260 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



Ordeu XV. — ACCIPITUES. 



Among birds, as among mammals, we find certain forms specially fitted for the par- 

 suit, ca])ture, and use as food of many otlier animals. Among those which are pre- 

 eminent in the destruction of the higher forms of life are the groups of eagles and 

 owls. These are tyjtieal birds of ]irey, and if we add to tliein the vultures, which at 

 first thought we might be slow to do, and a single and singular long-legged and long- 

 named bird of South Africa, — the serpent-e.ater or secretary bird — we shall have 

 before us rej)resentatives of the four groups which go to make up the order Aeeipitres, 

 otherwise known as Kajjtores or Ra]itatores. 



Living entirely on animal sulistances, which they are frequently j>ut to their wits' 

 ends to obtain, we should e.xpect that many features of their organization would bear 

 directly on the manner of detecting, securing, and ap))ro]iriating their food. And in 

 fact all the members of the order are at once recognizable by a glance at the structure 

 of the bill and feet, various though the modifications of these parts may be. The 

 strongly hooked bill, ]irovided with a cere, only occurs elsewhere among the ])arrots, 

 and there the feet are totally different, two toes ))ointing forward and two backward, 

 as in cuckoos and woodpeckers. 



The cere (Latin cera, wax) is a membrane sheathing the base of the u]ipcr jaw, 

 commonly soft and smooth, l>ut frequently horny and wrinkled, in, or at the edge of 

 which the nostrils open. The bill itself, very strongly built, is short and stout, with 

 cutting edges and arched tip, forming an admirable instrument for tearing flesh or 

 skin, and even breaking bones. This character is shown in all the members of the 

 group, however much they may differ in other resi)ects, and the adaptation to flesh- 

 eating habits is so marked that it is hardly possil)le for anyone to mistake an accipi- 

 trine bird for anything else. The feet are always strong and four toed, three in front 

 and one behind ; but the owls and the fish-hawk (Pandian) have the outer toe versatile 

 — turning either way indifferently. As the feet are the most active instruments in 

 securing ]>rey, we should expect them to vary much with the character of the food 

 and the habits of the species, and such is in fact the case. Among those which feed 

 maiidy on dead animals or refuse of any kind, the toes are clumsy and not fitted for 

 grasping, and the claws arc usually blunt, weak, and little curved; while amongst 

 those which attack living i)irds or other animals, — often larger than themselves, — 

 the toes aie verj- flexible as well as strong, and the claws, or talons, are very long, 

 much curved, and extremely acute. 



Doubtless the eye of a falcon or eagle is the most pci-fcct organ of sight in exis- 

 tence, far sur])assing that of any other animal, including man himself. Not only are 

 they able clearly to distinguish minute objects at a distance, but in darting down from 

 a height they must have the power to adjust the eye to distance with a rapidity and 

 nicety simjjly marvellous. What must the eye of an os]>rey be, that he 7nay be able, 

 from a height of even a hundred feet, to distinguish beneath the wind-roughened water 

 a fish so small that yuu might cover it with your hand, and not only see, l)Ut know 

 whether it be only a few inches or a few feet below the surface? And what kind of 

 sight is that which enables the barn-owl to follow and clutch in the darkness the bat 

 which you can scarcely follow with your eye in the early twilight? 



All the birds of prey are not quick flyers, but their powers of endurance are unex- 



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