250 Accipitrbs. BIRDS. Falcokid.e. 
The nest which is very large and nearly flat, is 
placed amongst the most inaccessible branches of trees, 
and composed of sticks and branches. Mr. Gould was 
unable to procure the eggs. 
THE MAE.TIAI EAGLE {Spizaetushellicosus) — Plate 
2, fig. 6 — often called the Griff ard by the French 
writers, is a large and powerful species found in the 
southern parts of Africa. It is about the size of the 
golden eagle, of a brown colour above, with the edges 
of the feathers pale. The lower surface is whitish, and 
the feet are feathered down to the toes. The Martial 
eagles are generally seen in pairs in the mountainous 
districts. They prey upon antelopes and hares, and 
during the period of incubation, the male bird provides 
his partner with food. They are described as exceed- 
ingly courageous, driving all other birds of prey from 
the localities which they inhabit. The cry of this bird 
is verj' sharp and piercing, and may be heard when the 
eagle has soared quite out of sight. The. nest, which 
is built eitlier on the top of a high tree, or amongst the 
steepest and most inaccessible rocks, constitutes a flat 
])latform of four or five feet in diameter, and often two 
feet in thickness ; and so solid in its construction, that 
it will bear the weight of a man. Its foundation is 
composed of several stout sticks, interlaced with a 
quantity of flexible twigs, serving to form a solid sub- 
stratum, when the nest is made on a. tree ; and this is 
surmounted by a thick mass of small twigs, moss, dry 
leaves, roots, and reeds, which constitute the greater 
part of the nest. The surface of this platform is covered 
with a layer of small fragments of dry wood, upon which 
the eggs are laid ; and this edifice, as might be expected 
from the labour attending its construction, serves the 
couple for several consecutive years. The eggs are 
nearly round, of a pure white colour, and alniost three 
inches in diameter. 
THE HAKPY EAGLE {Thrasaetus Harpyia). The 
l)receding are some of the j)rincipal species of eagles 
inhabiting the eastern hemisphere, and one of them, the 
golden eagle, also extends its range into the northern 
])art of the American continent; we have now to 
describe two species which belong exclusively to South 
America. The first of these, the Harpy eagle, is a 
I'ormidable bird which inhabits the vast forests of inter- 
tropical America, especially along the course of the 
great rivers. It is the only sjjecies of its genus, which 
is distinguished from the other eagles by having a 
very strong beak, undulated at the margins, and very 
greatly hooked at the tip ; the wings short, scarcely 
reaching the base of the tail, which is long; and the feet 
veiy stout, the tarsi reticulated and the toes scaled in 
front. The Iiead in this fine bird is clothed with large 
rounded feathers, which can be raised at pleasure to 
form a sort of crest. 
This large and powerful eagle is said to prey almost 
entirely upon Mammalia, and to have a particular pre- 
I'erence for the monkeys and sloths which abound in the 
forests of South America. In tlie morning it is seen 
flying over the forest in search of these articles of diet, 
but it is also said to attack other quadrupeds, and even 
the fawns of the South American deer are not free from 
its attacks. According to the natives it never attacks 
birds. Mauduit asserts that the strength of this bird 
is so great that it can split the skull of a man by a blow 
with its beak, and it is certain, from M. D’Orbigny’s 
experience, that, when wounded, the Harpy eagle does 
not hesitate to attack its human enemies. That dis- 
tinguished traveller, when navigating the Eio Securi in 
a canoe, saw a large specimen of the Harpy perched 
upon one of the lower branches of a tree ; he landed in 
order to shoot it, but the soil being muddy, his Indians 
got ashore first and wounded the bird with an arrow. 
It flew to a short distance, when it was again wounded, 
and finally knocked on the head, until life being sup- 
posed to be extinct, the Indians plucked out the feathers 
of the wings, tail and head, upon which they set a high 
value, and even stripped the bird of some of its down, 
which they employ, as we do spiders’ webs in England, 
for stopping the bleeding of wounds, &c. In this muti- 
lated condition they brought the bird to the canoe, to 
the great disgust of the enterprising voyager. What 
followed will be best told in his own words: — “Being 
regarded as dead, the bird,” he says, “ was placed in 
the canoe in front of us ; and we did not remark that, 
recovering from its state of insensibility, it revived 
by degrees ; we did not perceive this until, becoming 
furious, and no doubt longing for revenge, it threw 
itself violently upon us, although, fortunately, it could 
only make use of one of its talons ; with this, however, 
it pierced through my arm from one side to the other, 
between the cubitus and the radius, and at the same 
time tore the remainder of the arm. It also endea- 
voured, happily wthout success, to pierce me with its 
beak ; and, notwithstanding its wounds, it required two 
people to make it let go its hold.” 
THE URUBITINGA [Morphnus Uruhitinga), another 
inhabitant of the South American continent, is found, 
according to D’Orbigny, only in the plains, and there 
always on the borders of lakes, rivers, and marshes. 
It is a solitary bird, and rather sedentary in its habits, 
taking up its position on the top of some dead tree, 
where it will sit for hours watching for the appear- 
ance of its prey, which consists principally of reptiles, 
small mammalia, and dead birds. On catching sight 
of its prey it descends upon it rapidly, and after its 
meal returns quietly to its post. It flies but little ex- 
cept in the morning and evening, and then sometimes 
beats about the neighbourhood of its lodging, flying 
slowly at a considerable height. It genei'ally sleeps 
on the lower branches of trees. The habits of the 
other species of the genus Morphnus, of which several 
occur in South America, are very similar. 
THE SERPENT EAGLE [Circaetus gallicus), called 
the Jemi-le-Blanc in France, is a small species, mea- 
suring only about two feet and a half in length. It has 
a large head, with a strong black beak, enveloped at 
the base in a large bluish cere, near the margin of 
which the nostrils are pierced; the tarsi are long, and 
tlie toes short, and terminated by short and slightly 
curved claws. The plumage of the head, throat, and 
lower part of the body is white, spotted with brown ; 
that of the upper surface is brown ; and the tail, which 
is of a square form, is greyish-brown, banded with a 
darker brown. The feet are bluish-grey. 
In Europe this bird is found prmcipally in the vast 
pine forests of the north and east, but it also occurs. 
