Identifier: wondersoftropics00nort (find matches)
Title: Wonders of the tropics; or, Explorations and adventures of Henry M. Stanley and other world-renowned travelers, including Livingstone, Baker, Cameron, Speke, Emin Pasha, Du Chaillu, Andersson, etc., etc. ..
Year: 1889 (1880s)
Authors: Northrop, Henry Davenport, 1836-1909
Subjects: Stanley, Henry M. (Henry Morton), 1841-1904
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. Chicago, Ill. (etc.) National Publishing Company
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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sults oftheir attack. Honey, wax, and even the little bodies of the honey-makers slain in the combat, were swallowed down by the Negroes with-out any distinction. One of the birds peculiar to some parts of Central Africa, and men-tioned by Stanley, is the fish-eagle. The best known and largest is thewhite-headed eagle. The length is about three feet, and the extent ofwings seven feet; the female is somewhat larger. Its usual food is fish,but it eats the flesh of other animals, when it can get it and often seizesquadrupeds and birds of inferior flight, and when pressed by hunger willfeed on carrion. The fl ght of this bird is very majestic ; it sails alongwith extended wings and can ascend until it disappears from view, with-out any apparent motion of the wings or tail; and from the greatestheight it descends with a rapidity, which can scarcely be followed by theeye. The power of wing is not more remarkable than the consummateskill with which the strong pinions are made to cut the air.
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FiSH-EAGLES CONTENDING FOR A PRIZE. (586) STANLEYS GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF AFRICA. 587 These birds live to a great age. They are generally seen in pairs andthe union seems to last for life. The attachment of the old birds to th-iryoung is very great. The breeding season commences about March andthough each male has but one mate during its entire life, many and fierceare the battles, which arise about the possession of these spouses. It isa singular circumstance in the formation of this bird that the outer toe ^turns easily backward, so as on occasion to have two of the toes forwardand two backward, and it has a much larger claw than the inner one.This, and the roughness of the whole foot underneath, are well adaptedfor the securing of its prey. During the spring and summer months theosprey is frequently seen hovering over the rivers for minutes withoutvisible change of place. It then suddenly darts down and plunges intothe water, whence it seldom rises again without a fish in its talon

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