A INSESSORES. 
Order I. 
The Birds of Prey have great powers of flight, 
and their senses are likewise highly developed. 
Though not brightly coloured, they are powerful and 
handsome birds, and have always attracted much 
interest. They feed on the flesh of vertebrate ani- 
mals which they capture and kill, but some will also 
devour carrion, and a few of the smaller species 
will eat insects. The head is large and rounded, 
and the upper mandible of the beak is covered with 
a wax-like membrane, or cere, at the base, and is 
strongly hooked at the tip. The body is robust, 
the wings long and pointed, the legs strong, and 
the toes armed with sharp curving claws They 
generally live in pairs, and some species pursue 
their prey by day, and others only at night. 
Vulturide 
(Plate 1.) 
In the Vultures, the beak is only curved at 
the tip, the head and neck are bare, or only covered 
with a short down, and the feet are armed with strong, 
but rather blunt claws. They inhabit warm countries, 
where they are very useful in devouring carrion. 
Their senses are acute, and the birds fly well, 
except when gorged. 
i The Egyptian Vulture (Veophron perc- 
noplerus) is one of the best-known representatives 
of the group. Its dirty white and always untidy 
plumage, its naked, saffron-yellow head, and its filthy 
odour render it peculiarly disgusting. 
Fig. b. The Griffin Vulture (Gyfs faulvus) is 
reddish-brown, with black wings and tail; the short 
down on the head and neck is light grey. It is a 
large bird, the male measuring nine feet in expanse 
of wing, and the female, which as in most birds of 
prey is larger, somewhat more. Like the last species, 
it is found in the greater part of Africa, Southern 
Asia, and Southern Europe. 
Fig. c. The Condor (Sarcorhamphus gryphus) 
is found in the Andes of South America and 1s the 
largest of all living birds of prey, measuring when 
full-grown twelve feet in expanse of wing. This 
bird flies at a vast height; travellers have seen it 
flying above the lofty peaks of the Cordilleras, 
and then suddenly swooping down with amazing 
rapidity. It is not a very handsome bird. The 
head and a portion of the neck are entirely bare. 
There are curious folds of skin above the beak and 
on the throat, and there is a peculiar greyish-white 
downy ruff on the lower part of the neck. 
Family 1. (Vultures.) 
Loree 
a 455° ue 
Family Il. Falconida, (Eagles, Falcons and Hawks.) 
(Plate I) 
The Eagles and Falcons are the noblest of 
the Birds of Prey. Their head and neck are covered 
with feathers, their beak is curved from the base, and 
the upper mandible is notched; the wings are long and 
pointed, and the claws extremely sharp. They feed 
exclusively on freshly-killed, and preferably on warm- 
blooded prey. The Eagle is often ranked as the 
Accipitres. 



(Birds of Prey.) 
King of Birds, as the Lion is called the King of 
Beasts. The Eagles have a crest of pointed feathers 
on their head, and their strong arching beak is 
curved downwards from the middle. 
Fig. d. The Pearded Vulture or Lammergeyer 
(Gypaétus barbatus) resembles the eagles in_ its 
feathered head and neck, and in its preference 
for living prey, while it is more like the 
vultures in the shape of the beak, and in the 
shortness of its talons. The belly is orange-coloured, 
and the back and wings are brown, with white 
blotches, and the beard of bristly feathers at the 
base of the lower mandible is black. I[t is the 
largest bird of prey. which inhabits the temperate 
zones, for its wings expand over nine feet; and thus 
it is not much inferior to the Condor in size. It 
inhabits the mountains of Southern Europe as_ far 
as the Alps, and is likewise foundin the Himalayas. 
It is very destructive to small or weakly animals, 
and is said sometimes to attack children 
Fig. e The Secretary Bird (Serpentarius secre- 
tarius) inhabits the dry sandy regions of Africa, and 
feeds on snakes and other vermin, which it destroys 
with the aid of its strong scaly legs. The feathered 
neck, and black crest on the back of the neck, and 
the long legs give it so remarkable an appearance that 
it could not be confounded with any other bird of prey. 
(Plate II.) 
Fig. a. The Golden Eagle (Aguzla chrysaétos) 
inhabits mountainous districts in Europe, Asia and 
North America, where it builds its nests either among 
precipitous rocks, or on old and _ lofty trees. It 
generally rears only two young ones, and cannot 
therefore increase very rapidly, It feeds on animals 

Egg of Golden Eagle. 
from the size of the roebuck and the swan down to 
marmots and partridges. Its plumage is reddish 
yellow, varied with dark brown, and when full grown 
it measures nearly three feet in length, and its wings 
expand seven fect. : re, ) 
Fig. b. The White-tailed Eagle (Haliactus 
albicilla) has the basal portion of the tarsus feathered. 
It may be recognised afar off by its dark-brown 
plumage, shading into yellowish white on the head 
