RAPTORES. 281 



The Falcons, as a family, exhibit, in their structure and habits, 

 the highest development of the destructive faculty. In these the 

 head is wholly covered with feathers, except the cere at the base 

 of the beak ; and the leading genera have, in the beak, the sharp 

 projecting tooth referred to above. (See Plate IX. fig. 3.) The 

 eyebrows usually overhang the eye, giving a stern expression 

 to the countenance. The points of the strong and highly curved 

 talons are kept from injury by a mechanism for raising them 

 from the surface on which the bird rests ; a process analogous 

 to the sheathing of the claws in the Cat Family of the Mam- 

 malia. 



The falcons are widely diffused ; some species have been re- 

 claimed and trained for the pursuit of game. 



NOTE. It would be interesting and might be instructive to give minutely 

 the characteristics and habits of all the genera and species included in this 

 and in the other orders and families of the Birds ; but from the restricted 

 limits of the present volume, and the great number of species, (6000,) in 

 the feathered tribe, our notices, when given, will necessarily be brief, while 

 very many species must be passed by altogether. 



1st SUB-FAMILY. Aquilince. (Lat. aquila, an eagle.) 



The first place is given to the EAGLE, (in treating of the Fal- 

 con tribe,) riot because it presents most distinctly the family traits, 

 but on account of its great size and strength, the grandeur of its 

 aspect, and the dignity of its movements. This bird was honored 

 by being in the Holy of Holies of the ancient Jewish temple, 

 and every tyro in classical study knows that the old Romans re- 

 garded it as the " Bird of Jove." 



Eagles are birds of high and powerful, but not of rapid flight. 

 Usually they prefer to strike their prey upon the ground. They 

 breed in solitude on the inaccessible crags of lofty mountains. 

 In these birds, the notch or tooth of the upper mandible is almost 

 obliterated ; the claws are remarkably strong and curved ; the 

 under surface is grooved ; the hind and outer claws are the 

 longest. (See Plate IX. figs 2. of Beaks, and 20 of Feet.) 



The GOLDEN EAGLE, Aquilachrysaetus,(Gr.chfusaetus, golden 

 eagle,) is a truly magnificent bird, about three feet in length, 

 having plumage of a deep and rich umber brown, glossed on the 

 back and wings with purple reflections ; the feathers of the head 

 and neck are of an orange-brown hue, and when under the rays 

 of the sun, have an almost golden appearance ; the tail is striped 

 with gray and obscure brown, but in the young bird is, in the 

 under part, white. (This variation in the plumage of the young 

 bird has led some to describe it as a distinct species, by the name 

 of the Ring-tailed Eagle.) 



