Charles Grainsky, age 12, of Staten Island, PT. Y., for his question;

What is the harpy eagle like?

The Greeks paid tribute to a variety of gods, goddesses and lesser beings. Since these characters were inventions of human imagination, some of them were outlandishly fantastic. The harpies, for example, might have been created by a nightmare having a nightmare. The harpy eagle was named for one of these horrors and some people say he deserves it.

A mythical being, of course, never existed but some of the ancient Greeks thought they did. They most likely scared themselves silly with their notions of the mythical harpy. Or maybe the adults told tales of the ghastly horror to scarf their children into good behavior. A harpy, they claimed, was half bird, half woman, and always filled to overflowing with furious hatred for human beings. It would,, ti1e,y said, steal or spoil their food and swoop down in the night to snatch the souls of the dying.

All the eagles are birds of prey and we would not approve of their bloodthirsty way of life for human beings. But they are nature's children with no say about how they may make a living. Most eagles have other qualities to offset their regrettable habits. The American eag1e, our national symbol, is a magnificent beauty as he soars on the wing.

The harpy eagle has handsome plumage of speckled and freckled pearly grays. But this quality is forgotten in the terror he spreads through the tropical forests of Central America. Like the harpy of Greece, he swoops down in the nights intent on destruction. But he is for real and no mythical monster.

In his cruel talons, he snatches a monkey, a roosting bird or even a sizeable, snoozing sloth. He kills his victim and soars aloft and away home. He is a true eagle, a bird of prey with killing talons and hooked beak. He stands three feet tall and has the most powerful legs and talons of any bird of prey in the world   anti the biggest appetite.

The harpy eagle was named for both his snatching habits and his nightmare expression. His white face is set in a double ruff of feathers, which form tufted points, like a pair of horns, on the top of his head. His scorching eyes and cruel beak add a look of merciless fury, just what you would expect on. The face of the swooping, snatching, mythical monster of old.

The harpy eagle makes his home on the lofty slopes of a mountain and builds his nest in  the  top of a tall tree. The female lays two eggs. The youngsters are slow in growing and spend a long time in the nest. The little monsters have monster appetites and their parents are kept busy supplying their demands. This accounts for many of their terrifying raids on the s1eeping jungle.