30 
“ North America, common ; piscivorous; a piratical parasite 
of the Osprey; otherwise notorious as the Emblem of the 
Republic.” Certainly, on watching its filthy habits, its 
sneaking ways, and its thievish expression, one is not dis¬ 
posed to be proud of his “ Bird of Freedom.” 
The Falcons, Harriers, Kites, and Goshawks are small 
hawks of rapid and vigorous flight and daring dispositions. 
They are found all over the world. The Falcons are readily 
distinguished by the presence of a notch—called the tooth—in 
the upper mandible. 
The specimen of the Duck Hawk {Falco communis ) of 
North America, in one of the small cages, flew on board of 
the steamship “Pennsylvania” when three days out from the 
port of Philadelphia, and was added to the collection by the 
kindness of Captain Harris. 
The Vultures are represented in North America by three 
species, of which the Society possesses two—the Turkey Vul¬ 
ture, being common to all North America, and the Black 
Vulture, which is mainly confined to the south Atlantic and 
Gulf States, where they perform the duties of useful scavengers 
in the streets of even the large cities. 
The Caracara Buzzard belongs to a small group of hawks 
approaching somewhat in habit to the vultures. They range 
from South and Central America into the southern parts of 
the United States. 
A strange bird, strictly belonging to this group, though 
bearing a resemblance in length of leg to the cranes and storks, 
is the Secretary Vulture (Gypogeranus serpentarius) of South 
Africa. Its name is derived from a tuft of feathers projecting 
backwards from each side of the head, and resembling the 
quill pen which clerks or secretaries frequently carry behind 
their ears. It is also known as “serpent-eater,” from its 
habit of waging destructive war on the serpents which abound 
in its native country. It is a difficult bird to keep in cap¬ 
tivity, its bones seeming to be very brittle—a slight blow or 
even a misstep being sometimes sufficient to break a leg. 
No. 12.—THE RESTAURANT. 
The Restaurant is on the right of the prescribed route, after 
leaving the Eagle Aviary, and offers to the hungry visitor 
ample facilities for supplying his necessities. 
