88 THE FEATIIEKEl) TRIBES. 



iiig SO perfect an effect. We find, therefore, that these birds can only fly Avith advantage 

 when the wmd is in the rear. They keep then* heads low, and seldom rise except for 

 the purpose of discovermg their prey. The word sailor very appropriately depicts this 

 mode of flying ; the wings being extended and motionless, and the body carried along by 

 the force of the wind. In fact, it is, strictly speaking, a sort of sailing. The quills of 

 the rowing wing are generally more firm than those of the sailing. This is mdicated 

 by the lively and marked variegation which predominates in the former from one end to 

 the other ; while, in the latter, a tone of deep uniform black prevails from the sloping of 

 the feather to the point, and a wliite equally uniform from the origin of the quill to the 

 commencement of the sloping. 



There is, likewise, a difterent structure in the talons of the rowers and sailors. The 

 toes in the former are longer, finer, and more supple. They embrace a more extended 

 surface, and being moved by a longer lever, are capable of a more powerful retention 

 than those of the sailing birds, wluch are thicker and shorter. As, too, they are more 

 curved and acerated, they penetrate more easily, and inflict a more dangerous woimd. 



The I'owing birds seize at once their intended victims, when these are more light of 

 body than rapid in their movements. AVhen the prey is of greater weight and is more 

 active, they strike it to diminish its sti-ength and speed. With instinctive precision they 

 invariably attack the vital part, which in birds is on the holloAv of the occiput, and 

 between the shoulders and the ribs in the mammaHa. It is also remarkable that the 

 smaller species are the most quickly destructive. The merlins, for instance, scarcely touch 

 the vital part before death ensues. 



The sailors are not so precise when they strike, their chief resource being to seize 

 the Adctim and compress it to death. When they cast themselves on a hare, they seize 

 it by the neck with one of their talons and strangle it. Then* beak, not being indented, 

 tears the skin and flesh, but seldom breaks the bones, except when they are so situated 

 that its point can manage them in its curvature. In the thickest woods these birds 

 exhibit extraordinary address ui seizing their prey. 



* Haliastus Albicilla. Sav. 



