THE 



AVIFAUNA OF BRITISH INDIA 



AND 



ITS DEPENDENCIES. 



ORDER ACCIPITRES. 



Bill short, strong, stout, covered at the base with a cere or naked skin and 

 strongly curved ; the tip perpendicular ; nostrils open. Legs and feet muscular 

 and strong, the latter armed with powerful curved, sharp, elongated talons 

 capable of being bent under the feet. Toes four, three in front and one 

 behind. 



The Accipitres or Raptores vary greatly in size. The Vultures and Eagles 

 comprise some of the largest of the feathered tribes, while the Falcons are small. 

 The order comprising these is analogous to the feline quadrupeds, and forms 

 a distinct and primary one in the class of birds. They are readily recognized 

 by their strong hooked bill, the upper mandible of which is longer than the 

 lower. The edges in some are festooned or toothed to assist in the operation of 

 tearing their prey. They are notoriously the most muscular and powerful. 

 The muscles of their legs and feet are of great strength to enable them to 

 strike down or hold their prey. The greater number are suited for rapid 

 flight and live on prey got by their own courage and exertions. The 

 Vultures however are slothful, large bodied, and, not unlike the Hyaena, feed 

 upon carrion and act the part of scavengers. 



The males are always smaller than the females, and owing to this 

 difference in size of the sexes, and the almost totally different plumage of 

 the various stages of growth of the members, from the young to the adult, they 

 are difficult to determine, even with large series of specimens. In number 

 and species they are not many taking them world wide compared with the 

 Insessores or perching birds. For special reasons in the economy of nature 

 they are not prolific, but propagate slowly. Many lay but one egg, others 

 two, and none of the order are known to lay more than four, nor to breed more 

 than once a year. 

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