398 ORDER RAI'TORKS ; DIVISION INTO FAMILIES. 



utter. Tliey build their nests in lofty situations, such as the 

 ledges of rocks, the tops of high trees, &c. ; and construct them 

 without any great art. They seldom lay more than four eg^s ; 

 frequently only two or three ; and the young come forth in 

 a blind and feeble state, requiring the assistance of the parent 

 for some time. In this respect, there is another analogy between 

 the Birds of Prey and the Carnivorous Mammalia; the youii<; O f 

 which last also come into the world in a blind and weak condi- 

 tion, and are long-dependent upon their parents for their nourish- 

 ment. The task of supporting the young Birds of Prev chief! v 

 devolves upon the female ; and it is probably on this account 

 that she is larger and more powerful than the male. 



364. The order may be divided into tour families, as follows. 

 I. FALCOXIDJE, the Falcons. Katjlra. and Hawks, in which the 

 head and neck are covered with feathers ; the eyes deeply sunk : 

 the bill short, very strong, and hookv-d at its point, with the 

 upper mandible more or less toothed ; and the talons very acute 

 and strong] v curved. In this family, therefore, are most stronglv 

 displayed the characters which mark the order; and it is ob- 

 viously to be regarded as the t>/i>>c<il group. -II. Yri.n RID.K. 

 the Vultures, in which the bill is longer, straight at the ba"-. and 

 slightly or not at all toothed : the eyes are not sunken ; and the 

 head and neck are bare of leathers. 111. The ( \ Yro.;i:i; ANID.K, 

 including only a single, species, the Sccri'lu >>/. which is allied to 

 both the Kagles and Falcon-, but Millers from both in the extra- 

 ordinary lengfli of its tarsi, in which i: iv-. 'mbles the Waders. 

 The preceding families, which all agree in the lateral direction 

 of their eyes, constitute the <li\i-i>;i of the Diurnal Birds of 

 Prey; the \ort.iirtKil division, m which the eves are directed 

 forward-, consists but of one familv ; IV. The S TKK.ID.K, or 

 O/r/ tribe, which is characterised bv the downiness of the 

 plan, age; the comparative weakness of the beak, and the ab- 

 sence of teeth in the upper mandible ; and by the compara- 

 tive slendernes-, of the da\vs, of which ihe outer one can in 

 L r( 'iK ral be rever.-ed, -o as to briii'_ r two against two, and thus to 

 give a firmer grasp. 



')(')'). Among the familv FA i.< - o\n> K, we shall first, notice 



