V. SUB-FAMILY AQUILINÆ. THE EAGLES.
Size usually large. Bill large, compressed, straight at base, curved and acute at the tip; wings long, pointed; tail ample, generally rounded at the end; tarsi moderate or rather long, strong; toes long, strong; claws very strong, curved, acute. This sub-family includes about seventy species, of all countries.
I. GENUS AQUILA. Mœhring, Av. Gen. p. 49. (1752.)
Large, bill large, strong, compressed, and hooked at the tip; wing long, pointed, very strong; tarsi moderate, feathered to the base of the toes. Tail rather long, rounded or wedge-shaped; toes and claws long; the latter very sharp and curved. Contains about twenty species, which are regarded as the true Eagles.
1. Aquila chrysaetos. (Linn.) The Golden Eagle. The ring-tailed Eagle. Falco chrysaetos and fulvus. Linn., Syst. Nat., I. p. 125. (1766.) Falco canadensis. Linn., Syst. Nat., I. p. 125. (1766.) Aquila nobilis. Pallas, Zoog. Ross. As., I. p. 338. (1811.) Falco niger. Gm., Syst. Nat., I. p. 259. (1788.)?
Edw., Birds, pl. 1; Brown, Ill., pl. 2; Buff. Pl. Enl. 409, 410; Wils. Am. Orn., pl. 55, fig. 1; Aud. B. of Am., pl. 181; oct. ed. 1, pl. 12.
Very large; tarsi densely feathered to the toes. Adult. Head above and behind and neck behind light-brownish fulvous, much varying in shade in different specimens. Base of the tail pure white, which color varies in extent in different specimens, but generally occupies the greater part of the tail; remaining portion glossy black. All other parts rich purplish-brown, very dark, and nearly black on the under-surface. Primary quills shining black, secondaries purplish-brown, with a violet tinge; tibia and tarsi brownish-fulvous, tinged with ashy; toes yellow. Younger. Entire plumage mixed with fulvous, and with the under-surface of the body paler.
Dimensions. Female—total length, 33 to 40 inches; wing, about 25; tail, about 15 inches. Male—smaller.
Hab. Whole of North America; Oregon (Dr. Townsend). Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.
Obs. We are not without doubts as to the specific identity of the American and the European Golden Eagles. All the American specimens that we have examined are smaller, the bill shorter, and the plumage much darker than those of Europe. We have not at present, however, a sufficient number of either continent, and it unfortunately happens that nearly all our European specimens are young birds, while the American are adults. Mr. Audubon’s plate represents this bird in nearly mature plumage.
II. GENUS HALIAETUS. Savigny, Hist. Nat. d’Egypt, I. p. 85. (1809.)
Size large; tarsi short, naked, or feathered for a short distance below the joint of the tibia and tarsi, and with the toes covered with scales. Bill large, strong, compressed; margin of upper mandible slightly festooned; wings rather long-pointed; tail moderate; toes rather long; claws very strong, curved, sharp. This genus contains about ten species of all parts of the world, all of which prey more or less on fishes, and are known as Fishing or Sea Eagles.
1. Haliaetus pelagicus. (Pallas.) The Northern Sea Eagle. Aquila pelagica. Pallas, Zoog. Rosso-Asiat., I. p. 343. (1811.) “Aquila marina. Steller, MSS.” Pallas as above. Falco imperator. Kittlitz., Kupf. Nat. Vog., pt. I. p. 3. (1832.) Falco leucopterus. Temm., Pl. col. 1. p. (no page.)
Kittlitz Kupf., pl. 2; Temm., Pl. col. I., pl. 489. Cassin. B. of California and Texas, I., pl. 6.
The largest of the Eagles. Wings rather shorter than usual in this genus; tail wedge-shaped, and composed of fourteen feathers. Adult. Large frontal space, greater wing-coverts, abdomen and tail white; all other parts of the plumage dark brown or brownish-black; bill and legs yellow. Younger. Tail white, more or less marked with brownish-black. All other parts brownish-black, lighter on the head and neck. Quills black, secondaries and tertiaries white at their bases; bill and feet yellow.
Dimensions. Female—total length, 3 feet 8 inches; wing, 2 feet 2 in.; tail, 1 foot 4 inches.
Hab. Russian-American Islands (Pallas); Japan (Temminck & Schegel). Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.
Obs. This very large and powerful bird inhabits north-eastern Asia and the islands between that continent and America, and probably other parts of Russian-America. It is the largest of the Eagles, and appears to be related to the species immediately succeeding.
2. Haliaetus Washingtonii. (Aud.) The Washington Eagle. Falco Washingtonii. Aud. Orn. Biog., I. p. 58. (1831, plate pub. 1827) Falco Washingtoniana. Aud. Louden’s Mag., I. p. 115. (April, 1828)
Aud. B. of Am. pl. 11; oct. ed. I., pl. 13.
Large, “bill shortish, very deep, compressed; feet rather short, with the leg long; the tarsus short, rounded, anteriorly covered with transversely-narrow sentella, posteriorly with small tuberculous scales; feathers of the head, neck and breast narrow and pointed; wings long, second quill longest; tail of ordinary length, rounded, extending considerably beyond the tips of the wings, of twelve broad acute feathers.”
“Bill bluish-black, the edges pale, the soft margin towards the commissure, and the base of the under-mandible yellow; cere yellowish-brown; lore light greenish-blue; iris chestnut-brown; feet deep yellow; claws brownish-black; upper part of the head, hind neck, back, scapulars, rump, tail-coverts and posterior tibial feathers blackish-brown, glossed with a coppery tint; throat, fore-neck, breast and belly light brownish-yellow, each feather marked along the centre with blackish-brown; wing-coverts light grayish-brown, those next the body becoming darker and approaching the color of the back; primary quills dark-brown, deeper on their inner-webs; secondaries lighter, and on their outer-webs of nearly the same tint as their coverts; tail uniform dark-brown; anterior tibial feathers grayish-brown.”
Dimensions. “Length, 3 feet 7 inches; extent of wings, 10 feet 2 inches; bill, 3¼ inches along the back; along the gap which commences directly under the eye to the tip of the lower mandible, 3¼ and 1¾ deep; length of wing when folded, 32 inches; length of tail, 15 inches; tarsus, 4½; middle toe, 4¾; hind claw, 2½ inches.” Audubon as above.
Hab. Kentucky (Audubon); Western and Eastern? Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.?
Obs. The above description we regard as that of the young bird, and consider the adult as yet unknown. No specimen precisely corresponding to Mr. Audubon’s bird, has been obtained since its discovery, and it has latterly been looked upon by Naturalists, especially in Europe, as an unusually large specimen of the young white-headed Eagle. It is probably a western species, and would be readily recognized by the transverse scutellæ of the tarsi which are continued to the base of the toes.
3. Haliaetus albicilla. (Linn.) The Gray Sea Eagle. The European Sea Eagle. Vultur albicilla. Linn., Syst. Nat., I. p. 123. (1766.) Falco ossifraga et melanaetos. Linn., Syst. Nat., I. p. 124. (1766.) Haliaetus grœnlandicus. Brehm, Vog. Deuts., I. p. 16. (1831.)
Buff., Pl. Enl., 112, 415; Selby, Ill. Brit. Orn., pl. 3; Gould, B. of Eur., I. pl. 10.
Large, bill large, much hooked; wings long; tail moderate. Adult. Tail white; head and neck pale yellowish-brown, in some specimens very light; all other parts of the plumage dark umber-brown; quills nearly black; bill, feet and irides yellow. Younger. Bill brownish-black; irides brown; entire plumage dark-brown, with the tail mottled with white, much varying in extent; throat paler, and in some specimens nearly white.
Dimensions. Female—total length, about 3 feet to 40 inches; wing, 2 feet 3 inches; tail, 1 foot. Male—smaller.
Hab. Greenland (Fabricius, Holboll). Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.
Obs. This Eagle, which is common in Europe, and breeds in cliffs on the sea-shore, we give as an inhabitant of Greenland. We have to say, however, that the only specimen from that country which we have ever seen, and which is a young bird, presents considerable variations from European specimens, and we consider it quite possible that Dr. Brehm is right in giving it specific distinction. The young of this bird resembles that of the succeeding species (H. leucocephalus), and the most readily-detected difference is its larger size and longer tarsi. The adults are, however, entirely dissimilar.
4. Haliaetus leucocephalus. (Linn.) The Bald Eagle. The White-headed Eagle. Falco leucocephalus. Linn., Syst. Nat., I. p. 124. (1766.) Falco pygargus. Daud., Traité, II. p. 62. (1800.) Falco ossifragus. Wilson, Am. Orn., VII. p. 16. (1813.)
Cat. Car., I. pl. 1; Buff., Pl. Enl., 411; Vieill., Ois. d’Am., Sept., I. pl. 3; Wils., Am. Orn., IV. pl. 36; VII. pl. 55; Aud., B. of Am., pl. 31, 126; oct. ed., I. pl. 14.
Large, but smaller than either of the preceding Eagles; bill large, strong, much hooked and sharp; wings long; tail moderate; tarsi rather short. Adult. Head, tail and its upper and under coverts white; entire other plumage brownish-black, in some specimens with the edges of the feathers paler; bill, feet and irides yellow. Younger. Entire plumage dark brown; throat paler; abdomen frequently with fulvous edgings on many feathers; bill brownish-black; iris brown; tail more or less mottled with white, which color in a more advanced stage extends over a large portion of the tail, especially on the inner webs of the feathers.
Dimensions. Female—total length, about 3 feet; wing, about 23 inches; tail, about 14 inches. Male—smaller.
Hab. All of North America; Oregon (Townsend); Florida (Bartram); Accidental in Europe. Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.
Obs. This handsome bird, which has had the honor of being adopted as the emblem of the United States, inhabits the whole of North America. It is very easily recognized when adult, and the young is not readily mistaken for that of any other American species except the immediately preceding.
III. GENUS PANDION. Savigny, Nat. Hist. Egypt, I. p. 95. (1809.)
Bill short, curved from the base, hooked, compressed; wings very long; tarsi short, very thick and strong, and covered with small circular scales; claws large, curved very sharp; tail moderate. Contains about three or four species nearly allied, inhabiting various parts of the world.
1. Pandion carolinensis. (Gen.) The Fish Hawk. The Osprey. Falco carolinensis. Gm., Syst. Nat., I. 263. (1788.) Aquila piscatrix. Vieill., Ois. d’Am. Sept., I. p. 29. (1807.) Pandion americanus. Vieill., Gal., I. p. 33. (1825.)
Vieill., Ois. d’Am. Sept., I. pl. 4; Cat. Car., I. pl. 2; Wilson, Am. Orn., V. pl. 37; Aud., B. of Am., pl. 81; oct. ed., I. pl. 15; Nat. Hist. N. Y. Birds, pl. 8, fig. 18.
Legs, feet and claws very strong. Adult. Head and entire under-parts white; wide stripe through the eye downwards, longitudinal stripe on the top of the head and occiput and entire upper parts of the body, wings and tail, deep umber-brown, generally with the feathers more or less edged with lighter brown; tail with about eight bands of blackish-brown, and with the greater parts of the inner-webs of its feathers white; breast with numerous cordate and circular spots of pale yellowish-brown; bill and claws bluish-black; tarsi and toes greenish-yellow. Young. Similar to the adult, but with the upper plumage edged and tipped with pale-brownish, nearly white.
Dimensions. Female—total length (of skin), about 25 inches; wing, 21½; tail, 10½ inches. Male—smaller.
Hab. Throughout North America; Texas (Woodhouse); Oregon (U. S. Ex. Exp. Vincennes). Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.
Obs. The American Osprey is very similar to that of the old continent (P. haliaetus), and specimens from Western America even more intimately resemble it. It is, however, larger, and retains in all the specimens that we have seen, differently-formed spots on the breast, being heart-shaped and circular, instead of narrow and lanceolate, as in the. European species. The Fish Hawk is abundant on the sea-coasts of the United States, and is one of the few rapacious birds of this country which are not molested.
IV. GENUS POLYBORUS. Vieillot, Analyse, p. 22. (1816.)
CARACARA. Cuvur. Reg. An., p. 316. (1817.)
Size smaller than the preceding; bill long, compressed, wide laterally; cere large; wings long, pointed; tail moderate, or rather long; tarsi long, rather slender, covered in front with large hexagonal and irregular scales, and laterally and horizontally with smaller; claws long, slightly curved, rather weak; space in front of and below the eye naked. Two species only form this genus, both of which are abundant birds of South and Central America.
1. Polyborus tharus. (Molina.) The Caracara Eagle. The Mexican Eagle. Falco tharus. Molina, Sagg. Stor. Nat. del Chili. (1782.) Falco cheriway. Jacquin, Beytr. Gesch. der Vogel, p. 17. (1784.) Falco brasiliensis. Gmelin, Syst. Nat., I. p. 262. (1788.) Falco plancus. Miller, Cimelia Physica. Polyborus vulgaris. Vieill., Nouv. Dict., V. p. 257. (1816.)
Jacq. Vog., pl. 4; Miller & Shaw, Cim. Phys., 2d ed., pl. 17; Vieill., Gal., I. pl. 7; Spix., B. of Bras., I. pl. 1, a; Aud., B. of Am., pl. 161; oct. ed., I. pl. 4; Swains. Zool. Ill., I. pl. 2; Gay’s Chili Orn., pl. 1.
Legs long; occipital feathers somewhat elongated. Adult. Head above, back, rump, wings, broad abdominal belt and tibiæ brownish-black; neck before and behind, sides of the head behind the eye, breast, upper and under tail-coverts yellowish-white; on the breast and neck behind finely barred transversely with black; tail for about two-thirds of its length white, with numerous narrow bars of black, and widely tipped with black; bill at base bluish; tip yellowish-white; tarsi and toes yellow. Younger. Head above dark-brown; other upper parts pale-brown, with paler edgings to many feathers; under-parts dark-brown, nearly all the feathers having longitudinal central stripes of dull white; throat yellowish-white; tail for the greater part and its coverts above and below white, with numerous transverse bands of pale ashy-brown, and tipped with brownish-black.
Dimensions. Female—total length (of skin), about 26 inches; wing, 17; tail, 10 inches. Male—larger?
Hab. Southern North America; Florida (Audubon); Texas; Mexico (McCall). Abundant in South America. Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.
Obs. The Caracara Eagle has been observed in Florida, and is an inhabitant also of Texas and Mexico. It walks on the ground with facility, and otherwise resembles the Vultures in its habits; and, like them, lives on dead animals for the greater part. The original edition of Molina, in which a scientific name is given to this bird for the first time since the adoption of the binomial nomenclature, we have not seen; but in his second edition, Preface, p. 1 (Bologna, 1810), it is stated to have been published in 1782. His name undoubtedly has priority.
We are inclined to the opinion that this bird, and several more or less nearly allied species of South America, belong properly to the family of Vultures;—of all the habits of which they partake. This opinion is supported somewhat by Molina’s statement, that of the present species the female is the smaller (2d ed., p. 221), as Humboldt and others have observed of the Condor, and as appears to be the case in the family of Vultures, but not in that of the Falcons.
V. GENUS MORPHNUS. Cuvier, Regne. Animal, I. p. 317. (1817.)
URUBITINGA. Less., Rev. Zool., 1839, p. 132.
SPIZOGERANUS. Kaup, Class., p. 120. (1844.)
Size medium; bill rather long, abruptly curved at the tip, which is acute; edges of upper mandible festooned; wings and tail long; legs long; tarsi and toes strong, the former with wide transverse scales in front; claws strong. A genus of American species, inhabiting the southern portion of the continent.
1. Morphnus unicinctus. (Temm.) Harris’ Buzzard. Falco unicinctus. Temm., Pl. col., I. p. (no page—livraison 53, about 1827.) “Falco anthracinus. Licht.” Gray, Genera, I. p. 27. Buteo Harrisii. Aud., Orn. Biog., V. p. 30. (1839.) Polyborus tæniurus. Tschudy, Wiegm. Archiv., X. p. 263. (1844.)
Temm., Pl. col., 313; Aud., B. of Am., pl. 392: oct. ed., I. pl. 5; Tschudy, Fauna Peruana Orn., pl. 1.
Legs long, and with the feet robust; wings rather short; tail long. Adult. Shoulders, wing-coverts and tibia chestnut-red or bay; other parts very dark umber-brown; upper and under tail-coverts white; tail white at its base, and tipped with white; middle portion presenting the appearance of a very wide band, dark brownish-black, with a reddish or violet tinge. Younger. Upper-parts umber-brown, much mixed with fulvous; shoulders chestnut-red, with dark-brown spots; quills dark-brown; secondaries tipped with yellowish-white; entire under-parts yellowish-white, many feathers on the breast, sides and abdomen, with large oblong and circular spots of brown; tibiæ yellowish-white, with transverse irregular lines of light brownish-red; upper and under tail-coverts white; tail brown, with many bands of a deeper shade of the same color, and with the inner-webs yellowish and reddish-white, and having many narrow bands of dark-brown; base and tip of the tail yellowish-white.
Dimensions. Female—total length, 22 to 24 inches; wing, 15; tail, 10 inches. Young male—total length, 20 inches; wing, 13; tail, 9½ inches.
Hab. Southern States; Mexico, abundant; Texas, frequent (Col. McCall); Mississippi, rare (Dr. Jenkins); Peru; Chili (Lieut. Gilliss); Chili, abundant (Gay, Fauna Chilena). Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.
Obs. Col. McCall, who has seen this bird in large numbers in Texas, represents it as habitually frequenting the ground in the vicinity of water, and especially abundant on both sides of the Rio Grande. It is slow and heavy in flight, and a dull, sluggish bird in all its habits, partaking in these respects of the general characters of the Vultures.
The affinities of this species we regard at present as uncertain, and arrange it provisionally only in the present genus and sub-family, but by no means agreeing in our views with late European ornithologists.
The foregoing are all the birds of this family which can be regarded as well-established species inhabiting that portion of North America, within our prescribed limits.
Respecting their history, one of the most important questions to the naturalist is, the change of plumage from young to mature age, and another change which takes place in assuming their spring or summer and their winter liveries. The latter change is by no means well understood in many species, and to ascertain it completely in any one would yet be an interesting contribution to its history.
A few species are known only as of exceedingly rare occurrence in the United States, but the larger number are sufficiently numerous to be investigated without difficulty. Of the former, the Washington Eagle (Haliaetus Washingtonii), Harlan’s Buzzard (Buteo Harlani), the Black Hawk, the Rough-legged Hawk (Archibuteo sancti-johannis and lagopus,) and nearly all the Western species, may be regarded as particularly requiring further research.
In the winter season, various species resort to the sea-coast, and others to the margins of bays and rivers in considerable numbers. In the vicinity of the cities these have, however, greatly diminished since the introduction of steamboats and railroads. Steam-engines, and especially locomotives, are innovations for which the Eagles and Hawks evidently have no fancy. To the markets appropriated to the accommodation of farmers and traders from the rural districts in all the cities on the Atlantic seaboard, specimens are frequently brought for sale, a demand, reliable to some extent, having arisen from collectors and amateurs.
Occasionally an immense multitude of Hawks soaring high in the air, and in company, has been observed. This curious phenomenon has been seen by our friends, Professor Baird, of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington city; Dr. Hoy, of Racine, Wisconsin; and by ourselves. It occurs in autumn, and is probably incidental to migration; but its exact character and object is unknown, and involves an interesting inquiry. It is necessarily temporary, as the procuring of suitable food by such a large number of rapacious birds would be impossible.
In the western and northern regions of North America, the birds of this family are particularly worthy of the attention of the traveller and naturalist, and would undoubtedly well repay him in the discovery of unknown species. This is the case also in the States of Florida and Texas, to the latter of which, very probably, some of the many Mexican species are visitors, that have not yet been noticed.
In Oregon and Russian-America, there are also very probably species which have not been recognized as inhabitants of this continent, though well known as birds of Northern Asia, and others entirely unknown to naturalists.