"Grifo" or Griffon in Spain, and that of Golden Eagle in India; while conversely any Eagle is pointed out in the Alps as a Lämmergeier. It has been credited with a habit of scaring young animals over the cliffs by descending with a sudden rush, but its nature is cowardly, and it does not seem to attack man; yet marvellous tales have been told of its strength and daring, some of which may in part be true, though the evidence is hardly convincing. Like _Neophron_, it is said to carry bones up into the air, letting them fall to break them, while land-tortoises are similarly treated in North Africa, and possibly this species is responsible for the death of the poet Æschylus, on whose bare head a tortoise is alleged to have been dropped.[134] _Gypohierax angolensis_, somewhat approaching the Vulturidae, is white, with the secondaries, most of the scapulars, the tips of the primaries, and the base of the tail black; the bare skin of the sides of the face and the feet are flesh-coloured, and the beak is grey-blue. Rare in East and South Africa, though common in the West, it is generally seen on lagoons, rivers, or sea-shores, sunning itself on some elevation, or skimming the water with laboured flight in search of fish. It will attack animals and eat garbage. Sub-fam. 2. _Polyborinae._–Of the American "Carrion Hawks," _Polyborus tharus_ is dull black, with whitish neck, back, breast, {152}and tail, more or less barred with dusky, and broad blackish tips to the rectrices. The bare red skin of the cheeks and throat imparts a vulturine look, belied, however, by the almost gallinaceous feet. It inhabits South America from Ecuador and Guiana southwards; but thence the very similar _P. cheriway_ ranges to Florida and Lower California, _P. lutosus_ occurring in Guadelupe Island off the latter. The Carancho or Cáracara, as _P. tharus_ is called, resembles in habits the "Turkey-Buzzards" (_Rhinogryphus_), with which it consorts, though somewhat shy and quarrelsome. Semi-gregarious, and audacious if unmolested, it passes the hot hours in the shade, and roosts in company at night; while the powerful and graceful flight, with its alternate sailing or flapping movements, though not rapid, enables it to soar in spirals to a great altitude. It walks or runs with ease. The far-reaching grating note is usually uttered with the head thrown back; the food of refuse and carrion is supplemented by young lambs or alligators, birds, frogs, reptiles, land-crabs, worms, and insects. When on a tree, bush, or cliff, the large shallow nest, often renewed yearly, is made of sticks and lined with grass, leaves, roots, wool, or scraps of any sort; but, when on the ground or in swamps, reeds and herbage are commonly utilized. The three or four eggs ranging from white with red blotches to cinnamon with a few black marks.