PEREGRINE FALCON 



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Peregrine Falcon ^^ old-time writers the birds -of- prey, inclusive of 

 (Falco peregrinus). falcons, eagles, and vultures on the one hand, and 

 of owls on the other, were by common consent 

 placed at the head of the class Aves, as were the beasts of prey at 

 the head of the Mammalia ; the post of honour being assigned in the 

 one case to the golden eagle and in the other to the lion. This view is, 

 however, in great part a misconception ; the gannet being just as 

 highly specialised and adapted for its own particular mode of life as 

 is the golden eagle or the peregrine 

 falcon for its line of existence, and 

 to say that one is higher than the 

 other is thus incorrect. Moreover, 

 the diurnal birds-of-prey, such as fal- 

 cons, eagles, and vultures, have little 

 in common with owls, and the former 

 are now alone included in the order 

 Accipitres, whose nearest affinities 

 are probably with the Steganopodes, 

 which have just been considered. 

 Of this group the peregrine, or 

 " wandering," falcon is the typical 

 representative, and is accordingly 

 assigned the first place. 



The Accipitres as a whole form 

 a group so easy of recognition that 

 it is unnecessary on the present 

 occasion to discuss their structural 

 features at any length. It is, how- 

 ever, important to mention that they 

 agree with the cormorants and 

 gannets in the nature of the palate 



(which is of the bridged, or closed type), and in the shape of the 

 apertures of the nostrils in the dry skull, this being a broad oval, and 

 not a long slit. The oil-gland is also tufted, as in the latter group ; 

 but, on the other hand, the feather-bearing tract on the back of the 

 neck is defined by bare spaces. In all the members of the group the 

 lower jaw terminates behind in the abrupt manner characteristic of 

 the Steganopodes ; and in the three families with which we have to deal 

 on this occasion the base of the skull is not provided with flat surfaces 

 for the articulation of the hind movable bones of the palate, although 

 these are present in certain other families. 



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PEKEGKINK FALCON M.\LE 



