DIVISIONS OF BIRDS. 



305 



of other animals, which they either kill for themselves or find dead, 

 and their flight is generally extremely rapid and powerful. They 

 are not polygamous, and the female is larger than the male. They 

 usually build their nest in lofty and inaccessible situations, and sel- 

 dom lay more than four eggs. The young are hatched in a naked 

 and helpless condition. 



The Raptorea are divided into two sections — the Nocturnal Birds 



Fig. 218.— Eaptores. A, Foot of Peregrine Falcon ; B, Head of Buzzard. 



of Prey, which hunt at night, and the Diurnal Birds of Prey, which 

 hunt by day. In the former section is only the single family of the 

 Owls {Stfigidce), in which the eyes are large, and are directed for- 

 wards (fig. 219), whilst the plumage is exceedingly soft and loose, so 

 as to render their flight almost noiseless. The Owls, for the most 



B A 



Fig. 219.— A, Foot of Tawny Owl ; B, Head of White Owl. 



part, hunt their prey in the twilight or on moonlight nights, and they 

 live mostly upon field-mice and small bii-ds, but they will also eat 

 insects and frogs. In the section of the diurnal Baptores are the 

 Falcons and Hawks, the Eagles and the Vultures. In all the.se the 

 eyes are smaller than in the Owls, and are placed laterally, and the 

 plumage is not soft. They usually possess extraordinary powers of 



