THE HARPIES

The creature you see above is a Harpy.  They come from Greek mythology and are not of pleasant disposition.

The story goes that Phineas, a blind king, who lived somewhere on the northern coast of Turkey.  He was cursed by Zeus.  Every day, a sumptuous meal was set out before him, but whatever was on the table the Harpies, two in number, turned up and gobbled.  Happily, the Argo was sailing by and they drove the Harpies off.

Does any real animal lie behind the Harpy legend?  The Hoopoe has been suggested, though I suspect human imagination is just as good a guess