346 



SYSTEMATIC ZOOLOGY 



also the osprey, or fishhawk, of which there is only a single 

 representative, but widely distributed over the whole globe, the 

 harriers, the kites, the true hawks (Fig. 343), and the falcons. 



These two last groups are of interest because of their use in 

 falconry or hawking, a sport which was most ardently followed 



Fig. 343. Falco peregrinus anatum, the American duck hawk and voung. (From a 

 photograph provided by the American Museum ot Natural History.) 



just before the invention of gunpowder and firearms; it is still 

 carried on to some extent to-day in England and France, and 

 to a considerable extent in Asia, which was the original home 

 of the sport. The Accipitres are of some use to man as 

 destroyers of vermin and as scavengers. 



Suborder 5. Psittaci 



The Psittaci (Gr. yjriTTaicos, parrot) are the parrots. The beak 

 is short and the upper is hooked, projecting over the tip of the 



