EAGLES AND HAWKS 



[ORDER: Accipitres. SUBORDER: Falcones] 



GENERAL NOTE 

 [W. P. PYCRAFT] 



At one time known as the " Diurnal Birds of Prey," to distinguish 

 them from the Owls, with which, as we have already shown (vol. ii. 

 p. 395), they have nothing whatever to do, the Accipitres present a 

 number of extremely interesting variations on a common structural 

 plan, many of which are very obviously correlated with differences 

 of habit. Some are not so easily accounted for. The short, hooked 

 beak, hooked and pointed talons, ample wings and tail, and the 

 vertical carriage of the body are features common to all the members 

 of the group. These are obviously "adaptive" characters, for they 

 are shared also by the Owls. The characters by which the true 

 relationships of the Accipitres and the Owls are severally established 

 may be more conveniently discussed at a later period : for the 

 moment we are concerned rather with the broad features which 

 distinguish the Accipitres as a group. 



While the firmer, more closely fitting contour feathers seem the 

 natural accompaniment of their more strenuous life as compared 

 with the Owls, it is not easy to divine the meaning and purpose of 

 the dense underclothing of down, or the tuft of feathers to the oil- 

 gland, which are common characters of all Accipitres. One of the 

 most striking features of the Accipitres is the saddle-shaped band of 



1 The term Hawk is here used to signify all the Accipitres which are neither Vultures nor 

 Eagles. Cf. Newton, Dictionary of Birds, p. 411. 



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