254 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 



Order XII. RAPTORES. Birds of Prey. 



Members of this order are at once recognizable by a glance at the structure 

 of the bill and feet, various though the modifications of these parts may be. 

 The strongly hooked bill, provided with a cere, only occurs elsewhere among 

 parrots, and there the feet are totally different, being "yoke-toed", as in 

 cuckoos and woodpeckers, two toes pointing forward and two always back- 

 ward, while in birds of prey either three toes point forward permanently, 

 as in all the diurnal Raptores except the Osprey, or the outer toe is versatile, 

 that is, may be turned in either direction, as in the Osprey and all owls. 

 In any case the claws or talons are long, curved and sharp, and in all except 

 the American Vultures they are extremely acute and flexibly jointed to 

 the toes, so that the feet become powerful weapons for grasping, piercing 

 and killing the living prey on which these birds mainly subsist. 



Three suborders are recognized, separable as follows: 



KEY TO SUBORDERS. 



A. Head and part of neck without feathers (Fig. 67). Suborder Sarcor- 



hamphi. American Vultures. Page 254. 

 AA. Head well feathered. B, BB. 



B. Eyes placed at the sides of the head so that the two eyes never 

 look in the same direction. Suborder Falcones. Diurnal 

 Birds of Prey. Page 257. 

 BB. Eyes directed forward so that both look in the same direction, 

 surrounded by disks of radiating feathers, the so-called facial 

 disks. Suborder Striges. Owls. 



Suborder SARCORHAMPHI. American Vultures. 

 Family 36. CATHARTID^. Buzzards or Vultures. 



Only a single Michigan species, the Turkey Buzzard. 



The family (and suborder) is characterized by the naked head, perforate 

 nostrils, short hind toe inserted a little above the level of the three front 

 toes, and the somewhat blunt and not strongly curved claws. The whole 

 structure of the foot is adapted rather for walking or standing than for 

 grasping and killing as in most other Raptores. 



130. Turkey Buzzard. Cathartes aura septentrionalis Wicd. (325) 



Synonyms: Turkey Vulture, ^'ultu^e, Buzzard, Carrion Crow. — Cathartes septen- 

 trionalis, Wied., 1839. — Vultur aura, Linn., 1766, and the older authors generally. — 

 Cathartes aura, lUig., 1811, and most recent writers. — Rhinogryphus aura, Ridgw., 1875. 



Figures 67 and 68. 



The large size, long, rounded tail, and head entirely naked or merely 

 downy, serve to separate this bird from all others. 



Distribution. — Temperate North America, from New Jersey, Ohio Valley, 



