236 
AcCiriTRES.- 
-BIRDS. 
projections of the horny covering of the mandible ; its 
base is always covered by a naked leathery cere, in 
which the nostrils open. 
This bill, with its acute tip and sharp and often 
jagged edges, is admirably adapted for tearing to pieces 
Fig. 94 
the prey upon which these birds subsist; and the struc- 
ture of the feet and claws fits them no less admirably 
for seizing the victim and holding it fast, while the 
relentless beak is engaged in its destructive woik. 
Tlie feet are generally short and very powerful, and 
terminated by four strong toes, covered beneath with 
Fig. 9d. 
Foot of the Golden Eagle. 
roughened pads. The claws with which these toes are 
armed, are of enormous size and strength, very acute 
at the tij), and furnished with two sharp edges. Tliis is 
especially the case in the most|)redaceous species; but, 
in those wliich feed on carrion anil in some of the 
smaller species which prey upon insects, the power of 
tlie feet and claws, as also that of tlie bill, is naturally 
much diminished. 
In accordance with the indications furnished by the 
bill and feet, we find the whole organization of the bird 
eminently fitted to sustain it in the continual warlare 
wliich it wages with nearly all the rest of the animated 
creation. The wings are of immense extent, and moved 
by most powerful muscles; the keel of the sternum being 
V U I.T U H I D.H. 
excessively developed to give attachment to those which 
draw the wungs downwards. Their flight is accordingly 
powerful ; and many of the species cut their way througli 
the air Avith the most astonishing rapidity ; the ordinary 
rate of progress of some being calculated at about sixty 
miles an hour. But even this rapid motion is greatly 
exceeded under circumstances of excitement; for, in 
pursuit of their prey, some falcons are supposed to rush 
along at the rate of at least a hundred and twenty miles 
in the same space of time. The tail also is long and 
composed of strong feathers, so that it forms a most 
eft'ective rudder to direct the movements of the birds 
in their rapid course. 
The covering of the feet' is usually a reticulated or 
scaly skin ; and it is only in a few species that we find 
any portion of the foot covered with shield-like plates. 
In some, however, the tarsi are clothed with feathers 
quite doAvn to the origin of the toes. The toes are 
always four in number, and placed three in front, and 
one behind. The anterior toes are usually united by 
a fold of skin at the base ; but in the owls this small 
membrane only occurs between the inner and middle 
toes, and the outer toe is capable of being turned back- 
wards. 
The birds of this order vary greatly in size, and in 
•most cases tlie male is considerably" smaller than the 
female. They live in pairs during the breeding season, 
and both the male and the female assist in tlie construc- 
tion of the nest, in the task of incubation, and in the 
bringing up of the young. They are found iii all climates, 
from the coldest to the hottest, and only the species of 
one family are confined to the warmer regions of the 
earth. 
The accipitres are usually divided into three families, 
the Vulturkkn or vultures, the Fulconidcc or liaivks, and 
the Strigidw or owls ; the latter also constitute the sec- 
tion of nocturnal birds of prey, the principal period of 
activity being tlie evening and night ; the other two 
families are called diurnal predaceous birds, as by^ fiir 
the greater yart of them are never abroad except by 
day. 
Family I.— VULTURID^. 
In the Vultures the bill is considerably more elon- 
gated than in the other families of predaceous birds, and 
often comparatively slender in its form ; its basal por- 
tion is always straiglit, and the tip rather suddenly 
hooked. The lateral margins of the upper mandible 
are often sinuated, but never toothed. The head — 
(lig. 96) — is usually naked, and the neck also frequently 
partakes of this character; in many cases the head is 
furni.shed with jieculiar wattles, and the skin, both of 
this part and the neck, is sometimes adorned with 
brilliant colours. The eyes are placed on the sides of 
the head, without any projecting eyebrows above them ; 
the wings are very long and pointed ; the feet are 
covered with reticulated scales ; the middle toe is very 
long, the hinder one rather elevated, and the Avhole are 
armed with stotit but rather blunt claws. 
These birds, as may be easily seen from their cha- 
racters, are by no means the most predaceous of their 
order ; on the contrary^, most of them hardly deserve the 
