Supplement to the History, Page 8

# ON EAGLES

A very beautiful and royal species of eagle, adorned with a black crown or crest, roams through the Indies; the inhabitants call it the *Yzquauhtli*. Its beak is yellow at the base and black toward the tip, with pale feet and black talons. Its legs and belly are a mixture of black and white, while its neck is tawny, and its back and tail are a dark, dusky black. This eagle is as large as an ordinary ram and is endowed with such great boldness and ferocity that, even when tamed, it may attack a person for the slightest reason. Nevertheless, it can be broken to the hood and, like other hawks, it serves its masters in the hunt.

In addition to those recorded by the most learned Aldrovandi, white eagles are found roaming the mountains beyond the kingdom of Malabar, stretching for a thousand miles to the kingdom of Morsili, which pays tribute to no one. In those deep valleys, these birds feed on serpents. The locals make use of them in the search for gemstones, especially diamonds, as many diamonds are formed in the mountains of that realm. After the rains, many men head out to the streams descending from the mountains and find some diamonds in the sand. However, because the majority are carried by the waters into inaccessible ravines, men ascend the mountains during the summer and toss pieces of fresh meat into those valleys. The white eagles, watching from above, swoop down and carry the meat back up to the mountains, and some diamonds often stick to the flesh. The men carefully watch where the birds carry the meat, run toward them, and drive the eagles away with loud noises to collect the stones adhering to the meat. If the eagles happen to eat the meat while still in the valleys, the men diligently observe where the birds roost at night; in the morning, they retrieve the stones from the droppings, should any have been swallowed along with the meat.

# ON THE AURAS, OR BIRDS OF THE WINDS

There is a certain bird among the Indians that has earned its name for its ability to withstand any violence of the air and the onslaught of the winds. In coastal regions it is called the *Zamuro*, by the Peruvians the *Suyunu*, and by the Mexicans the *Tzopiloti*. It appears to be of the crow family and approaches the eagle in size. It is black in color, with hooked black talons and dusky legs. Its beak resembles that of a parrot, and its forehead is featherless, covered in wrinkled skin and surrounded by sparse black hairs. It feeds on carrion, human waste, and other filth.

These birds spend the night in trees and on cliffs, but in the morning they fly toward the cities. From high vantage points, they diligently watch the streets so they may scavenge anything unclean or lifeless as food. They are sharp-sighted, swift in flight, and remarkably silent; they neither cry out nor sing, but only emit a slight murmur. The author Hernandez claims their origin is unknown, as no one knows where they nest or raise their young, yet they are extremely common in every corner of New Spain. Nevertheless, Acosta writes that their chicks are white and only acquire their raven-black color as they mature, and that they possess an unpleasant odor. The ash of their feathers is used to inhibit the growth of hair. The meat is eaten to combat the French disease; the dung, when drunk in some liquid, benefits those suffering from melancholy; and the heart, when dried in the sun, breathes forth a very sweet scent. For these reasons, in some provinces, laws have been passed with penalties to ensure these birds are not killed.

There is another bird called the *Cozcacoauhtli* by the Indians, which is considered the Queen of the Auras—that is, the queen of those birds the Mexicans call Auras, or Birds of the Winds. Mexi