Falcons.
The Falcon tribe have a very strong and comparatively short beak, which is generally curved from the base, with denticulated or scalloped edges; the head and neck covered with feathers; the talons very powerful, and furnished with retractile nails—not, indeed, in the same manner as cats, which have the power of withdrawing or sheathing theirs within the integuments, but by a conformation which gives the bird of prey the power of elevating its claws at pleasure.
These are the birds of prey par excellence. They feed for the most part on living animals; there are, however, some which, when other means of sustenance fail, devour putrefied flesh. Their flight is very rapid, and they ascend to immense altitudes in the sky. They are seldom to be seen on the ground; if they settle there it is but to seize their prey, which accomplished, they without delay take wing to their aerie. They lay, on an average, three or four eggs. Their plumage alters considerably during their early years; to such an extent, indeed, does this occur, that the young and the adult birds have often been taken for two distinct species. This fact has not a little contributed to confusing students of ornithology.
This family is a very numerous one, comprising no less than nine genera; namely, Eagles, Sea Eagles, Harpy Eagles, Caracara Eagles, Hawks, Goshawks, Kites, Harriers, and Buzzards.
The Eagle genus is characterised as follows:—The bill scalloped, but not toothed, and presenting a straight portion at the base; the nostrils elliptical and transverse; the tarsi short, and feathered down to the toes; the wings long; and the tail rounded.
Buffon has sketched a portrait of the Eagle, but his picture is by no means a model of accuracy:—
"The Eagles," he says, "both physically and morally, present several points of harmony with the Lion. In the first place, in strength, and consequently in an empire over other birds, as the Lion over beasts. In magnanimity; for he, too, disdains small creatures, and despises their insults. The Eagle will for a long time bear with the troublesome cries of the Crow and the Magpie ere he makes up his mind to punish them with death. Added to this, he covets no good things that he has not conquered for himself, and no other prey than that of his own catching. In temperance; for he scarcely ever eats the whole of his victim, and, like the Lion, leaves the bits and fragments for other creatures. However great may be his hunger, he will never feed upon dead carcasses. Again, like the Lion, he lives a solitary life, inhabiting a desert, into which he allows no other bird to enter, and in which he himself must be the sole hunter; for two pairs of Eagles in the same mountain district are, perhaps, a rarer sight than two families of Lions in the same part of a forest. They keep at a sufficient distance from one another, so that the space allotted to them should furnish each an ample subsistence; and the extent of their demesne is regulated by its productiveness. The Eagle has a flashing eye like the Lion, and is nearly of the same colour; has claws of a similar shape, a breath equally rank, and a cry equally frightful. Both seem as if they were made for combat and the pursuit of prey; both are alike inimical to companionship, alike ferocious, alike proud, and difficult to tame."
Buffon has much overrated the reputation of the Eagle; it will be well to reduce it to somewhat more just proportions. Agreeing with the immortal naturalist, we admit that the Eagle is endowed with no common amount of strength. With regard to its magnanimity, we must be allowed to entertain a doubt. As a matter of fact, the Eagle always attacks animals which are unable to resist it; if it disdains small birds, it is because they can easily evade its pursuit, and after all, there would be but little profit gained if they were caught. As to its moderation, it is easily proved to have no existence save in the imagination of the distinguished naturalist. On the contrary, the Eagle is voracious; it never leaves its prey until it is completely surfeited, and then only because it is unable to carry away the remainder to its aerie. So far from despising dead carcasses, it will readily feed upon them, even when it is not compelled by need, for it will gorge itself on carrion to such an extent that it frequently becomes incapable of avoiding its enemies. Its honesty, too, is a fact not better established, for the Fish Eagle pursues birds that are weaker than itself, and, in defiance of all justice, takes from them the booty which they have acquired through labour.
By a kind of rhetorical metaphor the Eagle has been proclaimed "the king of birds." If the possession of strength, and the abuse which is made of it, constitute the attributes of royalty, the Eagle has an unquestionable right to the title. But if with the kingly rank we connect the ideas of courage and nobility, it would never do to place the crown on the Eagle's head.
The ancients were inspired with a juster sentiment in making the Eagle the symbol of victory. The Assyrians, the Persians, and the Romans placed an Eagle with outspread wings on the top of their standards; and even in modern times we find a representation of this bird filling the same emblematic post in the armies of several European nations. Some, as Austria, instead of one Eagle, adopt two as their allusive emblazonry.
In consequence of the Eagle mounting up to such prodigious heights the ancients looked upon it as the bird of Jupiter and the messenger of the gods. When Jove, after the withdrawal of Hebe, came down to earth to seek for another cup-bearer, he changed himself into an Eagle, and it was under this shape he carried off Ganymede.
But we must leave mythology and symbols, and turn our attention to a matter-of-fact description of the great bird of prey.
In the Eagle the sense of vision is developed to its very highest excellence. Contemplate him hovering majestically among the clouds, and you will be struck with admiration. By an imperceptible motion of his wings he maintains this prodigious height without fatigue. Perceiving a Hazel Hen on the heath below, he folds his wings, and in a few seconds drops down to within a short distance of the ground; then, with his legs stiffened, he swoops upon his prey, seizes his victim, and carries it away to some adjacent mountain.
The great strength of the muscles which work the wing of this bird ([Fig. 279]) will explain the power and long duration of his flight.
The Eagle is endowed with such an enormous amount of muscular force, that it contends successfully against the most powerful winds. Raymond, the naturalist, who has been styled "the painter of the Pyrenees," relates that, having reached the summit of Mont Perdu, the loftiest peak of that range, he perceived an Eagle pass over him at surprising speed, although it was flying against a strong head-wind.
If to the weight of the body of the Eagle we add that of the victim which it clutches in its talons; if we consider that this victim is often borne by it to considerable distances, and that the Eagle will thus cross the chain of the Alps; if we also reflect that the prey is not unfrequently a chamois or a sheep, we shall be enabled to form some idea of its strength and muscular power.
Fig. 279.—Wing of an Eagle.
The size of the Eagle varies according to the race, but all attain imposing dimensions. The female of the Golden Eagle measures three feet nine inches from the tip of the beak to the points of the feet, and the spread of its wings is nearly ten feet. In the Imperial Eagle the spread of the wings is only six feet, and in the Small Marine Eagle four feet four inches.
It has been stated that the Eagle can travel sixty-five feet in a second, which would give a speed of forty-four miles an hour; but Naumann positively contradicts this assertion, on the ground that the Eagle is incapable of overtaking a Pigeon. It is, at all events, a matter of certainty that the flight of this bird is very rapid. An Eagle has been noticed circling over a hare in a field, and hemming it in, so that the victim was unable to escape on either side, always finding its enemy in front.
The Eagle builds its nest in the clefts of the most inaccessible rocks, or on their edge, that its brood may be safe from danger or surprise. This nest is nothing but a floor, made of sticks placed carelessly side by side, bound together with some pliable branches, and lined with leaves, reeds, and heather. However, its solidity is sufficient to resist for years the decay caused by time, and to bear the load of four or five birds, weighing from seventy to eighty pounds, with the provisions brought for their sustenance. Some Eagles' nests have an area of as much as five feet square. The number of eggs laid is generally two or three, rarely four. Incubation requires thirty days.
Eaglets being very voracious, the parent birds are compelled to hunt with great assiduity. Nevertheless, should scarcity occur, the young brood do not suffer, for nature has endowed them with the faculty of supporting abstinence for many days. This peculiarity they possess in common with all birds of prey. Buffon mentions an Eagle which, having been taken in a trap, passed five weeks without anything to eat, and did not appear enfeebled until the last eight days. An English author states that for twenty-one days a tame Eagle was not fed, and that the bird appeared to have suffered little from its protracted fast.
When the young are large enough to provide for their own wants they are pitilessly driven from their paternal home; they then proceed to an unoccupied district, of which they take possession.
The Eagle is, as we have before said, endowed with immense muscular vigour; it is, therefore, able to carry off prey of considerable size, such as Geese, Turkeys, Cranes, &c.; also Hares, Kids, and Lambs. In the mountains in which Chamois are abundant they are the principal objects of the Eagle's pursuit, and it employs various stratagems to get these animals into its power; for the bird will not venture to make its attack in front, as the Chamois is well able to keep it at a distance with its horns, provided its rear is protected.
The Eagle sometimes kills its prey with the force of its swoop, without clutching with talons or beak. Again, it is stated that a blow from its wing will deprive a kid of life; it is not, therefore, surprising that its strength enables it to lift up young children, and carry them off.
Many for a long period have refused to give credence to this fact; but the evidence of persons who are worthy of all confidence will not allow of any doubt being raised on the subject. We will, however, mention a few instances.
In the Canton of Vaud two little girls, one three years old and the other five, were playing together in a meadow. An Eagle swooped down upon the eldest, and carried her off. All that immediately afterwards could be found upon a most active search was a shoe and stocking belonging to the child. Two months having elapsed, a shepherd discovered the remains of the little victim, horribly mutilated, and lying upon a rock half a league from the meadow from which she was taken.
In the Isle of Skye, in Scotland, a woman left her child in a field. An Eagle carried off the little one in its talons, and crossing over a broad lake, laid it upon a rock. Fortunately the robber was perceived by some shepherds, who came up in time to succour the infant.
In Sweden a babe was carried away under somewhat similar circumstances. The mother, who was only a short distance off, heard the shrieks of the poor little thing; but it was impossible for her to rescue it. It was borne out of her sight, and the wretched woman went mad with grief.
In the Canton of Geneva a boy of ten years old, who was robbing an Eagle's nest, was seized by one of the birds, and borne to a point six hundred yards from the spot. He was rescued by his companions without having suffered further injury than some severe wounds inflicted by the bird's talons.
In the Feroë Isles an Eagle flew away with a child (which its mother had left for a few moments), and bore it off to its aerie. Maternal love inspired the unfortunate woman with such a degree of strength as to enable her to reach the nest; but alas! to find her child lifeless.
Near New York, in America, a lad of seven years of age was attacked by an Eagle. The boy having avoided the first shock, the Eagle persevered in its onslaught; but he waited for it bravely, and gave the bird a vigorous blow under the left wing with a sickle, which killed it. When the stomach of this Eagle was opened it was found entirely devoid of food. The bird was, therefore, in a famished state, and consequently enfeebled. Its persistent boldness is thus explained, and also the ease with which it was mastered.
We must, however, confess that cases of children being carried away by Eagles are rare, for they generally avoid the vicinity of man, feeling unable to cope with him successfully. The chief objects of their attacks are newly-born lambs, which they frequently carry off in spite of the shouts of the shepherds and the proximity of his dogs. Sometimes they devote their attention to young calves; they do not, however, attempt to carry them off, but feed on them where slaughtered.
A considerable amount of ingenuity has been displayed by some men in turning to account the habit which Eagles have of storing up a quantity of provisions in their nests for the sustenance of their young. A peasant in Ireland kept himself and the whole of his family for an entire season by robbing the Eaglets in a neighbouring aerie of the stores of food which were brought to them by the parent birds. In order to prolong this singular means of livelihood, report says, he endeavoured to delay the moment when the young ones would be driven forth, adopting the artifice of cutting their wings to render it impossible for them to fly.
Eagles are very suspicious, and it is consequently difficult to get within gunshot of them. The mountaineers of the Pyrenees suffer much from the ravages they make among their flocks, and for this reason brave many dangers to destroy the young birds.
"This pursuit," says M. Gérard, "is carried on by two men; one of the hunters is armed with a double-barrelled carbine, the other with a kind of iron pike about two feet long. At the first indication of daybreak the hunters reach the mountain-peak where the Eagle has his aerie, just at the time that the old birds are away seeking food. The first stands on the summit of the rock, and, carbine in hand, waits the arrival of the Eagle. The other makes his way down to the nest, climbing from cleft to cleft by means of cords. With a bold hand the Eaglets are grasped, still too young to oppose resistance. The parents, hearing the cries of their young, swoop down furiously, and fall upon the intrepid mountaineer, who beats them off with thrusts of his pike, whilst his companion waits a favourable opportunity to deliver his fire, which generally terminates the contest."
The Eagle has been taken in snares; but if the instrument is not fastened down securely to the ground, the bird will tear it up and bear it off. Meisner relates that an Eagle, having been caught by the foot in a fox's trap, struggled with such effect that it wrenched up the trap, and carried it away to the other side of the mountain, although the instrument weighed nearly nine pounds.
The Scotch employ a method for capturing Eagles which originated from their known voracity. In a narrow space, bounded by four tolerably high walls, they throw down pieces of raw meat. The Eagle settles to devour it. When completely gorged it becomes too heavy to fly, and endeavours to make his way out through an opening at the foot of the walls, where it is caught and held fast by a running noose, which is placed in front of the exit.
The Eagle is remarkable for its longevity; but this cannot be accurately determined. Klein mentions an instance of one of these birds which lived in captivity in Vienna for one hundred and four years; he also speaks of a pair of Eagles in Forfarshire, in Scotland, which inhabited the same aerie for such a length of time that the oldest inhabitants had always known them.
If captured young, Eagles are susceptible of a certain amount of education; but there always remains a tinge of ferocity in their nature, which renders their behaviour gloomy and sullen. When old they are absolutely untamable. In captivity they adapt their appetite to circumstances, and will even devour their own race. When nothing better is to be obtained, serpents, lizards, and, according to Buffon, bread are acceptable food to them.
Although the Eagle is so irascible by nature, it has sometimes given proofs of gentleness truly astonishing. We may instance the bird which lived in 1807 in the Jardin des Plantes, in Paris, which was captured in the forest of Fontainebleau. One of its feet was broken in the trap in which it was taken, and in consequence it was compelled to submit to a most painful operation, which it underwent with exemplary calmness and courage. Fully three months elapsed before it was cured, and afterwards it became so familiar with its keeper that it allowed itself to be caressed by him, and on his retiring for the night the bird roosted by his couch.
The ancient falconers of the East were not in the habit of making use of the Eagle; its want of docility and its great weight rendered it but little adapted for this exercise. Thus they rather unceremoniously class the Eagle among the ignoble birds.
Fig. 280.—Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos).
The Tartars, however, are in the habit of using an Eagle indigenous to Central Asia to assist in taking the hare, fox, antelope, and wolf. As this bird is weighty, they do not hold it on the fist, but place it in front of their horse's saddle. The genus called the Berecoot, which is scarcely known by Europeans, is of great power and courage. A well-known traveller describes a scene he witnessed on the steppes of Tartary, where a pair of them attacked and killed a brace of wolves with the greatest apparent ease.
Fig. 281.—Imperial Eagles (A. mogilnik).
The Eagle is cosmopolitan, and may be found in all parts of the globe. There are several genera which we shall merely make mention of, because the habits of all are so exceedingly similar.
The synonyms here given are those used in the classification of the British Museum. The Royal Eagle ([Fig. 280]), called also the Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), attains a greater size than any other; it is a native of the North and East of Europe. The Imperial Eagle ([Fig. 281]) is found in the East and South of Europe, and also in North Africa. Bonelli's Eagle (A. Bonellii) inhabits Southern Europe, particularly Greece. The Tawny Eagle (A. nævioides) is to be met with in all the mountainous and woody countries of Europe. The Booted Eagle (A. pennata) lives in the East and South of Europe, and occasionally makes its appearance in France. Reinwardt's Eagle (A. malayensis) is found in the Malay peninsula and islands; and the Vulturine Eagle (A. vulturina) is a species peculiar to South Africa, and of which Levaillant was the first to point out the peculiar characteristics.
The diurnal birds of prey belonging to the order of Sea or Fishing Eagles are distinguished from Eagles proper by their tarsi, which are feathered only in the upper part, as well as by their feeding principally on marine animalia.