36 
YERTEBRATA. 
THE HARPX EAGLE. 
resemble those of tlie eagle ; the bill, however, is more sharply hooked, and the talons are shorter. 
It is brown above and white beneath, spotted with pale brown. It feeds on lizards, frogs, and 
serpents, but also carries off hens, ducks, and young turkeys. Buffon raised one of this species, 
which was rather amiable in its manners, but would never drink when under observation, though 
it drank freely when it had cautiously looked about, and became satisfied that it was alone. The 
reason of this seemed to be that in drinking it plunged its head entirely in the water, and there- 
fore took care not to be surprised, by first assuring itself that no enemy was near. 
The Crowned Eagle, 0. coronatus^ is of Brazil, and is said to be the only bird that ventures 
to feed on skunks. It devours the armadillos, breaking their shells by carrying them high in air 
and letting them fall upon the earth. In default of fresh meat — flesh or fowl — it dines heartily 
on carrion. 
Other species are the Black-breasted Eagle, 0. thoracicus ; the Banded Falcon, C.fasczola- 
tus; the Bacha Eagle, C. Bacha; the Spotted Bacha, C. holospilus ; and the Cheela Eagle, 
C. Cheela. 
Genus MORPHNUS : Morphnus^ includes several species, called Eagle-Hawks, mostly Amer- 
ican. Harris's Buzzard, M. unicinctus, is twenty-two to twenty-four inches long ; the legs are 
long, the wings short, the tail long, the feet robust ; the shoulders and thighs are red ; the tail 
white at its base and tipped with white ; the other upper parts deep umber brown ; beneath, 
light brown. It is slow and heavy in its flight, and sluggish in its habits. It is rare in the Mid- 
dle States, but common at the South; in Texas and Mexico abundant. 
The South American species are the Guiana Goshawk, M. Guianensis ; and the Rufous- 
headed Falcon, M. meridionalis. The M. occipitalis and M. albescens are African species. 
