NATURAL HISTORY. 
61 
ROOM XII.] 
Cases 1 to 7 contain the first Order, Raptores, which 
are characterized by their strong bills,, covered with a cere 
at the base, and hooked at the end; their legs are strong, 
and their toes are armed with sharp claws. 
Cases 1—3, the family of Falcons (Falconidce) , as the 
Eagles ( Aquila), with their long bills. Fishing Eagles 
( Halicetus ), and the Osprey ( Pandion ). The latter is pe¬ 
culiar for having the under sides of the claws rounded like 
the upper. The Noble Falcons ( Falco), Case 4, are charac¬ 
terized by their short bills, with a deep notch near the tip of 
the upper mandible. This genus includes all the birds that 
are used in Falconry. The Sparrow-Hawks ( Accipiter), 
Case 5, have the same short bills as the Falcons, but 
without the notch, and their legs are slender and shielded as 
the Goshawks and the Sparrow-Hawk; the Kites ( Milvus) 
are peculiar for their weak bills, and long forked tails; 
lastly, the Buzzards ( Buteo ), Cases 6 and 7, have long 
wings and a square tail; as the Common Buzzard, the 
Honey Buzzard (Perms'), and the Hen Harrier (Circus), 
The latter have some resemblance to Owls. All these birds 
vary greatly in the colour of their plumage before they arrive 
at the adult state. The females are generally one-third 
larger than the males; their eggs usually white and spotless. 
The Owls ( Strigidce ), or Nocturnal Birds of Prey, have 
large heads, and their eyes more or less surrounded with a 
circle of radiating feathers. Their plumage is very soft, 
their ears large, and placed just at the back of the disk of 
feathers which surrounds their eyes, and this development 
of the organs of hearing probably compensates for the imper¬ 
fection of their sight, at least in full daylight. The Owls, 
Case 8, have been divided into many genera, as the Eagle 
Owls (Bubo), Short-horned Owls (Otus), the Earless Owls 
(Stria:, Syrnium, and Noctaa). The species of the last 
genus are said to fly much more by day than the rest of the 
Owls, and the disk of feathers round their eyes is not so 
distinctly marked as in the other genera. 
Cases 9—15, contain the Perching Birds, Insessores : 
they are generally smaller than the Raptores, their bills 
are weaker, and their claws slender and acute; like them, 
they have the hind toes articulated on the same plane with 
the front ones, which enables them to grasp the perch with 
ease and security. They are separated into four divisions. 
