THE FIRST ORDER OF BIRDS. BIRDS OF PREY, (ACCIPITRES, Lin.) Are known by their bent beak and crooked talons, very powerful arms, by means of which they pursue other birds, and even weak quadrupeds and reptiles. They are among the birds, what the carnivora are among the quadrupeds. The muscles of their thighs and legs indicate the strength of their talons; their tarsi are rarely elongated; they all have four toes; the thumb nail and that of the internal toe are the strongest. They form two families, the diurnal and the nocturnal. The DIURNAL BIRDS OF PREY have the eyes directed sideways; a membrane called the cera, which covers the base of the beak, in which are pierced the nostrils; three toes before, one behind without feathers, the two external toes almost always united at their base by a short membrane; the plumage is close; the feathers are strong, and the flight powerful; their stomach is almost entirely membranous, their intestines are but little extended, their cæcum is very short, the sternum large, and completely ossified, in order to give to the muscles of the wing more extension; and their furca is semicircular and very wide, the better to resist the violent falls of the humerus requisite to a rapid flight. Linnæus made only two genera, which are two natural divisions, that is, the VULTURES and FALCONS. The VULTURES, (VULTUR, Lin.) Have the eyes close to the head, the tarsi reticulated, that is, covered with small scales; the beak long, bent only at the end; and a part, more or less, of the head, or even the neck, denuded of feathers. The power of their talons does not correspond with their size, and they rather make use of the beak. Their wings are so long that they hold them half extended when they walk. They are cowardly birds, and live more commonly on carrion than on a living prey; after eating, their crop forms a large protuberance, under the furca; a fetid secretion runs from the nose, and they are reduced almost to a state of stupidity. The Vultures, properly so called, have a large and strong beak, the nostrils crosswise on the base, the head and neck without feathers, and a collar of long feathers under the neck. They have been seen only in the old world. The Fulvous Vulture, (V. fulvus, Gmel.) V. trencalos, Bechstein. Le Percnoptère, Buff. Enl. 426, and Le Grand Vautour, Id. Hist. des Ois.i. in 4to., pl. v. * The Vulture, Albin. iii. t. 1. Le Chassefiente, Vail. Afr. The Indian Vulture, Latham and Sonnerat. Of a gray or brown colour, approaching to fawn colour; the down of the head and neck cinereous, the collar The history of the great Vulture is that of the following species, but the figure belongs to this. white, sometimes mixed with brown; the quill-feathers and the tail brown, the beak and feet lead colour. This is the most extended species, and is found on all the mountains of the whole ancient world. The body equals, and even exceeds, that of the swan. It forms the genus Gyps of Savigny, having fourteen tail feathers; is found in Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Kolb's Vulture, V. Kolbii, Lath. Vaill. O. A. t. 10. Differs from the former by the feathers of the neck The Indian Vulture, Lath. V. Indicus, Lath. Vail. Has been established by Temminck as a distinct spe- The V. Chincou, Lath. Vail. O. A. t. 12. is perhaps the young. The feathers round the neck are short. The Cinereous Vulture, (V. cinereus, and V. monachus, Gm. Enl. 425.) The Crested Black Vulture, Edw. 290. The Chincou of China, Vail. Afr. Arrian of La Pérouse. Black Vulture, Ashy Vulture, &c. Of a blackish brown, the collar remounting obliquely towards the occiput, which has itself a tuft of feathers: the feet and membrane of the base of the beak are of a blueish violet. It is not less extended than the last, and is still larger. It frequently attacks living animals. The Sociable Vulture, Lath. (V. auricularis, Daud.) Vail. Afr. t. 9. Probably the Vulture of Pondicherry, of Sonnerat. Daudin, Ann. du Mus. ii. pl. 20. Blackish, with a longitudinal fleshy crest on each side of the neck under the ears. Of Africa and the East Indies. The Arabian Vulture, Lath. (V. monachus, Lin. Edw. t. 290) Vail. O. A. t. 12. pl. col. t. 426); Has been established as a distinct species from the Brown Vulture of Europe and India. V. cinereus, Lin., and V. Arrianus, Picot, pl. Enl. t. 425, of which the Bengal Vulture of Lath. t. 1, is the young, and the V. niger, V. cristatus of Brisson, are varieties. The Pondicherry Vulture, V. Pondicerianus, Lath. from Sonn. Ind. t. 104. pl. col. t. 2. Is now proved to be a distinct species: it is black, The Angola Vulture, Penn. (Falco Angolensis, Gm.) White scapulars; orbits naked, reddish; quills and The Chincou, Vail. Vultur Chincou, Daud. Vail. Brown crown with a loose downy crest, head, cheeks, VOL. VI. C The Egyptian Vulture, V. Ægyptius, Savigny, Egypt, pl. col. t. 407. the adult from Egypt, not the V. niger, of Brisson. V. Galericulatus, Temm. V. Monachus, pl. col. t. 13. Found in East and North Africa. Here may be perhaps added the Madagascar Falcon, Lath. Falco Madagascariensis, Daud. Sonn. Voy. Ind. ii. t. 103. Pale gray; beneath white, crown white, larger wing-coverts black tipt, quills white, dusky, barred, and black tipt. America produces Vultures remarkable by the caruncles which surmount the membrane at the base of the beak. This is as large as the last, but the nostrils are oval and longitudinal. These are the Sarcoramphus of Duméril, Gypagus of Vieillot, and a part of the Cathartes of The King of the Vultures, (Vult. Papa, Lin.) Enl. 428. As big as a goose, blackish when young, afterwards varied with black and yellow, and with the mantle yellow, and the quills and collar black when old. The naked parts of the head and neck are bright, and the wattle is indented like the crest of a cock. It is found in the plains and other hot parts of South America. The young is the Painted Vulture of Lath. V. sacra of Bartram. |