OCR Text |
Show "Monkey-Eating Eagle of the Philippines" (rithecophaga jefferi) . Kditnr The Tribune; Prom tho fact of my making ornithology my specialty during two yours spent in Mindanao, my attention was called to an article in The Sunday 'Tribune on tho above sub.ioct. After reading .it I thought it worth while to submit to The Tribune two of the rarest and most interesting photographs photo-graphs it has ever been tho privilege of any lover of bird studv to own. Ihcso pictures were taken by Captain James W. Van Dusen of the modie.nl corps, U. S. army. T submit two pictures pic-tures 1o show the dcptli and narrowness narrow-ness of the beak of the monkey-citing eagle, when first placed in captivity, and after he had for many davs beaten himself against, his wire cage In a vain nttempt lo gain his freedom. Tho illustrations il-lustrations will also show tho amount of imagination persons exercise when they describe him as partly naked. I can assure you, from tho fnct of having cured two skins, that they arc especially espe-cially well covered with feathers. Before T speak of tho interesting scicntilic data 1 havo concerning this' wonderful bird let me assure the reader! that one of the most humiliating experiences ex-periences 1 ever had in collecting birds, T met in trying to secure one of these kings of birds. 1 may add that L collect col-lect od 400 birds in tho neighborhood of Iake Lansto. Mindanao, P. I., as a means of getting proper exercise, as wollvns knowledge of the things about mo. Lieutenant Ward of the Fifteenth lniautry. until recently, and myself, were on tho lake with two natives rowing, row-ing, us. The pari of the oounfrv along that part of the shoro was not friendly and sometimes shots wcio fired at the launches or boats coming near the shore. Of course, this gave a little spice to our hunting. Found Eaglo Fcoding. T caught sight, away ahead of us, of what T first supposed lo be a deer feeding on the shore. 7 pointed it out lo tho lieutenant and ordered the unlives un-lives to try to get near enough for us lo shoot. II was interesting lo see thorn, so row a boat as to make good spoetl and yet seem to be standing still. When we came near I he shore, tho lake-was lake-was shallow, hut (he natives as stealthily stealth-ily as snakes, slid over the sido of tho boat and kept us moving towards the object of our envy, which we. now knew to be one of much more worfh than many deer. By this time, T was much excited, because this was the 'bird of which the great Dean Worcester had written me and tried to induco me to let the bureau of sciences have tho shin of one had sent to Manila. He had told me I hat I hero were only four' or five skins ever taken, and how he had spent a day trving to get one. lie had shot, which fell into a canyon whore he could not got it. and of another an-other he had brought to America and lost some way in shipping. (It seems that this skin has since reached our national museum). I wanted that bird and knew 1 was within gunshot. So anxious was 1, that I feared to lake out I ho No. 0 in my gun and replace it with buckshot. Bird Got Away, The bird did not seem to be fearful of us. but allowed us to conic within what 1 considered a fair distance for a shot. I motioned for ihe natives lo stop and look careful aim. But, alas, my heart feels sick as I think of tho result of that shot at this distant time and nlace. That mighty bird roso as if uot hit. I then tired the other barrel and saw it cut his feathers, and yot it soared away without a falter to die of the wounds T had given it, for it was impossible for us to follow it through the thick tangles over which it had flown, even if it had been safe. I nevi-r had such a feeling of humiliation, shame and heartsick noss. i almost felt as Tho Monkey-Eating Eaglo. I imagine one would if ho hnd wounded a noble fellow-being, who must lie in some obscure place and died without the attendance of a friendly doctor to put him to sleep. I felt so keenly hurt that I did not go io tho shore lo learn what it had been enting, and so missed an opportunity to give a littlo inoro knowledge to the world concerning concern-ing that wonderful king of bird6, of which so little is known. Buys a Great Eagle. The Mohammedan Moros bring to market anything on which they think thoy can rcalizo a little cash. T have for a fow cents bought from them some very beautiful and rare birds ami oilier things. Sometimes when t purchased a live bird from them, nnd caused it to die immediately, by a means which they neither saw or understood they would look much alarmed, and want to hand ine back the money I had paid, according accord-ing lo tlioir Mohammcdau beliefs. One day thoy brought to market one of these great eagres, which was bought for n I rifle by Lieutenant Farrell, Fifteenth infantry. J was awav at the time, but when I returned. 1 heard of the huge bird and that they had tried to keep it alive until I returned. Hut il hnd died and had been skinned by a hospital hospi-tal corps sergeant. I hastened to find tho skin nnd was just in lime In save it, for the ants hnd just found it and were on it in swarms. I took it with me and spent about throo hours cleaning clean-ing il and skinning the parts tho sergeant ser-geant did not know how to handle, and found it lo be a very lino old specimen. Likes Chicken as Food. Dr. Van Dcusen then began to I ell me of its habits ami appenranco. Tho appearance is best seen from lho pictures which he was so kind as to furnish me. Tho ruff on the neck is raised when he is angry. Thoy fed him on chickens. If very hungry lie would pounce upon the live olnckcn. and with his claws end ils misery almost instantly, in-stantly, and eat all the chicken, tearing it to pieces with his claws and mighty mandible. IT not hungry, ho would' cat only tho entrails. Of the specimen in lho picture, I look the following measurements: Length, J07S.8 millimeters; wing, 58-1; tail, 431S; tarsus. 127; middle tail feather, width, 82 55- The weight of this species, given by Whitehead, is from 16 to 20 poumls. I afterward skinned one which was very poor nnd weighed only 8 pounds. Do Eat Monkeys. Tho last specimen mentioned above was brought me by Lieut. Sillamen, now at Fori Douglas. Ho and his compnny were out for ono of their pleasant morning walks through those gnrdons of tho gods, and spied this eagle asleep on a tree,, and one of .the expert shots, for which the Fifteenth infantry is so famous, shot it. i learned sqincthing worth while from this specimen lo verify the reports ot ils habits. In, its crop T found a monkev. Not alive nor whole, but cut up and swallowed much as if it had been carved with a knife; found the paw hnd been cut off and then the next joint, and so on until all was eaten.' including hair and , bones, with the. exception of the hoad. which I did not find. After enting, the bird had perched lo let his breakfast digest while, ho slept, and so met his ignominious igno-minious end. Short Winged Eagle. This eagle is sometimes called the short winged eagle, as its wing is short and rounded, and by (his one can easily recognize tho species in llight. I caught sight, of two Hying from one mountain to the other. But like the I rout fisher, I missed my chance for fame- by not getting Ihe one which looked to me as large ns a door and twice tho size of any yot described bv ornithologists. JOSEPH CLEMENS, A. M. Fort Douglas. Utah, With ' respect lo the monkey-oaling eagle, Paul On ("liaillu was the first to bring this bird lo the notice of the world. In his book describing his travels in Africa, he says that one day he loaded his gun to got a shol "at a species of monkey called mondi. He saw and heard a lot' of these monkeys in the high trees of the forest and tolls about the outcome as follows; "I advanced very cautiously until I got quite near lo thorn. T could then pee their big bodies. long tails and long, jet black, shining hair. What handsome hand-some beasts Ihey were! What a ncc looking muff their skins would make! I thought. "Just as I was considering which one of them 1 would fire at I saw some big thing, like a Jargo shadow, suddonl.v oine df.wn upon the tree. Then 1 heard tho flapping of heavy wings, and also the death cry of h poor mondi. Then I saw a huge bird, with a breast spoiled somewhat liko a leopard, raise itself slowly in lho air, carrying the monkey in its poworful, "fiugorliko talons. The claws of one leg were fast in the upper part of tho neck of the monkey; so deep were they in the flesh thai thev were completely buried, nnd a fow drops of blood fell upon the. leaves below. The other leg had its i claws quite deep into the back of the monkey. Tho left log was kept higher than the right, and I could see (hat the great strength of thn bird was used nt that time to keep the neck, and also tho back, of the, -victim from moving. Tho bird rose higher and higher, the monkey's tail swayed lo and fro, and thou both disappeared. It was a guan ionien. Its prey was, no doubt, tnken to Homo big tree where it could bo de-vourcd." |