XXXIV 
THE HAWK AND EAGLE FAMILY 
(Falconide) * 
Tuts is a family of birds of prey. That is, 
birds who live entirely on living animals, which 
they hunt and catch for themselves. Owls are 
also birds of prey, but they do their hunting by 
night, while this family work by day. 
Like all birds, hawks are well fitted for what 
they have to do. They have long wings, so that 
they can fly swiftly and long at a time, to follow 
up the prey. They have sharp, curved claws, 
made for grasping and holding things. Their 
hooked beak is the best kind for cutting and 
tearing meat. 
Most of these birds work for us the whole 
time, as do the owls. For they eat the same de- 
structive animals, and they eat an enormous 
number. Yet we have a foolish prejudice against 
them, because two or three of them sometimes 
take poultry and game birds. Even when these 
1 See Appendix, 27. 
