ORDER ACCIPITRES. 89 
large and round and, in the Eagles, are flattened upon the crown; their eyes are 
large, very keen of vision, and are protected by a superciliary ridge; the apertures 
of the ears are large, round, or elliptical; the beak is a perfect cutting instrument 
(falx, hence Falconide/ is short, stout, compressed towards the end, curved from 
the base, sharp at the tip, near which on the upper mandible there is a projecting 
festoon or tooth; both mandibles have sharp edges; the legs are of moderate 
length, or, as in the Harriers, elongated; tarsi very muscular, sometimes feathered, 
as in Aguzla, but generally bare; usually scutellate in front and behind; some- 
times scaly all round. The toes are four; the first large and stout; the third 
longest; the second larger than the fourth, the anterior somewhat webbed at the 
base; all scutellate towards the end, sometimes in their whole length; padded or 
papillate beneath. The claws are long, tapering, and very acute, with a great 
range of motion, but not retractile. The wings are very large, varying much in 
form; being very long, or of moderate length; pointed, as in the true Falcons; 
or rounded, as in the Sparrow-Hawk; the tail, always of twelve feathers, is never 
small, but varies in shape, being even, graduated, emarginate, or forked. The 
majority of the Falconide, owing to their pointed claws, are incapable of walking 
upon the ground, and can only progress upon it by long hops aided by their 
wings. They seize their victims with their talons, thrust into them their long 
acuminate claws, and when of sufficiently small size carry them off to some secure 
retreat. The bill is not generally used for inflicting wounds, but with it they 
remove the hair or feathers, previously to eating the flesh, which they tear up 
with ease, often swallowing the bones. Like the Owls, they void the indigestible 
portions of their food in the form of pellets. Their prey consists of small mam- 
mals, birds, fishes, reptiles, birds’ eggs, and insects, and some of them will devour 
carrion. Their flight is powerful, graceful, and varied; strong and swift in the 
Falcons; more buoyant in the Harriers; light and gliding in the Hawks; heavier 
in the Buzzards and Eagles; soaring in circles in the Kites. They perch with 
ease, and when at rest on a branch or crag keep the body nearly erect, and the 
neck much retracted. On a level surface, they incline the body forward, and draw 
up their claws. 
As it would be fatal to them to moult all their feathers at once, as they 
are entirely dependent on obtaining their food by flight, their moult is a gradual 
process, feather by feather, and beginning at the end of the summer is continued 
until the winter. Their cries are loud and shrill, with little modulation. They 
pair early in the spring, forming rude nests of sticks, twigs, and other materials, 
lined with a little wool or grass, many of them are content to occupy the deserted 
nest of some other bird, or to nest upon the ground; the eggs are from two to 
