53O MANUAL OF ZOOLOGY. 



talons. The outer toe can be turned backwards, so that the 

 foot has some resemblance to that of the Scansores. The tarso- 

 metatarsus is densely feathered (fig. 230, A), and the plumes 

 sometimes extend to the extremities of the toes. The oeso- 

 phagus is not dilated into a crop ; and the indigestible portions 

 of the food are rejected by regurgitation from the stomach in 

 the form of small pellets. The Owls hunt their prey in the 

 twilight or on moonlight nights, and they live mostly upon 

 field-mice and small birds, though they will also eat insects or 

 frogs. 



The section of the Diurnal Raptores includes the two groups 

 of the Accipitrince. (Falcons, Hawks and Eagles), and the Vul- 

 turidce, or Vultures. The eyes in this section are much smaller 

 than in the preceding, and are placed laterally ; and the plu- 



Fig. 231. Head of Vulture (Neophron percnopterus). 



mage is not soft. As regards their power of flight, they show 

 a decided advance upon the Nocturnal Birds of Prey. The 

 wings are long and pointed; the sternal keel and pectoral 

 muscles are greatly developed ; and many of the members of 

 this section exhibit a more rapid power of locomotion than is 

 seen in any other division of the animal kingdom. The bill is 

 long and strong, with a large " cere " at the base of the upper 

 mandible, in which the nostrils are pierced. The tarso-meta- 

 tarsus and toes are usually covered by scales, and are rarely 

 feathered. Lastly, the oesophagus is dilated into a capacious 

 crop, the gizzard is thin, the intestinal caeca are rudimentary, 

 and the intestinal canal is generally short and wide. 



In the Accipitrince or Falconida (fig. 229, B) the head and 



