28 



one flayed and abandoned, they call out to each other, 

 pounce down upon the carcase, and in an instant pick the 

 bones as bare and clean as if they had been scraped with 

 a knife. Their great enemy is the crocodile, which lays 

 its eggs, from one hundred upwards, in the sands, on 

 the sides of rivers, taking great pains to hide them : 

 but meanwhile, a number of vultures sit silent and un- 

 seen on the branches of some neighbouring forest, and 

 view her operations, patiently waiting until she has 

 covered them carefully with sand, and retired to a con- 

 venient distance, when all pounce down upon the nest, 

 hook up the sand in a moment, lay the eggs bare, and 

 devour the whole brood. 



The family of Griffons, the Noble Falcons and Igno- 

 ble Falcons ; as Kites and Hawks : two of the latter 

 are represented as just arrived at their nest, after a cap- 

 ture of two small birds, which they seem about to deli- 

 ver up to their open-mouthed young ones. So greatly 

 were noble falcons valued in the time of Edward the 

 Third, that to take its eggs, even in a person's own 

 ground, was punished with a year and a day's imprison- 

 ment, and a fine at the king's pleasure. But falconry, 

 which was the principal amusement of our ancestors, is 

 now scarcely ever heard of. Their courage is so great 

 that birds, even much larger, are unable to terrify them, 

 their swiftness so great, that few can escape them, and 

 their docility so remarkable, that the commands, or even 

 the signs of their master, are obeyed. But much train- 

 ing is necessary for this, in order to curb down the fe- 

 rocity of their nature. At the bottom of this case is 

 the Secretary. 



Cases 13 and 14 contain the family of Owls. 



Cases 15 to 17 contain the Omnivorous Birds, in 

 which is the family of Crows, Paradise Birds from New 

 Guinea, and Starlings. At the bottom of case 15 is a 

 nest of the Jular Jay, with one perched on the side with 

 a cherry in its mouth, which it is about to give its 

 young. The birds of paradise are of various kinds, and 

 are found in the Molucca Islands and New Guinea. 

 The natives sell them to Europeans when killed, salted 



