Our Birds of Prev. 147 
(Crotophaga ani), the poor victim meantime crying 
out for dear life. They seem to congregate in small 
flocks of five or six, though it is not uncommon 
to come upon them singly, or in much larger flocks, 
especially in the wet weather, when they gather around 
the little bushy islands left in' the open savannahs by 
the high water, to which the various animals on which 
they feed have been driven for shelter. They are 
graceful lookingbirds while on the wing ; but they alight in 
a very awkward manner, their wings and tail being more 
or less expanded at first to prevent them from over- 
balancing as they settle on the branch. This is the first 
record of the species from the colony. 
The remaining hawks, with the exception of the osprey, 
are all referable to the group of the buzzards, in which 
the tarsus, or the generally bare joint of the leg, is, as in 
the kites, much shorter than the upper or feathered 
joint (tibia), and in which the back of this bare part 
is covered with large plates, and not with small reticu- 
lated scales as in the kites and their allies the eagles. 
The most remarkable of these is the harpy (Thras- 
aetus harpyia). This well-known bird measures more 
than three feet in length, and is more strongly built 
than any other bird of prey. The bill and feet are very 
large and thick, and the talons of the toes are quite 
dreadful-looking weapons. It is rendered still more 
fierce looking by the presence of a large erectile crest on 
the head ; and though its wings are much shorter than 
those of the eagles in proportion, yet they are strong 
and powerful organs. The colour of the adult is ashy- 
grey, much paler below and on the head — the quills, the 
tail, the top of the crest, and the fore breast, being 
S 2 
