S British Birds, 



I. Raptores Prey-catchers. 



II. Insessores Perchers. 



III. Rasores Scratch ers. 



IV. Grallatores .... Waders. 

 V. Natatores .... Swimmers. 



Each of these classes, or *' Orders," as they are 

 technically called, is again divided either into distinct 

 Families, or (at least in some cases) into Sub-classes, 

 or Groups; these Groups being then further sub- 

 divided into families. Again, these Families are made 

 up of more or fewer genera^ and each genus of more or 

 fewer species. These species, so many of them as com- 

 pose any particular genus, all differ from one another 

 more or less, but yet have a strong general resem- 

 blance, or (what may familiarly be called) strong 

 family likeness to each other. 



The general scheme or, as I may almost call it, the 

 skeleton of our classification, will therefore stand 

 thus : — 



ORDER I— RAPTORES. 



Family I. VulturidcB^ . . Vulture-kind. 

 II. Falconidce . . . Falcon-kind. 

 III. StrigidcB .... Owl-kind. 



more modern arrangement which will be found at the close of the 

 Introduction to the present Edition. 



1 Vulturidce, Falconidce, and the other similar names of Families, 

 are, most of them, Latin words, with Greek forms or terminations. 

 The true or real meaning of any one of them would be, that the 

 birds in the Family so named are the children, or descendants, of the 

 bird or birds whose name is used — thus, Vulturidce, sons of a Vulture 

 or Vultures — which, of course, is nonsense, as the words are applied. 



