100 
GUIDE TO THE 
most marked external feature of their structure is their 
hooked bill with its sharp cutting edge, frequently pro¬ 
vided with a lateral tooth ; the upper half of the bill 
being larger than the lower half. Their feet also are very 
strong, and have three toes in front and one behind, 
furnished with powerful claws or talons which 
can be bent under the feet, so giving the bird a firm 
hold of its perch, and of its prey. They are divided 
into two~ great assemblages, the first of which is repre¬ 
sented by all the ordinary birds of prey, such as the 
Vultures, Hawks, Eagles, &c., and the second by the 
Owls. The former includes all birds in which the eyes 
are placed on the side of the head, and in which there 
is no special radiate arrangement of feathers, around 
the eyes ; and the second embraces those birds in 
which the eyes are directed forwards and are in the centre 
of a circle or disc of feathers. The first is divided into 
two sub-orders depending on the character of the outer 
toe, whether it can be reversed, or cannot be reversed. 
The first of these constitutes the Sub-order, Falco?ies t 
the Falcon being taken as the type, and it contains 
the great mass of the birds of prey, with the excep¬ 
tion of the Osprey and the Owls. The Osprey, along 
with two Asiatic Sea Eagles, constitutes the Sub-order, 
Pandiones. 
The second great assemblage is that of the Owls or Striges , 
in which the plumage is soft and fluffy, and the nostrils are 
generally hidden by stiff bristles. The Owls are divided 
into two sections or Families, the Bubonidce and the 
Strigidce , the former comprising all the owls with the ex¬ 
ception of those few species which may be grouped round 
the Barn Owl, Strix flammea , of which an example may 
