THE GENERA 
°F 
NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS, 
AND | 
A SYNOPSIS OF THE SPECIES FOUND IN THE UNITED STATES, 
ORDER I. ACCIPITRES. 
Accipitres, L. Gm. Lath. Cuv . Vieill. Raptatores , 11L 
Rapaces , Temm. Ranz. Latr. 
Bill short, robust, compressed ; upper mandible hooked, 
covered at base with a cere ; lower shorter, generally obtuse : 
nostrils patulous, situated in the cere : tongue generally 
fleshy, thick, obtuse. Feet strong, muscular; tibiae fleshy, 
wholly feathered ; tarsi rounded, generally short or moder- 
ate ; toes, three before and one behind, divided, or connected 
at base by a membrane ; sole rough ; nails strong, compres- 
sed, incurved, acute, retractile. Neck short : body thick and 
heavy. Tail of twelve or fourteen feathers. 
Female larger and more powerful. Young at first covered 
with down. Moult annually. 
Rapacious : hunting quadrupeds, birds, reptiles, fishes, 
and insects, or feeding on dead bodies. Patient of hunger, 
and hardly experiencing thirst. Vision acute. Monogamous : 
nestling in high trees, rocks, and buildings ; laying about four 
eggs ; female only incubating. Flesh not esteemed as food. 
Analogous to Ferae in Mammalia. 
Vol. II. 3 
