THE LIVING WORLD. 
43 i 
swiftness when in pursuit of its prey. The reader, by pausing to reflect upon 
the difference of wing equipment among the birds already mentioned, will see 
yet another evidence of design. 
The Mississippi Kite ( Ictinia mississippiensi ) cultivates the most inexpli¬ 
cable companionship 
with the turkey buz¬ 
zard, from which it is 
distinguished by ap¬ 
pearance, flight and 
strictly insect diet. 
The Little Amer¬ 
ican Eagle, or Red- 
throated Falcon 
{/byeter americanus ), 
adds to the many at¬ 
tractions of the South 
American forests. 
Blue above and pink¬ 
ish below, a red-pur¬ 
ple for the throat, 
black for the claws, 
and yellow for the 
feet and for the bill- 
sheath, a diversity of 
plumage in beautiful 
combination is such 
as is seen in no other 
birds of prey. 
The Buzzard 
(Buteo vulgaris) is 
one of the handsomest 
among the falcons. 
The reader must not confound this bird with what is called the turkey buzzard, 
for the latter, as will be explained, is not truly a buzzard, but a vulture. It 
is black or dark brown above, and white below, though spots and streakings 
add to the richness of its plumage. 
The Honey Buzzard ( Perm's apivora) is notable chiefly because it varies 
its me?iu by the addition 
of insects, and of the 
plundered hives of bees. 
The Osprey, or Fish 
Hawk {Pandion halicetus ), 
is always graceful,whether 
circling in the air, or dash¬ 
ing into the water in 
claws of the eagle. skull of an eagle. pursu it of the finny tribe. 
Its claws are long, sharp and curvilinear, and, to complete the perfection of the 
mechanism, the soles of the feet are roughened, and the outer toe has a flexi¬ 
bility of the human thumb, affording another evidence of adaptation to the 
demands of nature and the wisdom of the Deity. 
falcon, with and without hood. 
