464 MANUAL OF ZOOLOGY. 



CHAPTER LXX. 

 RAPTORES AND SAURUR&. 



ORDER VII. RAPTORES. 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. 1 80, 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. 1 80, A) ; the wings are commonly pointed, 

 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 Raptor es 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. 



B 



Fig. 180. A, Foot of the Peregrine Falcon ; B, Head of Buzzard. 



The section of the Nocturnal Raptores includes the single 

 family of the Strigidcz, 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. 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 man- 

 dible. The cranial bones are highly pneumatic, and the head 

 is therefore of large size. The feathers of the face usually form 



