396 ZOOLOGY 



a domesticated fowl. From this brief \aew we see that the 

 fainil}- of Galhnaeei is, for man at least, the most miportant 

 famil}' of food-l)irds. 



The order Columbinae includes the pigeons and allies, 

 characteristic of the Eastern Hemisphere. The most inter- 

 esting species of the group — the dodo anrl the sohtaire, for- 

 merly inhabitants of the islands of ^Mauritius and Rodrigues, 

 respectively — have become extinct within historic times 

 through the settlement of these islands by white men. These 

 birds had rudimentar}' wings and tail. Their nearest living 

 ally seems to be the " manu-mea " ' of the Samoan Islands. 

 The pigeons proper are represented in North America by three 

 wild species (Fig. 362). The domesticated pigeon, Columba 

 livia, is a native of southern Europe or western Asia. 



The birds of prey (Raptores) include eagles, hawks, and 

 falcons ; the vultures ; condors ; and owls. These birds feed 

 chiefly on birds and mammals, which the}' capture alive in 

 their claws or beaks ; a few li^'e on carrion. The}- occur in all 

 parts of the globe. The l^ald eagle, used as a symbol of the 

 republic, is the commonest of our eagles. Among our hawks, 

 the sparrow-hawk, which is only about the size of the rol^in, 

 is one of our most abundant ; others are the sharp-shinned 

 hawk, which kills birds ahiiost exclusively and is especially 

 destructive to poultry,- and Cooper's hawk, which is also de- 

 structive to birds. These two hawks liave practically no 

 redeeming qualities, except the fact that thej- pre}- upon the 

 English sparrow. The vultures are represented in our fauna 

 by the turke}'-))uzzard which, like other memliers of the family, 

 feeds on carrion. The condor is the largest of the American 

 Raptores. It ]ire}-s even upon IWo sheep anfl calves. The 



> Red bird. -Fig. 363. 



