2 BRITISH BIRDS. 



have been known to destroy them in the fury of 

 disappointed hunger. Different from almost all 

 other kinds, the female of birds of prey is larger 

 and stronger than the male : naturalists have 

 puzzled themselves to assign the reason of this 

 extraordinary property, but the final cause at least 

 is obvious, as the care of rearing the young is 

 chiefly intrusted to the female, Nature would seem 

 to have furnished her with more ample powers to 

 provide for her own wants, and those of her 

 offspring. 



This formidable tribe constitutes the first Order 

 of birds. The British genera belonging to it con- 

 sist of three, viz., the Vulture, the Falcon, and the 

 Owl. We shall begin with the former. 



