ILLUSTRATIONS 



OF 



BRITISH ORNITHOLOGY. 



ORDER I. 

 RAPTORES, VIGORS. 



IN the natural arrangement, or that founded upon the af- 

 finities connecting the various tribes of the feathered race, 

 the Raptorial Order constitutes the first of the five great di- 

 visions into which the Class Aves, like those of the other de- 

 partments of the animal kingdom, may be divided : a num- 

 ber, it may be observed, to which not only the primary, but 

 also all the minor subdivisions, of such departments as have 

 hitherto undergone investigation, appear to be limited. Of 

 these divisions, it is one of the two which are considered ty- 

 pical or representative (the Order Incessores being the other)^ 

 and is composed of the various groups generally known as 

 Birds of Prey ; answering to the Accipitres of LINN.US, and 

 analogous to the Carnivorous Animals of the Class Mamma~ 

 lia. The compact yet powerful body, the predatory habits, 

 the decided partiality for animal food, the strong anoT hooked 

 bill, the muscular limbs, the curved and often semi-retractile 

 claws, and other distinguishing traits, separate the birds of 



VOL. i. A 



