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NOCTURNAL BIRDS OF PREY. $45 
dead or living ; like them, too, they possess the strength and cunning 
which are necessary to secure their victims. 
With her ever-admirable foresight Nature has wisely limited the 
reproduction of these destructive creatures—the iargest only lay two 
eggs a year; the others, on an average, five or six. It is a singular 
thing that the female is often nearly a third bigger than the male; 
hence the name of “ tarsel,” given to the latter in certain species. 
The Raptores present none of the graces and are totally deficient 
of the charming powers of song possessed by other races of birds, 
for their sole utterance consists either of harsh cries or strange and 
plaintive modulations. Their plumage is nearly always of a sad and 
monotonous appearance. Destruction is the sole object of their 
existence ; they are the terror of all the rest of the feathered creation, 
among which they every day make numerous victims. They live 
alone, or in couples, in the most deserted localities, their gathering 
together in flocks being exceptional, and then it is to devour putrid 
carrion. They are of a despotic and combative temperament, and 
will not suffer any rivals in their neighbourhood. ‘They practise 
absolutism in its strictest form, and reign as lords and masters in the 
districts which they choose for their territory. 
The Raptores are met with over the whole surface of the globe; 
the larger species inhabit lofty mountains, or seek a hiding-place in 
the face of inaccessible and solitary cliffs. 
This order is divided into two sub-orders, the Nocturnal and the 
Diurnal. This division is a very rational one, for it is founded on 
dissimilarity of habits, which is owing to a difference of organisation. 
NocTURNAL BIRDS OF PREY. 
Nocturnal birds of prey are distinguished by large staring eyes, 
directed straight in front, and surrounded by a circle of slender and 
stiff feathers, which, by their radiation round the iace, form a_ nearly 
complete disc, to which the name oi fuczal disc has been given; by 
the large development of their head ; by very short bills, devoid ot 
cere, which is replaced by a plain skin covered with hairs ; by tarsi 
feathered down to the claws; by the mobility of the outside toe, 
which can be turned either torwards or backwards ; by very strong, 
sharp, and retractile claws ; by abundant and soft plumage ; and by 
tails which are generally short. 
But the original characteristic of these birds, and that which has 
contributed to their union in one group, is their inability to bear the 
light of mid-day, and the faculty they possess of being able to see in 
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