228 



THE REASON WHY I 



" Better's the place, though homely and obscure, 

 Where we repose in safety and secure 

 Than where great birds with lordly talons sieze, 

 Not what they ought, but what their fancies please." DRAYTON. 



organs. The male bird surpasses the female in size, plumage, and song; 

 they live in pairs, and construct their nests in bushes, trees, &c., with 

 wonderful art. 



The feet of birds present very 

 distinctive marks for observation. 

 In most species the toes are four 

 in number, and in the majority 

 of these three are directed forward, 

 and one turned back. This is the 

 case with the eagle, 1, and falcon, 

 2; the toes in these and other 

 birds of prey being pointed with 

 long, curved, and sharp talons. 

 The woodpecker has two forward 

 and two backward toes, 3 ; so also 

 has the parrot. The night-jar has 

 tlrree forward toes, one of which 

 is extended to a considerable 

 length, 4. The swift has all toes 

 forward, 5 ; it clings with them to 

 walls and cliffs. Larks have the 

 backward claw long and slender, 6. 

 The ostrich has only two toes 7 ; 

 Domestic fowls, and others of the same 



the ca *<Acary has three, all in front, 

 family, have four toes, and a spur. 



The order INCESSORES is by many naturalists divided into 

 five sub-orders : 1. Dentirostres ; 2. Fissirostres ; 3. Conirostres ; 

 4, Tenuirostrts; 5. Fyndactyli. 



dub-Order 1. Dentirostres. 



686. Why is the first sub-order named dentirostres ? 



Dentirostres signifies tooth-billed: from dens, a "tooth," and 

 rostrum, a "beak;" this tribe of birds being characterised by 

 Laving a notch and tooth-like process on each side of the margin 

 of the upper mandible. This renders them capable of attacking 

 other birds ; and they are accordingly predacious. The shrike, 

 or butcher-bird, is the most formidable specimen of 

 sub-order. 



