420 Mr. N. A. Vicors on the Natural Affinities 
orders before us, did not escape the penetrating eye of Linnæus, 
who, by the name of Pelecanus Aquilus which he assigned it, 
pointed out at once its place among the Aquatic birds, and its 
vicinity to the Aquiline. It is by no means so easy to determine 
the point where the Raptores meet it, as to detect its own gene- 
ral affinity to that order. We know, perhaps, less of the raptorial 
tribes than of any order in the whole class, notwithstanding the 
importance of their size and the prominency of their habits. 
Several groups in particular, of which we have very unsatisfac- 
tory descriptions, are known to exist in the New World. In this 
imperfect state of information, —having had few opportunities of 
examining any of these birds in question, or of judging of them 
by so accurate a description as we fortunately possess of the Ta- 
chypetes, —1 hesitate to decide with any confidence, where I can 
only speak from conjecture. All that I shall at present insist on 
is, the general approximation of these two leading groups. They 
evince a decided affinity in the more important of their habits and 
characters ; and I make no doubt that, when our knowledge of 
the Raptorial order becomes more enlarged and defined, we shall 
find the chain of affinities as perfect in the minuter particulars 
that connect these groups, as it is between the other similar divi- 
sions of the feathered race. 
ON THE FAMILIES OF BIRDS. 
Ord. I. RAPTORES. 
In descending from the consideration of the more extensive 
divisions or orders of Ornithology to that of the next succeeding 
subdivisions, we are naturally led to the consideration of the fa- 
milies of the Raptores, the first of the two orders that form the 
normal or typical group of the class. And here I have to regret 
that 
