80 



liiKi) c; \lli;kv. 



ill i)luni:i;;;c. Other |■ollll^ iciircscntcd arc the Madagascar Kestrel 

 (D/s^odec/cs ~onire>itrisj (961 ), the Aiistrahaii Quail-Hawk ( Hk-rachlru 

 berifjoi-ii) (963), and the Jiusli-IIawk {llar/jci uustralis) (964). 



Family 111. Pammoxid.i;. Osprevs. 



[Case ■>'■',.] Xiie last family includes the Ospreys and Fishiug-Eagles, which occupy 

 a somewhat intermediate position between the Hawks and Owls. They 

 resemble the latter in possessing a reversible outer toe, ■which can be 

 turned backwards or forwards at Avill, and the soles of the feet are pro- 

 vided witli spicules to enable them to hold the fish on which they 

 prey. The Osprcy or Fish-Hawk {Pandioa lialiaiHus) (965) is a cosmo- 

 politan species, and though now a very rare bird in Great Britain, 

 it still breeds in one or two places in the north of Scotland, where it is 

 carefully protected. The other allied genus, Po/ioarlKS, includes three 

 species of Fishing-Eagles inhabiting the Indo-INlalayan region. The 

 Grey-lieaded form (P. iclit/ii/(if-fi(f) (966) haunts rivers and its food 

 consists almost cntirelv of fish. 



Order XXIII. STKIGIFORMES. Owls. 



[Case .'54.] Thc' Owls form a well-marked groiiii of Birds of Prey and are mostly 

 nocturnal in their habits. They are easily distinguished from all the 

 Hawks except the Harriers, by the facial disc surrounded by a ring of 

 short crisp feathers and by the absence of the cere or naked wax-like 

 skin at the base of the bill seen in almost all the true Accijiitres. The 

 large eyes are directed obliquely forwards and the upper eyelid shuts 

 over the eye, and not the lower as in birds generally. The external 

 opening of the ear is large and often extremely complicated in structure, 

 while in some genera the right and left openings are asymmetrical. The 

 outer and fourtli toe is reversible at will, enabling the Owls to perch 

 with either one or two toes behind. The eggs are oval in shape and 

 white in colour, and vary in number from two to ten, the larger species 

 as a rule laying fewer eggs than the smaller forms. The nesting site is 

 very varied ; some breeding in holes in trees or in deserted birds^ nests, 

 while others prefer the ground, and Speofi/lo, the American Burrowing- 

 Owl, uses the burrows of prairie-dogs and other small mammals. Many 

 species are dimorphic, that is to say have two phases of coloration, a 

 grey and a rufous. T'wo families are recognised, distinguished by 

 various anatomical ditfcrenccs. 



