BIRDS OF PREY. 293 



with its mate, and at once commence preparations for the reception of the single brood produced 



by the pair during the whole year. The eyrie, as the nest of a Bird of Prey is called, is usually 



situated in hollow trees, cavities in old walls, on lofty rocks, or among the most inaccessible 



branches of the forest, in some cases, though rarely, upon the ground ; or they make a platform 



of boughs, upon which the eggs are deposited. When built upon trees or rocks these eyries are 



usually very firm and massive in their construction, the walls increasing in height and strength from 



year to year, as their occupants add to and repair them at the commencement of each season; 



the interior, however, is never deep, the bed for the young being gradually raised with the rest of 



the fabric. Large sticks are employed by some Eagles to form the outwork of the eyrie ; Tschudi 



tells us that the Stone Eagle obtains the branches it requires by falling suddenly upon them with 



closed wings, and thus, by the weight of its body, breaking them from the trunk to which tiiey 



belong ; the branch is then carried off in its talons to the place where the nest is to be built. Such 



Birds of Prey as build in holes trouble themselves but little about the accommodation of their 



brood, and lay their eggs without any preparation upon the naked stone, or at the bottom of the 



cavity they have selected. During the time that these bold and daring birds are occupied in the 



choice of a mate terrible battles are of frequent occurrence, the spirited antagonists confronting each 



other on the wing, and fighting till one of them is compelled to quit the field, the combat being often 



renewed day after day for whole weeks together, until the weaker rival is fairly vanquished, and driven 



from the locality ; the females never appear to mingle in the strife, and are treated throughout the 



breeding season with the utmost attention and tenderness by their victorious spouses. The eggs, which 



are from one to seven in number, are rough shelled, and either pure white, grey, or yellow, marked 



with spots and streaks of a darker shade. In general only the female broods, but she is relieved 



occasionally by the male bird, who is by no means behind the modier in attachment to the young, 



and will sometimes perish in endeavouring to ward off danger from his progeny. The nestlings 



are at first fed upon food half digested in the crop of their parents, and afterwards upon scraps of 



flesh. The preparation of the nutriment intended for the young usually devolves upon the mother, 



but both parents combine in watching over the safety of the little flock long after they are fully fledged. 



All Birds of Prey procure their principal sustenance by murderous and incessant attacks upon 



the creatures that surround them ; and, besides flesh, many will devour insects, eggs, worms, snails, 



garbage of all kinds, and, in some rare instances, fruit ; they consume great quantities of food, 



but are also capable of fasting during a considerable period. Their digestive powers are such 



as to enable them to reduce bones and sinews to a pap ; the feathers and hair of their prey are 



rolled into a ball, and from time to time ejected from the mouth. Perhaps few prejudices are more 



unjust than the ill-will and enmity with which men usually regard these voracious and daring 



races, whose destructive propensities are much more frequently employed in their service than in the 



injury of their property ; the Secretary Vulture destroys the Cobra di Capello by crushing its head, 



whilst other species clear the streets of Africa and Southern Asia of a mass of filth and refuse which, if 



left to accumulate, would fill the air with poison and disseminate everywhere the seeds of death. 



The Raptores divide themselves naturally into three distinct and important groups, gradually 

 connected by a great variety of species, which combine and blend, as it were, the particular charac- 

 teristics of the more typical members of the order. These three groups are — 



The FALCONS, the VULTURES, and the OWLS. We have no hesitation in assigning to the 

 Falcons the first place, both on account of their intelligence and the development of their corporeal 

 attributes ; but it is not so easy to decide between the merits of the Vultures and the Owls, as their 



