87 
mach is almost entirely membranous, and sternum broad, 
giving attachment to the muscles of their long wings. 
Some of them feed chiefly by day; their eyes are 
placed on the side of their head, and the nostrils ex¬ 
posed, as in the family of Condors , (Cases 1 and £,) 
found principally in America, which have naked heads 
and longitudinal nostrils ; as the Condor, or Great Vul¬ 
ture of the Andes ; the Californian Vulture, presented 
by Archibald Menzies , Esq.; the Turkey Buzzard of 
North America ; and the Monk and Common Neophron 
from Africa. 
The family of Vultures (Cases 2 to 4) have naked 
heads like the former, but their nostrils are perpendi¬ 
cular; as the Pondicherry Vulture, Egyptian Vulture, 
Fulvous Vulture, White backed Vulture, and the An¬ 
gola Vulture ; these are all from the warm parts of the 
Old World. 
The family of Griffons, (at the bottom of Case 4,) 
have rather small heads and long bills, surrounded at 
the base by tufts of bristles. The Bearded Vultures 
of the Alps and Himalaya Mountains are amongst 
the largest of the Raptorial Birds, and their quill fea¬ 
thers often more than two feet and a half long. These 
are probably the Rock or Condor of the Indians, the 
true Condor being only found in America; they are 
the Lammergeier, or Vulture of the Alps, 
The family of Falcons (Cases 5 to \2) have their 
heads covered with feathers, and the eyebrows promi¬ 
nent, giving the eye the appeai’ance of being set deep 
in the head, and imparting a character to these birds, 
very different from that of the Vultures. The Noble 
Falcons are the birds used in falconry; the Ignoble 
Falcons have simple nostrils ; some, as the Hawks, have 
ovate rather longitudinal nostrils, while the Honey Buz¬ 
zard and Osprey Kites have an oblique slit covered with 
a valve behind, and the Eagles and Sea Eagles have 
an oblong exposed nostril placed perpendicularly across 
the front of the cere. Among the Hawks, the most 
remarkable 
ROOM XIII. 
Nat. Hist. 
