88 RAPTOIIES. 



procuring specimens, from their shy dispositions, 

 and the inaccessible and wild nature of their 

 haunts, it is more than probable that several 

 modifications of form yet remain undiscovered, 

 whose appearance would release from difficulty 

 the attempts which are made " to place them all 

 in order." 



In the theory of representation, which we have 

 seen has been lately so much insisted on, the 

 rapacious birds and carnivorous animals are 

 strikingly typified by each other. In the prin- 

 cipal forms of each we have the strongest crea- 

 tures in* existence, and both are generally, of a 

 large size. Their dispositions are fierce and 

 daring, and we see the whole frame suited for 

 swift pursuit or powerful action. The sight is 

 remarkably acute ; in some, groups more pecu- 

 liarly so by night, and in these the sense of hear- 

 ing is also delicate. The organs of mastication are 

 fitted for tearing, as may be seen in the powerful 

 canines of the Ferae, and the strong and toothed 

 bills of the Falconidae. The claws are large, 

 curved, sharp, and retractile. No portion of the 

 world is without Raptorial animals, and accor- 

 ding to the all-wise constitution of the laws 

 which regulate animated nature, no other system 

 could long exist, saving that which produced a 

 salutary check upon over production, and a 

 balance of power between all creatures. But, 



