14 ACCIPITRES. 



their eyes placed upon tlie sides of their head^ so 

 that they can see in every direction ; while in the 

 nocturnal Birds of Prey both the eyes are directed 

 forw'ards. 



SUB-OBDER. 



ACCIPITRES DiURNI.* 



Diurnal Birds of Prey. 



In addition to the lateral position of the eyes 

 referred to above, the diurnal birds of prey are 

 recognisable by having the base of their beak 

 covered with a soft skin, called, from its wax-like 

 appearance, the " cei^e/' in which the orifices of the 

 nostrils are generally situated. Their feet are fur- 

 nished with three toes in front and one behind; all 

 quite destitute of feathers ; their plumage is close - 

 set, their Tvdngs strong, and their flight rapid. 

 They form two great groups, the first embracing 

 those that feed principally on animals killed by 

 themselves, the second including such as live more 

 or less upon carrion. The former were classed by 

 Linnaeus under the general name of Falcons, the 

 latter, constituting an equally natural group, em- 

 braces the Vultures, those unclean birds that must 

 first occupy our attention as constituting the type 

 of the rapacious order to which they belong. t 



* Diurnus, belonging to the day. 



t It may seem strange to the unscientific reader that these 

 ignoble birds should be selected as the type or pattern of the 

 rapacious tribes,' in preference to the more highly gifted Eagles 

 and Hawks ; aud it may therefore be necessary to explain in this 

 place what is the exact meaning attached to the words " type," 

 " typical form," and " typical species," which will occur so fre- 

 quently in the following pages. The type of any given tribe or 

 family of Birds is by no means that genus or species which is the 

 most remarkably endowed with any particular faculty or attribute, 

 but, on the contrary, is selected rather from its want of any extra- 

 ordinary or exaggerated development of the peculiarities charac- 



