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Birds of prey have been arranged in two classes; the Diurnal, including vultures, and the Falcon tribe; and the Nocturnal, including every species of owl.

The vultures, with the exception of one species, may be distinguished by their long naked necks, while their attitude is not so upright as that of the eagle, and their flight more difficult and heavy. The more remarkable are, the Condor, which is now included in this class,—the King of the Vultures, the Carrion Vulture, or Turkey Buzzard, so called from its size and resemblance to that bird at a distance, the Bearded Vulture, or Vulture Eagle of the Swiss and German Alps, and the Griffon Vulture.

The King of the Vultures is a native of America, abounding in Mexico and Paraguay, and the intermediate countries. Though among the smaller species of the Vulture tribe, it surpasses them all in elegance and the splendour of its colours, being variegated with grey, flesh-colour, fawn, and black. Its comb is of a brilliant orange, the eye encircled by a skin of a scarlet colour, and the front of the neck striped with blue. The splendour of its plumage, however, would appear not to be the sole cause of its regal appellation, as the other vultures, it is said, stand so much in awe of it, as to abandon their prey whenever it makes its appearance.

The Vulture Eagle of the Alps is the largest of European birds of prey, being upwards of four feet in length, and from nine to twelve feet in expanse of wing. It carries off sheep, lambs, goats, and calves; and it is said sometimes to have descended with such irresistible force upon the chamois hunter, as to dash him from a precipice into the gulf below. The inhabitants of the Alps assert, that it sometimes carries off children to feed its young, and the assertion does not appear to be without foundation.

The extraordinary powers of vision by which birds of this class discover their food, has frequently been made the subject of experiment. A modern traveller thus describes the "gathering" of the vultures. "Desirous of observing how so great a number of vultures could congregate together in so short a space of time, I concealed myself one day in a thicket, after having killed a large gazelle, which I left upon the spot. In an instant a num

ber of ravens made their appearance, fluttering about the animal, and making a great croaking. In less than a quarter of an hour, these birds were reinforced by Kites and Buzzards; and immediately I perceived, on raising my head, a flight of birds at a prodigious height, wheeling round and round in their descent. These, I soon recognised to be vultures, which seemed, if I may so express myself, to escape from a cavern in the sky. The first comers fell immediately upon the gazelle, but when I left my concealment, they betook themselves slowly and heavily to flight, rejoining their comrades, whose numbers continued to increase, so that they seemed almost to precipitate themselves from the clouds to share the spoil."

The Falcon tribe has been divided into Falcons, Eagles, and Hawks. By the first is meant the falcon proper, of which there are several species, and which formerly were trained to the once noble but now neglected amusement of Falconry. These may be known by having their wings as long as the tail or longer, and by the notch or tooth in their beak. The species most usually employed in Falconry was the Peregrine Falcon. The Jer Falcon was likewise trained for the larger game, such as cranes and herons. This sport was once the amusement of the nobles and sovereigns throughout Europe, and the expense which attended it was very great. The King's Falconer was the fourth officer in the State, but notwithstanding all his honours, he was forbid to take more than three draughts of beer from his horn, lest he should get drunk and neglect his duty. So late as the reign of James I. (of England), we find an instance of £1000 being given for a cast of hawks; and in the time of Edward III., it was made felony to steal a hawk; and to take its eggs, even in one's own grounds, was punishable with imprisonment for a year and a day, together with a fine at the King's pleasure. The most delightful sport is thought to be the falcon's pursuit of the heron, the kite, or the woodlark. Instead of flying directly forward as some other birds do, these, when they see the approach of the hawk, immediately take to the skies. They fly almost perpendicularly upward, while their ardent pursuer keeps pace with their flight, and tries to rise above them. They both diminish by degrees from the gazing

spectator below, till they are quite lost in the clouds; but they are soon seen descending struggling together, and using every effort on both sides, the one of rapacious assault, the other of desperate defence. The unequal combat is soon at an end; the falcon comes off victorious, and the other killed or disabled, is made a prey either to the bird or to the sportsman.

The rapidity of flight of these birds is amazing, as a hawk has been known to fly 150 miles in one hour, and to continue at the rate of 90 for hours together. Their longevity is likewise remarkable. It is recorded that a falcon with a gold collar round its neck, dated 1610, and which belonged to James I., was found at the Cape of Good Hope in 1793, and was even then still tolerably vigorous. Without disputing the longevity of these birds, it is possible that in this case the collar might have been transferred from one bird to another.

The Merlin, though the smallest of British hawks, scarcely exceeding the blackbird in size, is so very courageous as to render him formidable to birds far superior in size. It has been known to kill partridges, larks, and quails by a single blow.

The Kite, called in Scotland the Gled, is a large and handsome bird, but destitute of the courage of its tribe, carrying off the defenceless chicken or the wounded bird. It is of a dark colour, about three feet long, and five feet in extent of wings. It may be distinguished by its forked tail and easy flight, gliding or sailing through the air without any apparent motion of its wings, rather than flying. Hence, the schoolboy's paper kite has evidently derived its name. It possesses, however, a piercing sight; and its flight is amazingly rapid.

The Eagle has already been noticed in a former volume, but we may remark in passing, that the Golden Eagle is said to have been employed in falconry, though found very untractable. In the present day, in the East, some of these birds are trained to hunt the deer and other animals.

All birds of the Owl kind are distinguished from others by having their large and projecting eyes formed for see ing better in the dusk than in the broad glare of sunshine. They may be divided into two sorts: those that have

horns, and those without. These horns are nothing more than a few feathers that stand up on each side of the head over the ear, and give this animal a kind of horned appearance. Of the horned kind is the Great Horned Owl, which appears very large owing to the fulness of its plumage. Next to this is the Common Horned Owl, of smaller size: the expanse of wing of the former being five feet, of the latter, but three. There is still a smaller kind of horned owl about the size of the blackbird, with horns composed of only one feather about half an inch in height.

Of the tribe without horns, the Howlet is the largest, with dusky plumes and black eyes: the Screech Owl is of a smaller size; the White Owl, about as large as the former; and lastly, the Great and Little Brown Owls; to which might be added a catalogue of about thirty different species of foreign denominations differing but little from our own.

These birds set out in pursuit of their prey in the dusk of the evening, and with a motion of wing scarcely audible, thread the grove, or skim along the hedges in quest of small birds or mice. In destroying the latter, one owl is said to be of more service than six cats. An old writer says, "In the year 1580, at Hallowtide, an army of mice so over-run the marshes near Southminster, that they eat up the grass to the very roots. But at length, a great number of strange painted owls came and devoured all the mice. The like happened in Essex about sixty years afterwards."

There is something always terrifying in the hideous note of these birds, which is often heard in the silence of midnight, and breaks the general pause with a horrid variation. Wilson, the American Ornithologist, speaking of a species of horned owl found in America, says, "As soon as evening draws on, and mankind retire to rest, he sends forth such sounds as seem scarcely to belong to this world, startling the solitary pilgrim as he slumbers by his forest fire, 'making night hideous.' Along the mountainous shores of the Ohio, and amidst the deep forests of Indiana, alone, and reposing in the woods, this ghostly watchman has frequently warned me of the approach of morning, and amused me with his singular exclamations:

sometimes sweeping down and around my fire, and uttering a loud and sudden, Waugh O! Waugh O! sufficient to have alarmed a whole garrison."

V.-Birds of the Pie Kind.

UNDER this class of birds, we may arrange all that noisy, restless, chattering, teasing tribe, that lie between the hen and the thrush; which, from the size of the raven, down to that of the woodpecker, flutter round our habitations, and rather with the spirit of pilferers, than of robbers, make free with the fruits of human industry. It consists of Ravens, Crows, Jackdaws, Magpies, Cuckoos, Woodpeckers; including also some of the more gaudy tenants of the tropics, as Parrots, Birds of Paradise, and others, with all their respective varieties.

The Raven, the Carrion Crow, and the Rook, are so well known, that a long description would but obscure our ideas of them. The Raven is the largest of the three, and distinguished also by its bill, which is more hooked. It is in length upwards of two feet, and the expansion of its wings more than four. It is of remarkable docility; may be trained for fowling like a hawk; may be taught to fetch and carry,-to speak like a parrot, and even, according to some, to sing like a man. Their longevity is likewise remarkable, some of them having lived near a hundred years.

The Magpie is also a well-known bird. We may remark, however, that its colours of white, black, green, and purple, with the rich and gilded combination of the glosses on its tail, are as fine as any that adorn the most beautiful of the feathered tribe. But it has too many of the qualities of a beau to depreciate these natural perfections. Vain, restless, loud, and quarrelsome, it is an unwelcome intruder everywhere, and never misses an opportunity of doing mischief.

Woodpeckers live chiefly upon the insects contained in the body of trees; and for this purpose are furnished with a straight, strong, and sharp bill, made for piercing and boring. They have a tongue of very great length; round. ending in a sharp, stiff. bony thorn, dentated on

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