CONIROSTRES. 117 



bruising hard substances, such as seeds with tough 

 coats, and also for digging or boring into the ground 

 in quest of earth insects, or of albuminous roots. 

 Sometimes, as in the case of the crossbills, the bills of 

 those birds have a -very peculiar structure and action ; 

 and, generally speaking, the muscles which move the 

 bill are more powerful, and consequently the head is 

 more enlarged than in the species which feed more 

 exclusively upon insects. 



The birds of this division certainly range awkwardly 

 together, whatever name they may be called by ; and 

 yet it is not very easy to separate them into groups 

 more numerous than families or genera, in a manner 

 that would be much less exceptionable. 



The species which may be considered as forming 

 the one extreme of the division are birds of powerful 

 form and firm plumage. Many of them are voracious, 

 and somewhat gross in their feeding. They eat all 

 manner of carrion and garbage, have no great objection 

 to kill any animal which they can master, especially 

 if they find it in a sick or weakly condition. Some 



of them occasionally hawk after small birds on the 

 wing, but that is not a general habit with them ; they 

 proceed by stealthiness and craft rather than by 

 daring, as the accipitres do, and in general attack only 



