SCANSORES: PSITTACID^:. 143 



America and Europe. Unlike those before described, it 

 hunts in the daytime as well as in twilight. It preys 

 upon quadrupeds, birds, and fishes. It captures ducks 

 and other birds upon the wing, striking them much after 

 the manner of falcons. 



The Genus Surnia comprises the Hawk Owl or Day 

 Owl, S. uhtla, Bonap., of the northern regions of both 

 continents, which is sixteen to seventeen inches long, 

 the wing nine inches, the upper parts brown, the throat 

 white, a large brown spot on each side of the breast, and 

 the other under parts with transverse stripes of pale 

 ashy-brown. It has the general appearance and habits 

 of both an owl and a falcon, and is mainly a diurnal bird. 



SUB-SECTION II. 



THE ORDER OF SCANSORES, OR CLIMBERS. 



THE Order of Scansores comprises all birds which 

 have their toes in pairs, two in front and two behind, 

 the outer anterior one being usually directed backwards, 

 an arrangement which especially facilitates climbing. 

 This order comprises five families, Psittacidae or Parrot 

 Family, Ramphastidae or Toucan Family, Trogonidae or 

 Trogon Family, Cuculidae or Cuckoo Family, and Picidae 

 or Woodpecker Family. 



PSITTACID^:, OR PARROT FAMILY. This Family com- 

 prises birds which have a stout, thick, rounded bill, hooked 

 at the tip, and the base covered with a soft skin or cere, 

 as in the hawks. The tongue is thick and fleshy, the 

 inferior larynx complicated and furnished with three 

 muscles on each side, and their jaws are set in motion 

 by a greater number of muscles than is found in other 

 birds. Most of them are adorned with varied and gor- 

 geous plumage, which, together with the facility with 

 which many of them may be trained to imitate the 



