236 



ACCIPITRES.- 



-BIRDS.- 



-VlLTUniD.E. 



projections of the horny covering of the mandible ; its 

 liase is al\va3-s covered by a nalced leathery cere, in 

 which the nostrils open. 



This bill, with its acute tip and sharp and often 

 jagged edges, is admirably adapted for tearing to pieces 



Fig ^1. 



^ 1/ 



Head of the Golden Eagle. 



the prey upon which these birds subsist; and the struc- 

 ture of the feet and claws fits tliem no less admirably 

 for seizing the victim and holding it fast, while the 

 relentless beak is engaged in its destructive work. 

 The feet are generally short and very poAverful, and 

 terminated by four strong toes, covered beneath with 



Fig 93. 



Foot of the Oolilon Ea^le. 



rougliened pvls. The claws with which these toes are 

 armed, are of enormous size and strength, very acute 

 at the tip, and furnished with two sharp edges. This is 

 especially the case in the most predaceous species ; but, 

 in those which feed on carrion and in some of tlie 

 smaller species which prey upon insects, the power of 

 the feet and claws, as also that of the bill, is naturally 

 much diminished. 



In accordance with the indications furnished by tlie 

 bill and feet, we find the whole organization of the bird 

 eminently fitted to sustain it in the continual vrarfare 

 wliich it wages with nearly all the rest of the animated 

 creation. Tlie wings are of immense extent, and moved 

 by most powerful muscles; the keel of the sternum being 



excessively developed to give attachment to those which 

 draw the wings downwards. Then- flight is accordingly 

 powerful ; and many of the species cut their way tlirough 

 the air with the most astonishing rapidity ; tlie ordinary 

 rate of progress of some being calculated at about sixty 

 miles an hour. But even tliis rapid motion is gi'eatly 

 exceeded imder circumstances of excitement; for, in 

 pursuit of their prey, some falcons are supposed to rush 

 along at the rate of at least a hundi-ed and twenty miles 

 in the same space of time. The tail also is long and 

 composed of strong feathers, so that it forms a most 

 effective rudder to direct the movements of the birds 

 in their rapid course. 



The covering of tlie feet is usually a reticulated or 

 scaly skin; and it is only m a few species that we find 

 any portion of the foot covered with shield-like plates. 

 In some, however, the tarsi are clothed with feathers 

 quite down to the origin of the toes. The toes are 

 always four m number, and placed three in front, and 

 one behind. The anterior toes are usually united by 

 a fold of skm at the base ; but in the owls this small 

 membrane only occurs between the inner and middle 

 toes, and the outer toe is capable of being turned back- 

 wards. 



The birds of this order vary greatly in size, and in 

 most cases tlie male is considerably smaller than tlie 

 female. They live in pairs during the breeding season, 

 and both the male and the female assist in the construc- 

 tion of the nest, in the task of incubation, and in tlie 

 bringing up of the young. They are foimd m all climates, 

 from the coldest to the hottest, and only the species of 

 one family are confined to the warmer regions of the 

 earth. 



The accipitres are usually divided uito three families, 

 tlie Vulturidce or vultiu'es, the Falconidw or hawks, and 

 tlie Strirjlda: or owls ; the latter also constitute the sec- 

 tion of nocturnal birds of prejf, the principal period of 

 activity being the evening and night ; the other two 

 families are called diurnal predaceous birds, as by far 

 the greater part of them are never abroad except by 

 day. 



F.^MiLY I.— VULTURID^. 



In the Vultures the bill is considerably more elon- 

 gated than in the other families of predaceous birds, and 

 often comparatively slender in its form ; its basal por- 

 tion is alwa3's straight, and the tip rather suddenly 

 hooked. Tlie lateral margins of the upper mandible 

 are often sinuated, but never toothed. The head — 

 (fig. 96) — is usually naked, and tlie neck also frequently 

 partakes of this character; in many cases the head is 

 furnished with peculiar wattles, and the skin, both of 

 this part and tlie neck, is sometimes adorned with 

 brilliant coloiu's. The eyes are placed on the sides of 

 the head, without any projecting eyebrows above them ; 

 the wings are very long and pointed ; the feet are 

 covered with reticulated scales ; the middle toe is very 

 long, the hinder one rather elevated, and the wliole are 

 armed with stout but rather blunt claws. 



These birds, as may be easily seen from their clia- 

 racters, are by no means the most predaceous of flicir 

 order ; on the contrary, most of them hardly deserve tho 



