89 
heads covered with feathers, and the eyebrows promi¬ 
nent, giving the eye the appearance 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 bird is the Secretary, found at the Cape, 
called also the Serpent Eater, from its preying on those 
reptiles. The French attempted to naturalize this bird 
in Martinique, in order to destroy the lance-headed 
serpent, which abounds in that island. 
Cases 14—16 contain the Nocturnal Birds of 
Prey, or the family of Owls4; which, as the Eared 
Owls, have a tuft of long feathers over the eyebrows, 
capable of being erected at the pleasure of the ani¬ 
mal, whence they are also called Horned owls. The 
most nocturnal birds of this family have very large 
ears, and those that fly both in the day and the night 
have them small like the hawks. 
The family of Griffons 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 feathers 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 Laemmer Geyer, or 
Vulture of the Alps. 
The Perching Birds are divided into several groups, 
each containing four or five families. The Omni¬ 
vorous Birds J include the family of Crows, (Case 17), 
which have the nostrils covered with a tuft of bristles: 
* See p. 82. f See p. 83. 
t Id. 
the 
ROOM XIII. 
Nat. Hist. 
