182 



VERTEBRATA: AVES OR BIRDS. 



Plains of our country, lives in the burrows of the Prairie 

 Dog, where it is doubtless an unwelcome visitor. 



FIG. 215. 



Snowy Owl, Nyctea nivea, Gray. 



Of all the birds included in the Order of Raptores, 

 none are of less popular interest taken together as a 

 family than the Vultures or Vulturidee ; although there 

 are a few very interesting species, as the Condor, of South 

 America, and the Lammergyer, of the Alps. The Vul- 

 tures have the eyes on a level with the sides of the head, 

 and the head and upper part of the neck naked. Except- 

 ing the Condor and Lammergyer, and a few others, they 

 are the feeblest representatives of the rapacious birds. 

 They seldom capture their food unless forced to do so by 



