CHAP. 3. (3.)—THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF EAGLES.
Of all the birds with which we are acquainted, the eagle is
looked upon as the most noble, and the most remarkable for
its strength. There are six[1] different kinds; the one called
"melanætos"[2] by the Greeks, and "valeria" in our language,
the least in size of them all, but the most remarkable for its
strength, is of a blackish colour. It is the only one among
all, the eagles that feeds its young; for the others, as we shall
mention just now, drive them away; it is the only one too
that has neither cry nor murmur; it is an inhabitant of the
mountains. The second kind is the pygargus,[3] an inhabitant
of the cities and plains, and distinguished by the whiteness
of its tail. The third is the morphnos,[4] which Homer also
calls the "perenos," while others, again, call it the "plangus"
and the "anataria;" it is the second in size and strength, and
dwells in the vicinity of lakes. Phemonoë, who was styled
the "daughter of Apollo," has stated that this eagle has teeth,
but that it has neither voice nor tongue; she says also that it
is the blackest of all the eagles, and has a longer tail than the
rest; Bœus is of the same opinion. This eagle has the instinct
to break the shell of the tortoise by letting it fall from aloft,
a circumstance which caused the death of the poet Æschylus.
An oracle, it is said, had predicted his death on that day by
the fall of a house, upon which he took the precaution of
trusting himself only under the canopy of the heavens.
The fourth kind of eagle is the "percnopterus,"[5] also called
the "oripelargus;"[6] it has much the appearance of the vulture,
with remarkably small wings, while the rest of the body is
larger than the others; but it is of a timid and degenerate
nature, so much so, that even a raven can beat it. It is always
famishing and ravenous, and has a plaintive murmuring cry.
It is the only one among the eagles that will carry off the
dead carcase; the others settle on the spot where they have
killed their prey. The character of this species causes the
fifth one to be known by the distinctive name of "gnesios,"[7]
as being the genuine eagle, and the only one of untainted
lineage; it is of moderate size, of rather reddish colour, and
rarely to be met with. The haliætus[8] is the last, and is remarkable for its bright and piercing eye. It poises itself aloft,
and the moment it catches sight of a fish in the sea below,
pounces headlong upon it, and cleaving the water with its
breast, carries off its prey.
The eagle which we have mentioned as forming the third
species, pursues the aquatic birds in the vicinity of standing
waters: in order to make their escape they plunge into the
water every now and then, until at length they are overtaken
by lassitude and sleep, upon which the eagle immediately seizes
them. The contest that takes place is really a sight worthy
to be seen. The bird makes for the shore to seek a refuge,
and especially if there should happen to be a bed of reeds
there; while in the meantime the eagle endeavours to drive it
away with repeated blows of its wings, and tumbles into the
water in its attempts to seize it. While it is standing on the
shore its shadow is seen by the bird, which immediately dives
beneath, and then making its way in an opposite direction,
emerges at some point at which it thinks it is the least likely
to be looked for. This is the reason why these birds swim
in flocks, for when in large numbers they are in no danger
from the enemy; as by dashing up the spray with their wings
they blind him.
Again, it often happens that the eagle is not able to carry
the bird aloft on account of its weight, and in consequence
they both of them sink together. The haliætus, and this
one only, beats its young ones while in an unfledged state,
with its wings, and forces[9] them from time to time to look
steadily upon the rays of the sun; and if it sees either of
them wink, or even its eye water, it throws it headlong out
of the nest, as being spurious and degenerate, while, on the
other hand, it rears the one whose gaze remains fixed and
steady. The haliætus[10] is not a species of itself, but is an
eagle of mixed breed: hence their produce are of the species
known as the ossifrage, from which again is produced the
smaller vulture; while this in its turn produces the large
vulture, which, however, is quite barren.
Some writers add to the above a seventh kind, which they
call the "bearded"[11] eagle; the Tuscans, however, call it the
ossifrage.
1. Cuvier remarks, that this passage is borrowed, with some changes,
from Aristotle's "History of Animals," B. ix. c. 32, but that the account given
by Pliny is not very easily explained, from the fact that the word eagle is
not used by him in a rigorous acceptation of the word. Indeed it is only
at the present day that any accurate knowledge has been obtained as to
the different species of eagles, and the changes of colour to which they
are subject with the advance of age; circumstances which have caused the
species of them to be multiplied by naturalists. It is very doubtful,
he says, whether Aristotle has distinguished the various kinds any better
than Pliny; although Buffon, who himself was not very successful in
distinguishing them, says that Aristotle understood more on the subject
than the moderns.
2. Melanaeto\s, or the "black eagle." Cuvier says, that this description
is copied exactly from Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. ix. c. 32. This eagle, he
says, cannot be, as is commonly supposed, the "common eagle." It can
only be, he thinks, the "small" eagle, the female of which, according to
Nauman and Savigny, when it is old is almost all black, and without spots;
only the young being spotted.
3. From the Greek pugh\ a)rgh\, "white tail." Cuvier remarks, that
this is copied exactly from Aristotle, except that he says nothing about the
whiteness of the tail, which is an interpolation. The feathers as described
agree with those of the common eagle, the Falco fulvus, which is strong
enough to seize a fawn. As regards its habit, he says, of dwelling on
plains, that would agree better with the Jean le blanc of the French, the
Falco Gallicus; while the name of pygargus is commonly applied, at the
present day, to the great sea-eagle, the Falco albicilla; which frequents
lakes and the sea-shore, and therefore corresponds more nearly with the
haliætus of Pliny.
4. Cuvier says, that he is almost tempted to believe that it is the balbusard, the Falco haliætus, that is here meant, as it has a black back, and
lives in the vicinity of lakes. But then, he remarks, it lives on fish and
not aquatic birds; while, on the other hand, the little eagle of Buffon, the
Falco nævio, often seizes ducks and other aquatic animals. He is inclined
then, notwithstanding the apparent confusion, to take this morphnos for
the modern small eagle. The words morfno\s and perkno\s signify "black."
5. From the Greek, meaning "black wing.
6. "Mountain stork." Buffon thinks that this is the great brown vulture; Cuvier, the great white-headed eagle.
7. Gnh/sios. "True—Born," "genuine." Cuvier thinks that this may
be the royal or imperial eagle, Falco imperialis.
8. The great sea-eagle, according to Cuvier, the varieties of which (in
age) are called by Linnæus "Falco albicaudus," and "Falco ossifraga."
9. See Lucan, B. ix. 1. 902.
10. He contradicts himself, for he has already stated that it is the sixth
species.
11. "Barbata," Cuvier takes it to be the læmmer-geyer, or Gypaëtus,
the only bird of prey that has a beard.