320 



AVES—ORDER ACCIPITRIFORMES. 



The Ospreys.- 

 Sub- order 



I'anchoncs. 



allies, the Merlin (¥. cesalon) and kindred species, the Lanner {F. feldeggii) 



and several other Falcons peculiar to the tropical portions of the Old and 



New Worlds. 



The Kestrels differ from the true Falcons in having the outer toe short, 



and about equal to the inner toe in length. They are birds of small size, 



and are chiefly insectivorous, many of them catching 



The Kestrels. — their prey on the wing, and devouring it as they fly. They 



Genus Ccrchiwis. catch a large number of field mice, and are everywhere 



a real friend to the agriculturist. In Dr. Fisher's report 



on the American Kestrel and its food, it is interesting to observe that in the 



stomachs of a large series (320) examined, few remains of birds were found, 



but a considerable number of mice. The chief food of the species was, 



however, grasshoppers, locusts, and caterpillars. 



The Ospreys, or Fishing Hawks, as they are often called, hold an 



intermediate position between the Hawks and the Owls. The skeleton 

 very closely approaches that of the latter birds, and the 

 Ospreys have another character in common with the 

 Owls, viz., that the outer toe is reversible, and can be 

 turned backwards or "forwards at will. The soles of 

 the feet are likewise furnished with spicules, thna 



enabling the bird, with its toes distributed nearly at right angles and its 



spiked soles, to seize and drag from the water the large fish on which 



it preys. 



The Osprey is now a very rare bird in Great Britain, and is only found 



in certain parts of Scotland, where it is protected, though a few stragglers, 



mostly young birds, are shot in other parts of 



the United Kingdom from time to time. The 



Osprey is a cosmopolitan species, and is found 



nearly over the whole of the world, the birds 



from the Australian region being slightly smaller 



than those from Europe or North America. The 



nest of the Osprey is an enormous structure, and 



is placed on a tree, or on a ruined building. 



The eggs are among the handsomest of those of 



Birds of Prey. 



In addition to the reversible toe alluded to 



above, a character which they share with the 



Ospreys, the Owls are further 



The Owls.— distinguished by their soft 



Sub-order Slriges. plumage, and by the absence 



of a cere or waxlike skin at 



the base of the bi'l, which is seen in almost all 



the true Accepitres. Owls have also a facial 



disk, which is surrounded by a ring of short, 



crisp feathers reaching from below the chin, and 



extending above the eye to the base of the bill. 



generally hidden by bristles, and the eyes are directed 

 forwards instead of sideways. 



The sub-order Slriges contains but two famihes— 

 Biihotiidcr, comprising the Owls generally, and the Barn- 

 Owls (Strigidce). In these birds the hind margin of the 



sternum or treast-bone has two distinct clefts, and the f urcula or "merry- 



i'ia- 65.— Tub Oarp.fvs 

 (Pandion haUtxtus). 



The nostrils are a'so 



The Horned and 



Wood-Owls.--- 



Family Ihibunida. 



