The Washington weekly post. (Washington, D.C.) 1878-1916, 1900-11-13

authority as ]. r Harting. Of London,
seems TO incline that way. But the big
gest bustard Mr.. Harting cites Is the Sc
vile bustard. with a weight Of thirty
pounds, and the biggest authentic spread
Of wings he cites Is only teyen feet three
inches. The German naturalist. the young
or Nsumsnn, tells Of bustards weighing
thir;y-two pounds, and says that he has
been assured OF the former existence OF
specimens OF the bird weighing thirty
five or thirty-eight pounds. From the
earliest times the flesh OF the bustard has
been the delight OF epicures. which will
account for its extinction In the British
Isles and the fact that II " now not
common in Northwestern Europe II Is a
shy bird. and lives largely on a vegetable
diet When on the wing its flight is as
majestic as that Of the eagle In the last
century the bustaFd began TO be extremely
rare In England. and I'm the early part OF
the century the birds were met with only
ccaslonally in out OF the way places.
What were the last two recorded British
bustards OF the old stock were killed n
Norfolk In KS but hardly month passes
without a report from some one In some
part OF England who believes that he has
seen one Of these immense creatures. Nat
Urally the thought of so huge bird living
n a crowded country like England ap-
reals 10 all that Is romantic In man. Sew
eral imported bustarGs have recently been
turned out on an estate in Norfolk uhe
county from which they disappeared
with the intention OF making the breed
again common as game bird in England.
but they have not thriven well. England
seems to be populated too thickly for the
liking OF the bustard. which Is fond OF the
sohtude OF deeply wooded and little fire.
GUented regions.
The Phantom BASTARD
a popular English belief among certain
classes Is that OF the phantom bustard OF
Hampstead Heath. After the bird had
disappeared from England I'm his proper
form mysterious phantom bustard used
10 NIT al night across the favorite resort
oil AIRY and 'Arriet. and may possibly do
so now, though 1t has not got into the
papers OF late. This phantom busta.i Of
hampstead Heath even engaged the pen
OF Charles Dickens. and was for a long
TINE a part Of the folklore of London.
Perhaps II was not folklore and a phan-
tom. Perhaps a solitary bustard, hiding
somewhere during the day, did really run
about Hampstead Heath at night. the last
OF the bustards revisiting the glimpses of
the moon and waiting for death 10 end It's
race Here is chance for Ernest Seton
thompson 10 write a story. 1.-The Last Of
the Bustards." which shall be as great in
It's way as The Last OF the Barons."
If the present attempt of one OF the rich
English landowners in Norfolk is success
ful. the bustard may people English COW
ers again. as he did long ago A flock has
been imported from Spain and liberated,
and notices have been spread all through
the island warning all sportsmen of the
attempt and asking them not to modest
the birds
In speaking of big flying birds, the wild
swan should not be forgotten. This bird
sometimes attains 10 a weight OF twenty
five pounds. and has an expanse Of wing
OF seven feet The albatross sometimes
weighs seventeen pounds and has fourteen
feet eXpanse OF wing
The laemmergeier, the great bearded
vulture of the Alps, is the bird told Of
most frequently in song and story as a
kidnapper. AS a matter of fact. il is
doubted by the best authorities il the
laemmergeier ever stoops 10 any but a
carcass. Nevertheless, there have been
pretty well established cases of it's having
NafiPh SpuhE ldUibS anu MUS anu iilt
has been shot while eating a rabbit which
II had just killed. Yet one naturalist who
watched the lGemmergeier for twelve
years never once saw the bird attack
anything alive. The laemmergeier some
| tines weighs sixteen pounds and has a
wing expanse Of over nine feet II Is
thought that the depredations Of eagles
have given to the laemmergeier its had
name by getting their exploits mixed up
with his.
Could Garry on n Child.
A harpy eagle could carry off a small
baby If ii felt so disposed and the golden
eagle can carry off a small fawn or a kid
or wild turkey. and does 1t when oppor-
tunity offers. The latter sometimes
weighs twelve pounds and has an expanse
OF wing OF seven feet and a half 1t is
capable of enduring extreme cold and is
immensely strong for its size The prey
which II kills and carries off frequently
exceeds its weight With its remarkable
keenness of vision II espies its prey from
a great height. and falls upon II with tre-
mendous velocity and unerring precision.
The bird is common In this country, but
seldom seen in the Eastern States II
lives 10 extreme age, II 1t meets with no
mishap, and there is an authentic record
of one living for over a century In cap
! tivity. The American eagle-that is, the
so-called bald-headed eagle, which is not
bald-headed at all-is a fish-eating bird
generally, though it will not disdain flesh
when it can get it. and often attacks
small Quadrupeds and smaller birds. Ac-
cOrdlng 10 Audubon the bald eagle can
ascend until IL disappears from view, with
out any apparent motion of its wings or
tail. 1t grows TO be about twelve pounds
in weight.
An eagle which, though smaller than
any of those mentioned, is dreaded most
thoroughly because of its fearlessness and
fierceness is the savage and powerful AL
pine eagle, known In Switzerland as the
steinadler (stone eagle). Matthias Schmid,
the famous painter of scenes in the Tyrol,
witnessed the taking of q child by one of
these terrible creatures, and painted the
scene in a picture which is being exhib-
tied now in Germany. poor peasant
woman had laid her sleeping child in what
she thought was a safe place in one of
the sparse grass patches high up on
mountain while she moved the grass. She
was only few feet away from the baby.
Suddenly a great shadow swept along
over the sunny wall of the mountain, and
even as she turned there resounded a
murderous cry that struck terror into her
heat. In the next instant a great steinad-
Ter stopped and seized the child. Before
she could cover the short distance the bird
had begun 10 rise. Tapping heavily, with
the baby In his claws. Then she tainted.
All effort to recover the infant was in
vain. Alpine guides and hunters searched
for days. but they could not even ind the
nest of the daring bird.
The steinadler builds his rude nest on
the sides of steep rocky walls so smooth
that not even the chamois can gain a
foothod on them. All sorts of tales are
told about him. So great is the awe in
which he is held that the widest stories
ind ready credenee even among the noun
tainoers. because they know what terri
BILE bird he is. The Swiss say that the
steinadier never drinks water, but queneh-
es his thirst with blood only. and there
10