. A history of the birds of Europe, not observed in the British Isles . ccounted for by the fact as statedby Temminck, that these marks are more or less visibleaccording to age. 58 Rapaces—^. Genus—Falco. (Linnaeus.)Sub-genus—Aqtjila. (Brisson.) Sub-generic Characters.—Beak strong, not bending suddenlyfrom its base; feet strong and sinewy; tarsi naked or coveredwitb feathers; toes strong, and armed with powerful andmuch-curved claws. Wings long; the first, second, and thirdquill feathers the shortest, the first short, the fourth and fifththe longest.—Temminck. IMPEEIAL EAGLE. F
. A history of the birds of Europe, not observed in the British Isles . ccounted for by the fact as statedby Temminck, that these marks are more or less visibleaccording to age. 58 Rapaces—^. Genus—Falco. (Linnaeus.)Sub-genus—Aqtjila. (Brisson.) Sub-generic Characters.—Beak strong, not bending suddenlyfrom its base; feet strong and sinewy; tarsi naked or coveredwitb feathers; toes strong, and armed with powerful andmuch-curved claws. Wings long; the first, second, and thirdquill feathers the shortest, the first short, the fourth and fifththe longest.—Temminck. IMPEEIAL EAGLE. Falco Imperialis. Falco Imperialis, Temminck. Bechstein. Aquila Imperialis, Cuvier. Gould. Schlegel. heliaca, Savigny. Bonapaete. mogilinilc, Gmelin. Latham. Gray. Aigle de Thebes, Of the French. Specific characters.—Five scales on the last joint of the middletoe; only three or four, according to age, on the others. Someof the scapularies white, or tipped with white. Measurement.—Length of adult male two feet six of adult female three JLE. IMPERIAL EAGLE. 59 The Eagles form M. Temmincks second division ofthe Falconidce, the typical Falcons or noble birds oiprey being the first. The separation of this family intotwo classes—the noble and ignoble birds of prey—had its origin in the pastime of Falconry. A higherprinciple, however, that arising from structure, especiallyin the beak and wings, and a greater amount of in-telligence, places the Falcons, according to the strictrules which guided men like Temminck and Cuvier,before the larger and more powerful Eagles. The Eagles, particularly the large species, are fromfive to six years in arriving at their perfect vision is very acute, and they are provided witha peculiar membrane, by the assistance of which theycan see against the sun. Their nest, termed an eyrie,is generally placed among inaccessible rocks. Theymostly prey upon small live mammals and birds,—somefeed upon fish and
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1859
