ORDER OF BIRDS OF PREY 



Order Raptores 



|ECAUSE of their rapacious habits, more than because of their physical char- 

 acteristics, these birds have been grouped in one order. Each member of 

 tlie order is equipped with a strongly hooked bill with a soft area or cere at the 

 base. The only other birds that have similar bills are the Parrots, but these 

 latter have their toes arranged differently, being "yoke-toed," or having two 

 toes pointed forward and two backward, while the Birds of Prey either have 

 three toes permanently jiointed forward, as in the Eagles, or the outer toe 

 may be turned at will to the front or to the back, as in the Owls. 



Three suborders are recognized. The first is that of the American \'ultures 

 {Sarcorhamphi), or Carrion-feeders — thus .separated from the others because, 

 not having feet suitable for the slaughter of living prey, they feed upon dead 

 or dying animals, and because they have the head and part of the neck without feathers. 

 It includes but one family. Both the second and the third suborders have the head well 

 feathered. In the suborder Diurnal Birds of Prey (Falcones) the eyes are placed at the sides 

 of the head so that the two eyes never look in the same direction. The third suborder is the 

 Owls (Strigcs), birds which have the eyes directed forward, so that both look in the same 

 direction, and surrounded by disks of radiating feathers. The Owls are divided into two 

 families, the Barn Owls and the Horned Owls. The Diurnal Birds of Prey include three 

 families: the Eagles, Hawks, and Kites; the Falcons, Caracaras, etc.; and the Ospreys. 



VULTURES 



Order Raptores; suborder Sarcorhamphi; family Cathariida 



HE Vultures comprise a New World family named Cathartida from a Greek 

 word meaning "cleanser" or "scavenger." The nine species in this group 

 live chiefly upon decaying flesh, and never attack living animals excepting — and 

 this ver>- rarely — creatures which are disabled or are dying of disease or 

 injuries. They range from the tropics northward to temperate America — in 

 the case of the common Turkey Vulture — and include the great Condor of 

 the Andes, which is exceeded in wing extent only by the California Vulture — 

 now almost extinct — and the Wandering Albatross. 



The bill is stout, blunt, and hooked; the talons are dull and only sHghtly 

 curved, and the feet are clumsily formed and not adapted to seizing and 

 killing or holding prey, as are those of the Eagles, Hawks, and Owls. The 

 wings are broad and have eleven primaries and from twelve to twenty-five secondaries. The 

 tail is rounded or even with from twelve to fourteen quill feathers. The head and long 

 neck of the adults usually are bare, though in the King Vulture a short down covers the 

 neck and extends to the crown of the head. This bare skin is rough and is frequently brightly 

 colored. The eyes usually are conspicuous. The plumage and size of the sexes are alike. 

 The Vultures walk when on the ground instead of hopping. Their attitude gives the 

 impression of listlessness. 



The \'ultures build no nests, but lay one, two, or three eggs in rock cavities, caves, 

 hollow trees or stumps, or on the ground. The eggs, may be greenish, white, or 



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