill is very robust, comparatively straight at its basal and 

 middle portion, and suddenly curved at the extremity. It 

 includes the species most celebrated for their strength and 

 courage. Their strong limbs, curved talons, and broad ex- 

 pansive wings, enable them to carry off well-grown lambs, 

 and other bulky prey. They are therefore dreaded by 

 shepherds and such pastoral people, as robbers of the first 

 rank, and a high premium is placed upon their heads ac- 

 cordingly. 



In the genus Aquila properly so called, the bill is 

 shorter than the head, straight, curved at the tip, the edge 

 of the upper mandible with a slight festoon; the nostrils 

 are oblong and oblique ; the cere haired ; the tarsi short, 

 and covered with feathers. The well-known golden eagle 

 (A. chryscetos) affords a characteristic example. This fine 

 British species is widely spread over Europe and America. 

 In our own country it builds on the ledges of mountain 

 precipices — on the Continent its nest is frequently found 

 in forests ; for example, in that of Fontainebleau. It is com- 

 mon in the northern and central parts of Europe, but rarer 

 in the south. It is, however well known in Italy. We 

 have seen it sailing over the deep basin of the vale of 

 D'Uomo d'Ossola, and high above the highest snowy peaks 

 which glitter around the majestic passes of the Simplon. 

 In America it breeds among the subalpine districts which 

 skirt the Rocky Mountains, being seldom seen farther east- 

 ward. It is regarded by the aborigines as an emblem of 

 strength and courage, and the Indian warrior as well as the 

 highland chieftain glories in his eagle plume. These birds 

 sometimes soar to a vast height, but they seem to do so 

 rather as a kind of sporting exercise, than with a view to 

 search for prey. When employed in hunting, they keep 

 far nearer the earth, sweeping up the valleys, and skirting 

 the sides of heath-covered mountains. The golden eagle 

 is becoming rarer in Scotland every year. Many ancient 

 eyries are pointed out to travellers by gray-haired shep- 

 herds, where the bird itself is now no longer known, and in 

 no lengthened period we may expect its extirpation. Se- 

 veral other kinds of feather-footed eagles are known to 

 naturalists, such as the Aquila imperialis, a common Egyp- 

 tian species, not unfrequent in the eastern countries of Eu- 

 rope, — and the Aquila Bonelli, a recent acquisition, native 

 to the mountains of Sardinia, and no doubt inhabiting other 

 alpine lands. Aquila fucosus is a New Holland species, 

 very common near Port Jackson, and remarkable for its 

 fine wedge-shaped tail. 



In the genus Hali^etus, or sea-eagle, the bill is nearly 

 as long as the head, and the tarsi are bare of feathers, ex- 

 cept at the top. Their habits resemble those of the eagles 

 proper, but they prey more on fish, and will feed more rea- 

 dily on tainted flesh. Species occur in Europe, Asia, Africa, 

 America, and Australia. Our own white-tailed eagle (H. 

 albicilla, Plate CCCLXXXVIII. fig. 8) affords a good ex- 

 ample. " On observing a person walking near their nests," 



says Mr Macgillivray, " they fly around him at a respect- Raptores. 

 fill distance, sailing with outstretched wings, occasionally -— ^v^— * 

 uttering a savage scream of anger, and allowing their legs 

 to dangle, with outspread talons, as if to intimidate him. 

 I have observed them thus occupied, when on the edge of 

 a precipice five hundred feet high, with a very steep slope 

 above me, bounded by rocks, and from which I could not 

 have made my escape had the birds been resolute. Al- 

 though on such occasions they are in general extremely 

 cautious, notwithstanding their manifest anxiety for the 

 safety of their young, yet I once saw an eagle come within 

 an hundred yards, when it was brought down with buck- 

 shot by a friend whom I had accompanied to the place." 1 

 The same writer observes, that he has never heard of the 

 sea-eagle attacking those employed in robbing its nest; but 

 that he has been credibly informed of its having attempt- 

 ed to molest individuals whom it chanced to find among 

 its native crags, in perilous places. In the Hebrides it is 

 itself frequently assailed by the skua-gull ; and we have 

 ourselves more than once seen it attacked by the raven. 



In our present group are many other species, such as 

 the beautiful Haliatus hucogaster of New Holland, and 

 the bald or white-headed eagle of America, H. leucocepha- 

 lus. The latter is often seen sailing through and around 

 the gigantic column of spray which rises from that " hell 

 of waters," the cataract of Niagara. Though a bird of 

 powerful wing, he seems to have fallen somehow into lazy 

 habits, or at least prefers the produce of others' labours to 

 his own. " Elevated," says Wilson, " on the high, dead 

 limb of some gigantic tree, that commands a view of the 

 neighbouring shore and ocean, he seems calmly to contem- 

 plate the motions of the various feathered tribes that pur- 

 sue their busy avocations below, — the snow-white gulls 

 slowly winnowing the air, — the busy tringae coursing along 

 the sands, — trains of ducks streaming over the surface, — 

 silent and watchful cranes intent and wading, — clamorous 

 crows, — and all the winged multitudes that subsist by the 

 bounty of this vast liquid magazine of nature. High over 

 all these hovers one whose action instantly arrests his 

 whole attention. By his wide curvature of wing, and sud- 

 den suspension in air, he knows him to be the fish-hawk, 

 settling over some devoted victim of the deep. His eye 

 kindles at the sight, and balancing himself with half-open- 

 ed wings upon the branch, he watches the result. Down 

 rapid as an arrow from heaven descends the object of his 

 attention, the roar of its wings reaching the ear as it dis- 

 appears in the deep, making the surges foam around. At 

 this moment the eager looks of the eagle are all ardour ; 

 and levelling his neck for flight, he sees the fish-hawk once 

 more emerge, struggling with his prey, and mounting in 

 the air with screams of exultation. These are the signals 

 for our hero, who, launching into the air, instantly gives 

 chase, and soon gains on the fish-hawk ; each exerts his 

 utmost to mount above the other, displaying in these ren- 

 contres the most elegant and sublime aerial evolutions. 

 The unencumbered eagle rapidly advances, and is just on 

 the point of reaching his opponent, when with a sudden 

 scream, probably of despair and honest execration, the lat- 

 ter drops his fish : — the eagle poising himself for a moment, 

 as if to take a more certain aim, descends like a whirlwind, 

 snatches it in its grasp ere it reaches the water, and bears 

 his ill-gotten booty silently away into the woods." 2 When 

 forced to hunt for themselves, they often attack young 

 pigs, lambs, and sickly sheep. 



In the genus Pandion the bill is much shorter than the 

 head ; the tarsi are short and naked, covered all round with 



1 Rapacious Birds of Britain, p. 60. 



2 American Ornithology, vol. i. p. 23. We quote Professor Jameson's systematic edition, in four small volumes (Constable's Miscellany, 

 1831). The student of American Ornithology will find some valuable notes by Sir William Jardine, in another Edinburgh edition, 

 in three vols, large 8vo, 1832 



