. The bird . But observation points to adirectly opposite conclusion. Theordinary eagle attacks with eagernessthe most timid of beings, the hare;the spotted eagle assails the booted eagle has a preference forfield mice and house mice, and eatsthem so greedily that he swallowsthem without killing them. Thebald-headed eagle, or pygargo, willfrequently slay his own young, andoften drives them from the nest be-fore they can support themselves. Near Havre I have observed oneinstance of truly royal nobility, and,above all, of sobriety, in an bird, captured at sea, but whichhas falle
. The bird . But observation points to adirectly opposite conclusion. Theordinary eagle attacks with eagernessthe most timid of beings, the hare;the spotted eagle assails the booted eagle has a preference forfield mice and house mice, and eatsthem so greedily that he swallowsthem without killing them. Thebald-headed eagle, or pygargo, willfrequently slay his own young, andoften drives them from the nest be-fore they can support themselves. Near Havre I have observed oneinstance of truly royal nobility, and,above all, of sobriety, in an bird, captured at sea, but whichhas fallen into far too kindly handsin a butchers house, is so gorgedwith an abundance of food obtainedwithout fighting, that he appears toregi-et notliing. A Fal staff of aneagle, he gi-ows fat, and cares nolonger for the chase, or the plainsof heaven. If he no longer fixedlyeyes the sun, he watches the kitchen,and for a titbit allows the childrento drag him by the tail,decided by strength, the first place must not. If rank is to BIRDS OF PREY. 161 be given to the eagle, but -to the bird which figures in the Thou-sand and One Niglits under the name of Roc, the condor, the giantof gigantic mountains, the Cordilleras. It is the largest of thevultures—is, fortunately, the rarest—and the most destructive, as itfeeds only on live prey. When it meets with a large animal, it sogorges itself with meat that it is unable to stir, and may then bekilled with a few blows of a stick. To judge these species truly we must examine the eyrie of theeagle, the rude, iU-constructed platform which serves for its nest;compare this rough and clumsy work—I do not say with the delicatechef-doeuvre of a chaffinchs nest—but with the constructions ofinsects, the excavations of ants, where the industrious woikmanvaries his art to infinity, and displays a genius so singular in itsforesight and resources. The traditional esteem which man cherishes for the courage of thegreat Raptores is much diminished when w
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Keywords: ., bookauthormich, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, booksubjectbirds
