Royal Society. 89 
llripped of its boughs, ami near a river fide, and the people 
ulually fell the tree, "when they take the young 5 when this eagle 
oblerves, that the fifhing-hawk hath flruck a fifh, he takes wing 
immediately, and it is foitietimes very pleafant to fee the flighty 
for when the fi/]iing-hawk perceives himfelf purfued, he fcreams 
and makes a terrible nolle, till at length he drops the fifli to make 
his own elcape, which the eagle frequently catches before it reach 
the earth or watery thefe eagles kill young lambs, pigs, ^c. The 
filhing-hawk is entirely a Ipecies of a king's-fiflier, and much of 
the fliape and colour of that bird, tho' not quite fo curioufly fea- 
thered 5 but full as large, or larger than our jay 5 it has a large 
crop- there is alio a imall king's- fi J her, much the fame in every 
refpefi as ours 5 there are brown and white owls, about as large 
as a goole, which often kill h^ns and poultry in the nighty the 
white owl is a very delicate feathered bird, all the feathers on the 
breall and back being fnow-white, and tipped with a jet-black 5 
there is befides a barn owl much like ours, and a fmall Ibrt of 
fcritch-owl : By diffeflion it appears that all flat-billed birds, that 
grope for their food, have three p^ir of nerves, that reach down 
to their bills, by which they are enabled to diilinguifli accurately 
what is proper for food and what not 5 a duck hath thefe nerves 
larger tihan geefe, or any other fowl, and therefore they quafer 
and grope out their meat the moft 3 but Mr. Clayton had alio ob- 
lerved in a rook two nerves coming down between the eyes into the 
upper bill, but confiderably fmaller than any of the three pair of 
nerves in the bills of ducks, and larger than the nerves in any 
other round-billed birds 5 and it is remarkable, that thefe birds 
feem to grope for their food in cow- dung, and the like, more 
than any other round-billed birds ; he afterwards found the like 
nerves coming down between the eyes, m leveral round-billed 
birds, but \b very Imall, that had he not ieen them firil in a rook, 
he ihould fcarcely had made the difcovery 5 in the lower bill 
there are nerves, which have much the lame lituation with the 
flat-billed birds, but very Imall, and Icarce difcernible, unlefs to 
the cautious and curious: The night-raven, called by ibme the 
Virginia bat, is about the bignefs of a cuckow, feathered like 
them, but very fliort, and with fliort-leggs, which are not dif- 
cernible when it flies, which is only in the evening, like our 
night-raven: There is a large fort of ravenous bird, that feeds on 
carrion, alpnoft as big as an eagle, called a turky-bufbard, its fea- 
thers are of a duikifl-i black, it hath red gills, refembling thofe 
of a turkey, whence its name ; it is rather of the kite-kind than 
of the ipecies of Unglifi turkey-buflard, for it hovers on the 
Vol. III. M wing> 
