1148 Marvels of the Universe 
Wis08, JBUNIRIEN, IDAGILIS 
BY SIR HARRY JOHNSTON, G.C.M.G. 
BicGEst in body of all existing birds of prey (and perhaps as large as the extinct Harpagornis 
of New Zealand) is the magnificent Harpy Eagle of Tropical America. The Condor Vulture may 
measure more across its wings, but its body is not so big as that of the Harpy. The largest and finest 
specimen I have ever seen is 
in the collection of the Natural 
History Museum at Stuttgart, 
and a photograph of this bird 
is given here. The Harpy 
Eagles are mainly represented 
in South America, but they 
have a relation in New 
Guinea. They are nearly all 
of them very big birds of 
prey, with a development of 
claws larger even than that 
seen in the true Eagles. An 
outlying relation is the extra- 
ordinary Monkey-eating Eagle 
of the Philippine Islands, and 
another member of the group 
may have been that monstrous 
bird of prey, Harpagornis, once 
inhabiting New Zealand. The 
food of the Harpy Eagles 
in Tropical America consists 
mainly of beasts—monkeys, 
squirrels, large rodents, the 
fawns of deer, wild dogs, rac- 
coons, and the cubs of pumas 
and jaguars (when they can be 
seized in the absence of the 
parent). I have seen an Afri- 
can ally of the Harpy Eagle 
kill a strong, full-grown cat in 
an instant by a lightning dart 
Photoby) aE = [W.S. Berridge, v.zs. Of One powerful leg and the 
DRS asia iaee teat isaac eo instantaneous driving of the 
This extraordinary bird, whose food largely consists of monkeys, is considered by 
some to have had its facial expression modified by its association with its prey, until long, curved, sharp claws into 
it has come to have a very monkeyish appearance. the cat’s heart. It has been 
several times reported by travellers that the Harpy Eagles will snatch up, kill, and eat the babies 
of the Amerindian natives, 1f these are accidentally exposed by the mother. 
Yet these magnificent birds are not entirely recalcitrant under kindly treatment, but will get 
to know their keepers and allow themselves to be handled without striking out with beak or 
talon. Asa matter of fact, their claws are far more terrible weapons than their beaks. When a 
Harpy Eagle is wounded or captive and feels itself to be at bay, it turns over on its back, with its 
clawed feet in the air, and with these it fences. 
