ORNITHOLOGY. 



563 



Eaptores. imbricated scales ; the claws are large and rounded on the 

 N -""~v~-'' under surface, the outer toe very versatile ; and the second 

 feather of the wing the longest. Our British osprey, or 

 small fishing eagle, is the Pandion halicetus. It breeds in 

 the vicinity of many of our northern sea-lochs, often on the 

 chimney-top of ruined castles by the shore. It destroys 

 a vast quantity of fish, which it secures by thrusting its 

 talons through their backs during a sudden momentary 

 plunge beneath the waves. It is remarkably abundant in 

 North America ; and Wilson observes that it permits the 

 purple grakles to build their nests amid the interstices of 

 the sticks of which it has framed its own. He adds, that 

 it never picks up any fish which it may chance to drop either 

 on land or water. We know not if this trait applies to those 

 of the " old country." We once saw an osprey drop a large 

 sea-trout, which it certainly did not attempt to recover; 

 but then there happened at the same time to be an excel- 

 lent shot, with a double barrel, within a rather dangerous 

 distance of the same. The osprey occurs in New Holland, 

 and is elsewhere very widely spread. 



The genus Circetus of Vieillot is in a manner inter- 

 mediate, between the fishing eagles, the ospreys, and the 

 buzzards. We may mention as an example the bird called 

 jean-le-blanc by the French {F. Gallicus, Gmelin), a com- 

 mon continental species. 



In Harpyia, Cuv. the bill is very strong, and com- 

 pressed, the upper mandible dilated on the margins, and 

 much hooked. The head is crested, the tarsi thick, the 

 wings rather short. The harpies are large birds of prey, 

 which dwell chiefly in the forests of Guiana, making their 

 nests on trees, and committing great depredations. The larg- 

 est is the H. destructor of Daudin (Plate CCCLXXX VIII. 

 fig. 7), said to be capable of cleaving a man's skull by a 

 single blow of its beak. We doubt if any one ever tried. 

 However, it carries off young fawns, and sloths of a year 

 old. It is a rare bird, lately imported to the Zoological 

 Gardens of London, and well exemplified by the specimen 

 in the Edinburgh Museum. 



In the genus Morphnus of Cuv. {Spizcetus, Vieillot), 

 the wings are shorter than the tail, the tarsi are length- 

 ened (in some feathered), and the toes feeble. The spe- 

 cies are extremely beautiful, and richly varied in their 

 markings. They are chiefly found in South America. 

 We have figured as an example (see Plate CCCLXXXVIII. 

 fig. 9) the Morphnus cristatus {F. Guianensis, Daud.), 

 which strongly resembles the great harpy just mentioned 

 in its general aspect, but is at once distinguished by its 

 smaller size and longer tarsi. We may mention as an in- 

 stance of those with plumed tarsi, the Falco cristatellus 

 of Temm. PL Col. 282, which is a native of India and 

 Ceylon. 



In Cymindis, Cuv. and Temm. the tip of the upper man- 

 dible forms a lengthened curve, with a very acute point. 

 The nostrils are obliquely cleft, almost closed ; the cere 

 narrow. The tarsi are very short, and reticulated ; the 

 wings rather long. The species are South American, and 

 we know of nothing remarkable in their habits. See Cy- 

 mindis uncinatus, Illiger, PL Col. 103. The extremely 

 hook-billed species {C. liamatus, PL Col. 61) now forms 

 the genus Rostrhamus. Its nostrils are rounded, the 

 space before the eye is bare, and the tarsi are scutellated. 

 Its habits are unknown. 



Naturalists differ greatly in their distribution of the pre- 

 ceding genera. Mr Swainson thinks Circalus is a sub- 

 generic form of Gypogeranus, and he places Cymindis with 

 the Caracaras, and certain other groups, in his sub-family 

 Cymindina or kites, and locates Morphnus {Spizcetus, 

 Vieil.) with the buzzards. 



We now proceed to a third tribe, consisting chiefly of 



the sparrow-hawks and goshawks. The bill is curved al- Eaptores. 

 most from the base, convex, the upper mandible dilated v ~— -v^^ 

 on the sides, the lower short and obtuse. The nostrils 

 are nearly oval ; the tarsi rather long and slender ; the 

 claws broad and sharp. The wings have the fourth fea- 

 ther the most extended, and are shorter than the tail. The 

 species are numerous, and occur in all parts of the globe. 

 The larger, which are also proportionally the more robust, 

 with thicker tarsi and shorter wings, have by many Orni- 

 thologists been considered as constituting a separate ge- 

 nus, to which the name of Astur is applied. That rare 

 British bird the goshawk {Astur palumbarius) may be 

 named as a good example, while the smaller and more 

 slender kinds included in the genus Nisus are represent- 

 ed by our sparrow-hawk {N. communis, the Falco nisus of 

 Linn.). The transition from one to the other is however 

 very gradual, and some deem their separation unwarrant- 

 able. Even the two British species, though usually re- 

 garded as the types of their respective sections, do not dif- 

 fer so much as to render the propriety of their separation 

 very apparent, even were no other species known. They 

 are all extremely active, as daring as the true falcons, and 

 prey exclusively on living objects, which they seize with 

 admirable dexterity. Their flight is generally low, and as 

 they pass over the fields or woods, they dart upon their 

 prey, whether it be in the air, among branches, or couch- 

 ed upon the ground. 1 The goshawk, though a short- 

 winged species, was formerly held in great estimation for 

 the purposes of falconry. It is one of the most generally 

 diffused of all the accipitrine birds, but is now very rare 

 in Britain. A beautiful white species {Astur albus) is 

 found in New Holland. Of the sparrow-hawks we shall 

 allude merely to the Nisus tnusicus of Africa, commonly 

 called the chanting falcon. It is the only raptorial bird 

 in any way gifted with the powers of song ; but we must 

 not suppose that its notes at all resemble the harmonious 

 tones of the nightingale, or those of even our less accom- 

 plished songsters. Its voice is merely a little clearer than 

 usual, although it seems impressed with a high idea of its 

 own powers, and will sit for half a day perched upon the 

 summit of a tall tree, uttering its incessant cry. 



A fourth tribe contains the kites, which are likewise sub- 

 divided into several minor groups, all agreeing in their 

 comparatively feeble bills and feet, their short tarsi, and 

 long extended wings. The tail is forked. They are gifted 

 with great powers of flight, but are neither strong nor 

 courageous, seldom pounce on heavy game, sometimes 

 contrive to prey on fish, and have never the slightest ob- 

 jection to chickens. 



In the genus Milvus of Cuv. is included our common 

 kite {M. regalis, Vieil.; Falco milvus, Linn.). The tarsi 

 are scutellated in front, and tolerably strong. This beau- 

 tiful bird is rare in many districts of Scotland, and is 

 scarcely ever seen in the Lothians. We have received it 

 from Argyllshire, but do not think it occurs in the West- 

 ern Isles. We have often, in the North of England, ad- 

 mired its wheeling flight, circling through the air with no 

 perceptible motion of its long expanded wings, and sailing 

 over that enchanting land of lakes and mountains, with 

 such majestic sweeps as if it were itself " sole king of 

 rocky Cumberland." The kite is distributed over all Eu- 

 rope, but is unknown in America. Other species of the 

 genus occur in Asia, Africa, and New Holland. 



In the genus Elanus of Savigny the tarsi are very 

 short, reticulated, and half clothed with feathers. The 

 wings are long, the tail but slightly forked. It contains 

 F. dispar and melanapterus, two species which some re- 

 gard as one and the same. They feed on small birds, in- 

 sects, and reptiles, and occasionally devour dead animals. 



1 Rapacious Birds, p. 231. 



