. The royal natural history. the metatarsusnaked, and a powerful and strongly-curved beak. In this species the crest is verylong and pointed, but varies considerably according to the age of the bird. ThePrince of Wied describes the head, neck, breast, abdomen, rump, and thighs asbeing white, faintly spotted here and there with yellow; the feathers of the back,shoulders, and wing-coverts mottled with reddish grey; the quills blackish brown,with small, reddish grey oblique bars; and the tail similarly coloured, but with the HARPY-EAGLES. 233 bars horizontal. This stage, which is the one represen
. The royal natural history. the metatarsusnaked, and a powerful and strongly-curved beak. In this species the crest is verylong and pointed, but varies considerably according to the age of the bird. ThePrince of Wied describes the head, neck, breast, abdomen, rump, and thighs asbeing white, faintly spotted here and there with yellow; the feathers of the back,shoulders, and wing-coverts mottled with reddish grey; the quills blackish brown,with small, reddish grey oblique bars; and the tail similarly coloured, but with the HARPY-EAGLES. 233 bars horizontal. This stage, which is the one represented in our illustration, is,however, according to Von Penzeln, the plumage of the immature bird. The adultis much darker, having the head and tliroat greyish brown, most of the upper-partsdark blackish brown shaded and mottled with ashy, the upper tail-coverts withwhite tips and irregular white barrings, the chest dark coloured, and the remainderof the under-parts white. The dark tail, according to Dr. Sharpe, is tipped with. GUIANAN HARPY-EAGLE (i Uat. siZC). whitish brown and crossed with only three pale bars, above wliich it has somewhitish markings. But little is known of the mode of life of this handsome bird,which occurs both in the forest near the coasts, and the wooded districts of theplains, but more commonly on the banks of the rivers. During its periods ofrepose this eagle will sit for hours on the summit of some dead tree, uttering atintervals its peculiarly loud and harsh cry. Its prey comprises mammals andbirds, and its nest is said to be generally built in a hollow tree. More is knownconcerning the true harpy-eagle, which is the most powerful bird of prey in North 234 DIURNAL BIRDS OF PREY. America. It breeds in Southern Mexico, and thence to Brazil and Bolivia. Knownto the Spaniards as the king eagle, and to the Aztecs as the winged wolf, the harpyattacks and kills animals of more than thrice its own size and weight. Turkeys,fawns, foxes, badgers, peccaries, slo
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, booksubjectnaturalhistory, booksubjectzoology
