6o A BOOK OF BIRDS 



native, as its name implies, of Greenland. In olden days, when the 

 sport of falconry was at its height, this bird was the most highly 

 prized of all the Falcons. The general tone of the plumage is pure 

 white, relieved by black markings. Nearly allied to this bird is the 

 American Labrador Falcon, but this is at once distinguishable by its 

 very dark colouring. The food of the Greenland Falcon consists 

 chiefly of Ptarmigan and Willow-grouse, varied by Lemmings and other 

 small mammals. 



We bring this chapter to an end with a description of the Vultures, 

 birds which present many very interesting points for consideration. 



If the strict rules of classification had been adhered to, some of 

 the birds now to be described would have had their turn quite early 

 in the chapter. But for reasons which will presently appear, this 

 order was not observed. 



To be brief, the Vulture-like birds taken as a whole are by no 

 means all closely related one to another. Divided into ** Old "- and 

 " New-world " Vultures, the former constitute a very ancient family, 

 standing aloof, as it were, from the Hawks, Buzzards, Eagles, and Fal- 

 cons. If we take these last as representing so many branches of a 

 common stem, then the Vultures may be regarded as forming a similar 

 independent stem, both arising, however, from a single trunk. The 

 letter *' Y " may well represent this. The different kinds of Old-world 

 Vultures may be pictured as forming so many branches cut off from 

 the left-hand, and the Hawks, Buzzards, Eagles, and Falcons as 

 so many branches cut off from the right-hand branch of the " Y," 

 the stem of which indicates that both main branches with their 

 ramifications came from the same stock. 



The ** New-world" Vultures, however, form a group by themselves ; 

 they are the terminal branches of a separate trunk, which we may sup- 

 pose grew out from the very root of the *' Y "-shaped tree just described. 

 They may at once be distinguished from all other birds of prey by 

 the fact that the nostrils are pierced quite through, whereas in the 

 rest of the birds of prey they are divided by a partition ; further, the 

 feet and claws of the New- world forms are less *' Hawk-like." 



Of the Old-world Vultures, three very interesting species are figured 

 on Plate IX. 



The smallest of these is the Egyptian Vulture (Plate IX. fig. 2), 



