CHAR A CTERISTICS. 
1 75 
ft 
While agreeing with the owls and the ospreys in their desmognathous palate, 
their hooked beak and curved talons, and the presence of a cere, the Accipitrines 
differ from both in that the fourth toe is not reversible; while they resemble the 
latter and differ from the former in their laterally- 
directed eyes, which are never surrounded by com¬ 
plete discs, and their firm plumage. In the bones 
of the leg the tibia differs from that of the owls 
in possessing a complete bony bridge at the 
lower end, while in the typical forms this lower 
end is remarkably flattened from back to front. 
The cannon-bone, or metatarsus, as shown in the 
accompanying figure, is also longer than in the owls 
and ospreys, and lacks the bridge at the upper end 
found almost universally in these groups; while at 
its lower end the three trochleae, instead of forming 
a very high arch when seen from below (compare 
the figure on p. 140), are situated nearly in the same 
transverse plane. Hence the metatarsus at once 
serves to distinguish an owl or an osprey from an 
Accipitrine. In addition to its bridged palate, the 
skull of an Accipitrine agrees with that of an 
owl in the absence of any production of the lower 
mandible beyond its point of articulation with the 
quadrate bone, but it differs by its more elongated 
form. Like those of the owls, the young have a 
downy coat, but the eggs, although occasionally 
white, are very generally more or less coloured, 
usually with reddish blotches on a pale ground. 
The whole group is carnivorous, like the owls and 
ospreys; but, while some of its members kill their 
own prey, others live on carrion. The Accipitrines 
may be divided into four distinct families, namely, 
the falcon group (Falconidce), the vultures ( Vul - 
turidce), secretary - vultures ( Serpentar iida 3 ), and 
American vultures ( Cathartidce ). The two first of these families are close!}' 
allied; the other two differ greatly both from the first two and from one another. 
. : 
Wi 
THE 
LEFT CANNON - BONE OR META¬ 
TARSUS OF THE BUZZARD. 
From the upper (A), front (B), lower 
(C), and hinder (D) aspects, c.d, hinder 
processes of upper end ; a.b, points of 
muscular attachment; /, foramen ; h, 
facet for first toe. 
The Hawk Tribe. 
Family FALCONIDCE. 
The present family, which includes the falcons, hawks, kites, buzzards, eagles, 
etc., constitutes together with that of the vultures the typical Accipitrines, which 
are collectively characterised by the following features. In the head the nostrils 
are separated by a median partition, while on the base of the skull there are no 
basipterygoid processes. The feathers have well-developed aftershafts, and the 
