630 MANUAL OF ZOOLOGY. 



Kingfishers seem to be also represented at the same period by 

 the Halcyornis toliapicus of the London Clay. The Insessorial 

 remains of the later Tertiary and Post-Tertiary deposits pre- 

 sent no features of special interest. 



ORDER VI. RAPTORES (Aetomorpha). All the members of 

 this order are characterised by the shape of the bill, which is 

 "strong, curved, sharp -edged, and sharp -pointed, often armed 

 with a lateral tooth " (Owen). The upper mandible is the 

 longest (fig. 348, B), and is strongly hooked at the tip. The 

 body is very muscular ; the legs are robust, short, with three toes 

 in front and one behind, all armed with long, curved, crooked 

 claws or talons (fig. 348, A) ; the ivings are commonly pointed, 



Fig. 348. A, Foot of the Peregrine Falcon ; B, Head of Buzzard. 



and of considerable size, and the flight is usually rapid and 

 powerful. The Birds of Rapine are monogamous, and the 

 female is larger than the male. They build their nests generally 

 in lofty and inaccessible situations, and rarely lay more than 

 four eggs, from which the young are liberated in a naked and 

 helpless condition. 



The order Raptores is divided into two great sections the 

 Nocturnal Birds of Prey, which hunt by night and have the 

 eyes directed forwards ; and the Diurnal Raptores, which 

 catch their prey by day, and have the eyes directed laterally. 



The section of the Nocturnal Raptores includes the single 

 family of the Strigidce, or Owls. In these birds the eyes are 

 large and are directed forwards. The plumage is exceedingly 

 loose and soft, so that their flight (even when they are of large 

 size) is almost noiseless ; and it is generally spotted or barred 

 with different shades of grey, brown, or yellow. The beak is 

 short, strongly hooked, furnished with bristles at its base, and 

 having the nostrils pierced in a membranous " cere " at the base 

 of the upper mandible. The cranial bones are highly pneumatic, 

 and the head is therefore of large size. The feathers of the face 



