242 The Bird 
space which they deserve! They defy classification and 
refuse to be arranged in any linear sequence. The ma- 
jority of those birds which have their beaks armed with 
a strong hook feed upon living prey,—from the great 
mandible of the Golden Eagle to the tiny vireo, which 
snaps up the dancing gnats. 
The owls and the parrots, which, by the way, are 
much more closely related than most of our classifications 
would indicate, have bills very much alike, and afford 
Fic. 186.—Bill of Golden Eagle, hooked for tearing prey. 
a striking example of two large related groups of birds 
whose diet has become radically unlike, although even 
in this case “blood will tell” and the Kea Parrot slips 
back into carnivorous habits with ease. 
Owls tear their prey apart with their beaks, or swallow 
it entire, but parrots gnaw and gnaw upon their nuts 
and seeds, reducing their food to powder. This grind- 
ing and rasping is aided by several file-like ridges which 
many parrots have within their beaks. The hinging 
of the upper mandible with the skull is more evident in a 
