THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
and then by Gould. It has since been shown that Vieiilot, prior to 
Temminck, had named the bird Aquila albirostris, and only very recently I 
have noted that Dumont in 1817 had published Rerun’s name (Austral 
Avian Rec., Vol. II., p. 90, Sept. 1914). Vieillot’s description is good and 
should not have been overlooked, though this cannot be written of Latham’s 
account. 
In 1802, a beautiful figure was published in the second volume of 
Collins’ Account Eng. Col., New South Wales, opp. p. 288, under the title : 
“ Mountain Eagle of New South Wales will kill a large sized Kangaroo. 
Published May 1, 1802.” In the text, p. 287, we read under date March, 1800: 
“ Captain Waterhouse, in an excursion which he made to the north arm of 
Broken Bay, wounded and secured a bird of a species never seen before in 
New South Wales, at least by any of the colonists. It was a large eagle, 
which gave proof of his strength by driving his talons through a man’s foot 
while lying at the bottom of the boat with his legs tied together. It 
stood about three feet in height, and during the ten days that it lived 
was remarkable for refusing to be fed by any but one particular 
person. Among the natives it was an object of wonder and fear, as they 
could never be prevailed upon to go near it. They asserted that it would 
carry off a middling-sized kangooroo. Captain Waterhouse hoped to have 
brought it to England, but it was one morning found to have divided 
the strands of a rope with which it was fastened and escaped. A drawing 
had been made of it while in our hands, of which the annexed engraving 
is a copy.” 
The same year, but certainly later, as the plates are dated Nov. and 
Dec., a “ History of New South Wales,” by G. Barrington, was published. 
(1802 is the date on the title-page, but I now see one plate is dated 
Jan. 21, 1803). A good account of the Natural History is given, which 
is certainly compiled from the same sources as all the previous accounts 
— as Phillips, White and Collins — and not much new is given in the text 
but which is characterised by novel illustrations. Opposite p. 441 a plate 
of the Mountain Eagle appears, wherein the bird is seen standing (with 
outstretched wings) upon a Dingo, tearing the flesh, the tail being shown 
nearly even. The account given on p. 441 may be here reproduced, as 
it does not seem to have been previously noticed. 
“ The Mountain Eagle of New South Wales is a fine majestic bird, 
which stands three feet high on the groimd. The colour of its feathers are 
brown : the feet pale yellow, and the talons, which it uses with the greatest 
force *, are black ; the beak is of a yellowish horn colour, and the crest, 
which is constituted by a few feathers, has a yellow sandy appearance. 
98 
