ORDER I ACCIPITRES. 57 



angle of the eye, and is drawn over the globe of it, like a cur- 

 tain, at will. It is by means of this protection, that the eagle 

 is enabled to look steadily at the sun. 



The senses of hearing and smelling are also possessed in 

 considerable perfection by birds; the former more particularly 

 by the nocturnal, and the latter by those feeding principally 

 upon carrion, the scent of which they are thus able to trace 

 'o an immense distance. Their tongue being chiefly of bone 

 <K cartilage, they have little delicacy of taste ; and the sense 

 of touch, judging from the structure of their claws and beak, 

 which would be the organs for its exercise, must be exceed- 

 ingly imperfect. 



Most birds construct nests, and some of them with much 

 care, labor, and ingenuity. In these they deposit their eggs, 

 and hatch them by the heat of their own bodies. Some few 

 lay them upon the sand, and leave them to be hatched by the 

 heat of the sun. Their care and affection for their young are 

 well known, and, in providing for and protecting them, they 

 exhibit many indications of sagacity or of feeling. They are 

 capable of some slight improvements by education and imita- 

 tion, but are, on the whole, in this respect decidedly inferior 

 to quadrupeds. The class of birds is divided, according to 

 their structure and habits of life, into six orders. 



1. Accipitres, or Birds of Prey. These correspond, in 

 many respects, with the carnivorous animals among quadru- 

 peds. They are distinguished by their strong, hooked beaks, 

 and their crooked and powerful talons, by means of which 

 they are enabled to prey upon other birds, and even upon some 

 of the smaller quadrupeds and reptiles. They are divided 

 into the diurnal and the nocturnal. The diurnal include the 

 vultures, eagles, falcons, hawks, buzzards, and kites. The 

 vultures are heavy and ferocious birds, feeding principally 

 upon carrion. They are so voracious, and fill themselves to 

 such an extent, that they become quite stupid and inactive, 

 and during digestion, a fetid humor distils from their nostrils. 

 The eagles, falcons, &,c., prefer living animals for their food, 

 and never prey upon carrion, unless driven to it by hunger. 

 The number of their species is very great, and they are observed 

 to vary considerably in their plumage, according to their age 

 and other circumstances. The females are generally a third 

 part larger than the males, and are likewise superior in beauty 

 of shape and plumage. Hence the latter are often called 

 tercels, or thirds, from their inferiority in size. 



These birds are generally fierce and difficult to tame, but 



