252 VERTEBRATA. AVES. 



a bare enumeration the magnificent and terrific 

 Harpy of South. America (Harpy ia Destructor), the 

 largest bird of the Order ; the Hawks, the Fork-tailed 

 Kites, and the cowardly but insidious Buzzards ; 

 nor can we pause to dwell upon the singular form 

 of the Secretary Falcon of South Africa (Gypo- 

 geranus* Serpentarius), the great length of whose feet 

 (or legs so called) gives it a resemblance to one of 

 the Wading birds. It hunts serpents and other 

 reptiles chiefly on the ground. 



Those birds of prey whose organization is adapted 

 for activity only during the twilight and night, form 

 a very striking and natural genus, named 



Strix^ the Owl. 



They are readily distinguished by the largeness 

 of their globular head, their flattened face, their 

 large and dilated eyes, situated at the bottom of 

 a shallow cone of feathers, their round beak almost 

 hidden in these feathers, their sharp, curved talons, 

 their soft unwebbed puffy plumage, and the peculiar- 

 ly silent character of their flight. Their wide pupil 

 is ill-fitted for vision in the strong day, during which 

 they sit erect and motionless, winking their eyes, 

 with a ludicrous gravity : and if disturbed at this 

 time, as if conscious of their disadvantage, they seem 

 unwilling to fly, but stare upon the intruder, draw 

 themselves into a more erect attitude, and make odd 



* rtn, gyps, a vulture, and y>ou.vo$ , geranos., a crane, 

 t Its Latin name. 



