BIRDS. 



287 



FIG. 235. 



the talons. They feed on dead animals, and act as 

 scavengers, being the hyenas of the class of birds. The 

 true vultures are found only in Europe, there being a 

 brown species and a yellow one. The turkey buzzard, 

 more properly called turkey vulture, is the most common 

 American vulture. The condor is an enormous species 

 of vulture, living among the highest Alps ; its wings 

 have a spread of four yards, and of all birds it is the 

 most powerful in flight. 



The owls are nocturnal birds, of which there are many 

 species, all having strong resemblance between them. 

 The eyes are very large, and 

 placed in the front of the 

 head ; they do not like the 

 light, and remain hidden 

 during the day, beginning 

 to hunt at dusk. They are 

 carnivorous, living on in- 

 sects, small reptiles, birds, 

 and little mammals, all of 

 which they swallow whole. 

 Generally they do not con- 

 struct nests, placing their 

 eggs in holes in trees or 

 rocks, or in abandoned nests 

 of other birds. These birds 

 are very useful to the farmer, 

 destroying large numbers of 

 injurious creatures. Among 



the species may be mentioned the barn-owl, screech- 

 owl, great snowy owl, and burrowing owl, the latter 

 being the species that shares the burrows of the prairie- 

 dog. 



BARN-OWL (Strix flammed). 



