16 BRITISH BIRDS' EGGS. 



ORDER I. RAPTORES. BIRDS OF PREY. 



The Eaptorial birds usually take precedence of the other 

 Orders in the arrangements of naturalists. The members of 

 this Order are distinguished by great boldness and strength, 

 and although injurious to the young of game and of the 

 flocks, they are a great ornament to the sequestered and 

 rural portions of our land. The females exceed the males 

 ill size, but their plumage is not of equal beauty. Our Eap- 

 torial birds are comprised under the three families of Vul- 

 tures, Falcons, and Owls ; the two former constituting the 

 diurnal Eaptores, or those which hunt by day, and the latter 

 the nocturnal, or nightly-hunting birds of prey. 



The eggs of this Order of birds are usually more rounded 

 in their form than those of most other birds ; and those of 

 the Falcons are often richly coloured and boldly marked. 

 We now advance to notice the families of this Order. 



VULTUBIDJS. VULTUEES. 



The Vultures chiefly inhabit hot climates, where they per- 

 form important services, by removing decomposing carcases, 

 which would otherwise be a source of offensive and noxious 



