BIRD OF PREY. Any of the predaceous, flesh-eating birds, called in the older classifica tions Rapaces, Itaptores, .Aeciptres, etc., consid ered as a group from the point of view of habits rather than of structure. They have been re garded usually as an order divisible into two uncertain groups—Noeturnal and Diurnal—the former including the owls, and the latter the eagles, falcons, buzza rd-hawks. vultures, etc. Ornithologieally they arc held by most modern systemists to include the three orders Striges (owls), Pandiones (ospreys), and Aceipitres, the last embracing all the diurnal faleonine and vul turine families, together with the aberrant form Gypogeranus. See SECRETARY-BIRO.
rh a raet Cri8/ ieS.—Agrecing in subsisting by the ehase and seizure of living animals, or upon dead flesh which must be torn apart, all of this large group present an organization which com bines great power with special tools adapted to their habits. :Most of them are coasters of the power of flight, the great vultures soaring out of human sight, and the falcons having astonish ing dash and quiekness. Their wits are alert, and their senses are keen, their eyesight being the most highly developed, perhaps, in the whole animal kingdom. In size they vary from the condor, one of the greatest of all birds'. to the finell-falcon or pigmy owl, scarcely larger than a sparrow. They are widespread, but far more numerous in warm climates than in cold, few dwelling near the Arctic zone; and while ninny are migratory, the most of them are petmanent residents of the districts they inhabit. Their plumage, as a rule, is plain, black, white. reddish browns, and yellowish tints predominating: nor are crests or ornamental feathers common among them. The female is usually somewhat larger than the male—a fact due, no doubt, to the •ir emnstance that she labors more continuously than her partner in providing food for her young and in defending her home. All the birds of prey are monogamous. and the larger ones are believed to pair for life. Certain nesting-sites. are resorted to for many generations in succes sion by eagles, vultures, fish-hawks, etc., the nest being annually refitted for occupancy. The nesting-sites are very various, ranging from the ledge of a lofty crag, or a tall tree-top, to bushes. the ground. or even holes in the ground.
The eggs of the owls are always white, but those of other families are usually blotched with color, and they are commonly few in number. "The period of incubation is longer than in most other aerial birds, and the young at first are covered with down, are quite helples-s, and for an un usually long time are entirely dependent on the parents." In a11 species the many indigestible substances, as hair, scales, bones, etc., swallowed, are later elected from the stemaeh in pellets called `castings.' Predaceous •guipment.—The birds of prey have acquired an equipment of beak and claws entirely suitable for their work. The beak is large, strong. terminates in a sharp hook, and the edges of the mandible are sharp and more or less serrated, forming an excellent piercing, tearing, and cutting instrument. The base of the upper mandible is sheathed in a membrane, bare of feathers, and often bright yellow in color, through which the nostrils open. and which is called the care; no other birds have a similar beak except the parrots, which otherwise are very different from this group. In the vultures, not only the base of the beak, but the whole head is naked, in adaptation to their carrion-eating habits, involving the constant smearing of the bead with filth prejudicial to feather-growth. (See VULTURE.) Im,fvmuremts for seizing their prey (which includes fish), holding it or carry ing it away, are provided in the feet, which are flexible, very strong, and armed with long, sharp ly pointed and powerful claws. giving a lacer ating. catlike grasp. which ordinarily no force available to the victim is able to break. In ear rion-feeders, however, the feet exhibit little of this power, and the talons are short and blunt, for they are not called upon to seize and hold a struggling victim. Most of these birds live many years. They are nowhere very numerous in any one district.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. Consult: kooks mentioned unBibliography. Consult: kooks mentioned un- der nos Fisher. //awl's and Chris Of the United ?`? totes (Department of Agriculture, Wa sh i ngt on , 1893). See BuzzAan; FAm.•: FALcoN; HAWK ; Over.: VULTURE : with the aceompanying plates; and the names of particular birds of prey.