On the CarriiKje of tlie Legs in the Birds of Prey. 1 33 



before Linnajus struck out his binomial system. In Dr. 

 Sharpens words " It will end in making the study of birds 

 impossible"; and I do implore him in future volumes to study, 

 not foreign examples, but those of his own colleagues in 

 that great series of which we owe so large a part to his own 

 laborious energy. 



XI. — Further Remarks on the Mode of Carriage of the Legs 

 in the Birds of Prey. By Ernst Hartert. 



In 'The Ibis' for 189J. (p. 547) the Editor called attention 

 to my remarks about the carriage of the legs by the Raptores, 

 and asked the Members of the B.O.U. whether I was right or 

 not. I hope they will publish their observations, as there 

 seem to be different opinions. At the same time such 

 questions can certainly not be settled by opinions, but only 

 by accurate observations. 



I myself was formerly under the impression that the 

 Raptores carry their feet drawn up in front against the ab- 

 domen, because all the figures and all the stuffed birds which 

 I have seen were arranged thus. I was therefore much 

 astonished to find that Milvus govinda and HaUasfur indus, 

 which are so fearless in India that one can observe them 

 quite closely, carried their legs stretched out behind under 

 the root of the tail, and afterwards I saw the same course 

 followed by birds of several other species. I therefrom con- 

 clude most positively that all the Raptores do the same, for 

 such habits as this are never peculiar to certain species. 

 Besides, a number of exact observers, both in Germany and 

 Africa, have published in the ' Ornithologische Monats- 

 berichte ' their own observations on other species of Raptores 

 (after I had opened the controversy), which agree with my 

 own. It is true that the contrary has been stated by two 

 observers, but they make such sweeping and general state- 

 ments that I do not doubt that their memory failed them. 

 They evidently wrote from recollection, and did not quote 

 particular observations of the fact. 



