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

America have jgst finished spirited dis
ctsslon which has lasted for more than
wear a. 10 which is the largest bird that
f,fcs The prize has been awarded 10 an
American bird the great condor OF the
arfes TO another bird, which II an
.-o.rtcsp nov. has been given the second
rIzs II is the fierce harry eagle Of the
pbuipplres. our own turkey comes very
near the second place, and II England sue
cee5s in a present attempt al relnuoduc-
Ing the famous great bustard into the
tight little island IL viii have the next
largest bird 10 our turkey.
In this discussion. the term largest
has been defined as meaning bird which
has both the largest spread Of wing and
the heaviest weight. This combination OF
jw0 essentials has made the exact choice
for second, third, and fourth places mat
ter for fine calculation. But there Is no
question about the choice for FIRST place
The condor f. king.
In the United States we have. besides
the turkey. four other birds which are
rlaked high IN the list OF the largest
birds, They are the beautiful golden ca
gle. the national bald-headed eagle. the
great wild swan known specifically as the
WnOoper and the California condor.
which is almost as large as his South
American brother.
In many respects the South American
condor is the most remarkable OF all liv-
ing creatures. No other bird can fly so
high. Humboldt saw one flying over
ChimbOrazo at a height OF over 2. 900 feet
10 seems % fly as easily and breathe as
easily IN the Tarefed atmosphere at that
great height as 10 does at the level OF the
sea. No other created being can do this
as TO other living creature can lift itself
so far above the earth. When flying il
sails In majestic circles or hangs poised
In the air as If suspended there by an in
visible cord. Darwin once watched a
condor for half an hour as Il hung over
an Andean valley. and never once did he
detect the slightest movement in the
great bird or its widespread pinions. It's
hrme Is above the snow line and IL
chooses as It's favorite dwelling places
where great cliffs descend sheer down for
thousands Of feet. 1t wanders sometimes
to where the cliffs of Patagonia frown
over the trouble seas but prefers 10 seek
its food In the mountain valleys. 1t is a
bird blessed with an appetite as remark
able as itself ana one condor has been
known TO devour a calf, a dog, and a
sheep in single week. On the other
hand, II can go without food for more
than forty days. BY preference the con-
dor feeds on carrion, but II no carrion Of
fers, IL viii not hesitate to attack sheep,
goats, or small deer.
Keen sight of the Condor.
Probably no other created animal has
such keen sight as the condor. From ire
mendous heights and from great dis
tances II can spy carcass and will
swOop down on II with the rush and
speed of the wind sweeping through the
mountain goTges. Though a goOd-siZed
condor measures fifteen feet in its eX-
panse OF wing-condors have been shot
with that Spread-there seems TO be no
authentic record of the weight Of a con-
dor of that size. The weight OF the bird
is estimated by good authorities. how
ever, at about forty pounds for one with
iifteenfoot spread OF wing. Old travel
eTs' tales tell of condors with an eight
een-foot spread of wing, but there is no
authentic record of a bird having been
measured which comes up 10 those fig
ures Two fine specimens of this condor
reached the New York Geological Society
recently and are installed now in a cage
IN the Bronx Park, New York They are
not nearly full grown, but they are huge
ulluS even dt present Stage Oh lIClT
development.
In putting forward the claims of the
turkey TO be the third largest bird that
flies, il not the second. the tame as well
as the wild bird must be taken into con-
sideratlon; for the domestic turkey GER
tainly can fly and sometimes ascends to
the "tipmost top of the tallmOst tree"
though he is not so lively on the wing as
mill
William T. Hornaday, of the New York
Geological Gardens, sis the king of game
birds" and a faraway look comes into
his eyes as If he were thinking of his
Thanksgiving dinner. There is a wild
turkey in the Geological Gardens which
arrived there last spring-a beautiful
specimen. He weighs twenty-eight pounds
aow, and is increasing. Domestic turkeys
Of thirty pounds are not uncommon. and
Audubon speaks OF one which weighed
thirty-six pounds. Bonaparte-not the
great Emperor. but his brother LucIen.
Prince Of Canino-in his work on "Ameri-
ran ORTHODOXY" speaks of turkeys
Weighing forty pounds and regards all re-
ports OF larger birds as fabulous"
Benjamin Franklin wanted to have the
turkey adopted as the national bird of the
made out a good case for the bird as
AGAINST me claims OF his successful rival.
Why the bird in question is called a tur-
Key has been much discussed without
reaching any definite conclusion one
theory is that the turkey named himself
by his peculiar 'cluck," which sounds
like turk. turk. turk"
The turkey, however. while he bas ,hA
weight lacks the immense spread 81 vim,
which birds or the eagle tribe have and
this gives the harry eagle an ADVANTAGE in
the competition. Until the recent dIsco,,-
cry or the harry eagle in the phiIinpipa,
u was supposed that IL existed noUhe
except In South America, with a related
form in New Guinea. There is a spIep-
did specimen OF the harpy eagle in the
Washington Geological Park which weigbs
between twentyeight and thirty pounds
When IL is considered that the golden ca
gle weighs only twelve pounds, the sea
eagle only sixteen pounds, and the Span-
ish imperial eagle only a little over ten
pounds 10 will be seen that the harpy un-
doubtedly Is entitled to be considered the
largest OF eagles, II not the second Iarg
est OF flying birds. No measurements
which can be accepted as exact scientific
records have been taken by the ornitholo-
gisys OF the length OF body and spreadtof
wing OF this great and fierce bird. but II
Is established that the bird has a spread
OF Al least ten 10 twelve feet.
The Harry Myth.
in South America the harpy lives IN the
dense tropical forests and preys on small
animals. When hungry, II the stories OF
The Indian natives are TO be believed. II
will not hesitate 10 attack larger ami
mails or even man himself II Is probably
Ia" hercest OF all flying birds and Is OF
most uninvitng cast OF c0untenanee
When seen Ia full face its head looks like
That Of one Of those creatures of myth-
o.ogy, the harpies, which had the head
and face OF a woman and the body of a
bird Of prey. In Grecian mythology the
harpies were ravening creatures, deiilne
everything they touched ana carving
away human beings TO devour them. Who
knows? Perhaps. after ALL the harry
myth was not entirely a myth Perhans