Chapter VII: Introduction (6)

Sub-fam. 6. _Chenonettinae._–_Chenonetta jubata_ of Australia has a brown head, long black feathers on the hind-neck, greyish upper parts with black tail, rump, and edges to the scapulars, a green speculum with white borders, a breast mottled with black, grey, and whitish, and a black abdomen. The female is paler, with dull speculum and white belly. It lays its creamy-white eggs in the bush districts in hollow trees, perching even on the tallest of them, and uttering a barking note. _Cyanochen cyanoptera_, of Abyssinia and Shoa, is grey-brown in both sexes, with black wings relieved by lead-blue coverts, and green speculum tipped with white. _Chloëphaga hybrida_, the Kelp Goose of Patagonia and the Falklands, which lives and breeds on the beach, is white, having a black bill with basal yellow spot, and yellow feet. The female is brownish-black with white rump, tail, and anal region, and black lower parts barred with white; the neck shews narrow white bands on its sides, the black and white wing has the greater coverts green, and the bill is flesh-coloured. _C. melanoptera_, of Western America from Peru southwards, is distinguished by brown and white scapulars, black primaries and tail, green and purple wing-coverts, red bill and feet; the female being similar. _C. magellanica_, the Upland Goose, coextensive in range with _C. hybrida_, is white, barred with black above; the rump, four median rectrices, and wings being grey-black, with green and white on the wing-coverts, and white secondaries; the bill and feet are dusky. The female is rufous and black, with similar wings but yellow feet. _C. inornata_, of Chili, Argentina, and Patagonia, differs in having black pectoral bands and a grey head in the female. _C. poliocephala_, of the same {131}countries, with plumbeous, and _C. rubidiceps_, of the Falklands, with cinnamon head, have in both sexes chestnut and black plumage, the wing being as in _C. magellanica_, the bill black, the feet black and orange. _C. melanoptera_ will nest in holes in cliffs.

Sub-fam. 7. _Anserinae._–In this group the female resembles the male. _Nesochen sandvicensis_, of the Sandwich Islands, has a black head and throat, brown plumage barred with whitish and black, and buff sides of the neck with black stripes. It inhabits craters and "lava-flows" on hills, and is fond of berries. The members of the genus _Bernicla_, or Black Geese, are grey and black, with a varying amount of white, and have black bills and feet. _B. brenta_, the Brent Goose, our commonest winter species, is brownish-black, with darker head, neck, and breast, white tail-coverts and lateral neck-patches. It is found in the Arctic Regions, and migrates as far as the Mediterranean and the Mississippi. It feeds by day in shallows on grass-wrack, laver, crustaceans, and insects, has a loud note, and lays about four cream-coloured eggs. From western Arctic America to the Lena occurs the form _B. nigricans_ with white collar and black belly. _B. leucopsis_, the Bernacle Goose, migrating to the same districts as _B. brenta_, abounding on our west coasts in winter, and occupying in summer Arctic Europe and Greenland, where it is supposed to breed, has nested in one place in Norway. The front of the head is white, the crown and neck are black, the mantle is lavender-grey marked with black and white, the under parts are greyish. Unlike the Brent Goose, it feeds at night. _B. canadensis_, of temperate North America, wintering down to Mexico, has a triangular white patch on each side of the black {132}head, and is comparatively large; _B. hutchinsi_ is a smaller and more Arctic form, _B. minima_ and _B. occidentalis_ north-western races of the same. _B. ruficollis_, the Red-breasted Goose of West Siberia, which migrates southwards, strays to Britain, and is portrayed in the paintings of Egypt, is black, with white loral patch, rump, sides and belly, the ear-coverts, fore-neck, and chest are chestnut outlined by white, and the two wing-bands are grey.

_Philacte canagica_, the Emperor Goose of North-East Asia and North-West America, is blue-grey with black and white bars, the head and nape being white tinted with orange, the throat brownish, the bill purplish-blue with white nail, and the feet orange.

_Cycnopsis cycnoïdes_, the Chinese Goose of East Asia, is mainly grey-brown above and whitish below, with rufous edges to the feathers; the head and neck are white with a brown band down the crown and nape; the bill is black, or in the domesticated form red with a frontal knob; the feet are orange.

_Anser cinereus_, the Grey-Lag, which nests in North Scotland and as far south as Spain and Kashgaria, ranges from Iceland to China, the Eastern race being called _A. rubrirostris_; _A. albifrons_, the White-fronted Goose, is found in Britain and most Palaearctic countries in winter, and chiefly eastward of Norway in summer; _A. segetum_, the Bean Goose, another of our hibernal visitants, breeds from Scandinavia to Amurland, and migrates southward to Madeira, North Africa, China, and Japan; _A. brachyrhynchus_, the Pink-footed Goose, extends over North Europe, and is common with us in the cold season; _A. indicus_ inhabits Central Asia and North India. _A. middendorffi_ (_grandis_) of East Siberia is a large form of the Bean Goose; while the small _A. erythropus_, once shot in Britain, has a similar range to the White-fronted Goose, of which both it and the big _A. gambeli_ of North America may be considered sub-species. The general coloration in this genus is grey-brown; in the Grey-Lag the bill and feet are flesh-coloured with white nail, in the White-fronted Goose orange, the latter having a white forehead and white breast with black bars. In the Bean and Pink-footed Geese the nail is black, but the bill and feet are orange-and-black and pink respectively. _A. indicus_ is lighter, with brown hind-neck, and two black crescents on the back of the white head. All these Grey Geese feed chiefly by day among green corn, stubble, peas, beans or clover, retiring at night to sand-banks or mud-flats in {133}winter; the note, often syllabled "honk-honk," is at times almost a cackle, whence the flocks or "skeins" are called "gaggles." The nest, placed in herbage or heather, is of grass, moss, twigs, or aquatic plants, and contains five or more whitish eggs.

_Chen hyperboreus_, the "Wavy" of North-East Asia and North-West America, with its larger Eastern American race, _C. nivalis_, and _C. rossi_ of Arctic America–which wander south in winter, while the first has occurred in Britain and North Europe–are white, with black primaries, purplish-red bills and feet; _C. rossi_ having a warty base to the maxilla. _C. caerulescens_, of eastern North America, is grey-brown, with white head, bluish rump and wing-coverts. The food consists of rushes, insects, and berries.

Sub-fam. 8. _Cereopsinae._–_Cereopsis novae hollandiae_, the Cape Barren Goose of South-East Australia and Tasmania, is grey-brown, with large yellow cere, chiefly reddish-orange feet, black toes and beak. More terrestrial than its nearest kin, it lays similar eggs. The very large extinct _Cnemiornis_, of the superficial deposits of New Zealand, was a close ally, with aborted keel to the sternum and short wings useless for flight.

Sub-fam. 9. _Plectropterinae._–_Aex sponsa_,[118] the Summer Duck of North America and Cuba, accidental in Jamaica and the Bermudas, has the upper parts mainly glossy green, with purple cheeks, black neck-patches, and white stripes on the face and neck; the breast is chestnut with white spots, the throat and belly are white, the wing-coverts partly blue, the flanks brown, black, and white; the bill is black, white, yellow, purplish, and scarlet; the feet are yellow. It has a long occipital crest. The female is grey-brown with metallic gloss, a white throat and eye-space, plumbeous and black bill, and brownish feet. This inland species feeds on insects, seeds, leaves, and acorns, and lays buff eggs in holes in trees. _Aex galericulata_, the Mandarin Duck of East Asia, is somewhat similar, but has a neck-ruff of narrow chestnut feathers streaked with whitish, a chestnut and black "fan" formed by the decurved innermost secondary, a copper, purple, and green crest, and a red-brown bill. The female is brown, grey, and white.

_Nettopus pulchellus_, of Australia, New Guinea, and the Moluccas, has the upper parts and neck-collar dark green, the head browner, the remiges and rectrices black with a white wing-bar, the cheeks and lower parts white, the sides marked with {134}green crescentic bands, and the bill and feet black. _N. coromandelianus_, extending from the Indian Region to Celebes, has a white neck, a brown band across the breast, and the flanks freckled with grey; _N. albipennis_, of East Australia, is similar but larger; _N. auritus_, of West and South Africa with Madagascar, has a sea-green patch on each side of the occiput, the lower part of the neck and the flanks being rufous. The females are much duller. These Pigmy Geese frequent small lakes and dive admirably; the note is a cackle; the nest, placed in holes in trees or ruins, if not among grass, contains from six to twelve white eggs.

_Pteronetta hartlaubi_, of West Africa, is chestnut with black head and blue wing-coverts in both sexes. _Rhodonessa caryophyllacea_, of India and Burma, is rich brown dotted with whitish, the head and nape being pink, the speculum salmon-coloured, the bill reddish-white, the feet blackish. It lays round white eggs.

_Asarcornis scutulata_, ranging from East Bengal to Java, has a black and white head, black mantle and under surface, greenish-olive upper parts, with black and white on the wings, a blue-grey speculum, reddish bill and feet. _Sarcidiornis melanonota_, of India, Ceylon, Burma, and the Ethiopian Region, is black with metallic hues above, and white below; the head and neck are black and white, the rump is grey, the tail brown, the feet, bill, and its basal comb or caruncle black. _S. carunculata_, of Brazil, Paraguay, and North Argentina, differs in its black rump. The comb is largest in the breeding season, and is wanting in females. These Wattle-Ducks perch on trees and breed in cavities of the trunks, laying a dozen or more white eggs. The note is harsh and the flight slow. _Cairina moschata_, the Muscovy–or more correctly Musk–Duck of ornamental waters, extends from Mexico to Argentina; the crested head, neck, and lower parts are brownish-black; the upper surface is glossy green, with purple on the back and white wing-coverts; the bill is black and white; the feet are black; and the frontal and orbital caruncles of the male red. It inhabits forest-swamps, roosts in trees, eats maize, mandioc roots, and herbage, and nests in holes in trees or between forking branches. _Plectropterus gambensis_ of Mid-Africa, _P. rüppelli_ of the North-East, _P. niger_ of the South-East, and _P. scioanus_ of Shoa, the four hardly separable Spur-winged Geese, are metallic black, with more or less white on the sides of the head, lesser wing-coverts, throat, and abdomen; the feet, bill, frontal knob, {135}and caruncles on the forehead when present being red. The female has no knob. They frequent marshes, appear to prefer running to flying or perching, and lay about eight whitish eggs.

Sub-fam. 10. _Anseranatinae._–This contains only _Anseranas semipalmata_ of Australia and Tasmania, a white bird with black head, neck, mantle, wings, and tail, reddish beak, and yellow feet. It haunts swamps, walks easily, and deposits some five white eggs.

Sub-fam. 11. _Cygninae._–In this group the sexes are similar. _Coscoroba candida_, of southern South America, is white, with black tips to the primaries, pinkish bill and feet. It feeds on land, has a loud trumpeting cry, and a less noisy flight than the true Swans, from which it differs in its feathered lores. _Chenopis atrata_, the Black Swan of Southern Australia and Tasmania, occasionally domesticated in England, is brownish-black, with white remiges, black feet, pink lores, and pink bill banded with white, the scapulars and inner secondaries being curled.

_Cygnus musicus_, the Whooper, which used to breed in Orkney, and ranges from Iceland through Arctic Europe and Asia, migrating to the Mediterranean, Nepal, China, and Japan, and straying to Greenland, is white with black feet and bill, the basal half of the latter being yellow, while that colour extends still further on the sides. The flight is accompanied by a rushing sound, the note is trumpet-like or whistling, the food consists of aquatic plants, the five or more white eggs are laid upon a pile of herbage near water. The smaller _C. bewicki_, where the yellow on the bill does not reach the nostrils, inhabits the Arctic districts from the White Sea to the Pacific, wandering in winter to Britain, the Mediterranean, South Siberia, China, and Japan. _C. columbianus_ of North America, said to have occurred in Scotland, has merely a yellow spot before the eye; _C. buccinator_, of the interior of North America, has a black bill; while _C. olor_, the Mute or Tame Swan, with its variety the Polish Swan, has the fore-part of it orange. _C. olor_ ranges from South Sweden and Denmark through Central Europe and Asia, migrating a little southwards. _C. melanocoryphus_, reaching from South Brazil and Chili to Patagonia and the Falklands, has the head and two-thirds of the neck black, with white eye-streak; the bill is plumbeous with red base and knob, the feet are pinkish. The protuberance is wanting in the young, which are marked with rusty, and have the head brown. Of other species immature birds are greyish or dusky, with flesh-coloured {136}and black beak, except in _C. olor_, where it is plumbeous. In habits Swans are much alike, though the notes differ somewhat, and the Mute Swan merely hisses or croaks in captivity; the latter and the Black Swan are noted for the graceful curve of the neck and their greenish eggs; while the wing-feathers and scapulars are habitually puffed out when on the water. Swans were "Royal Birds" in mediaeval England, and a licence was necessary to keep them, but for this subject and that of the "Swan-marks" on the bill, as well as for accounts of decoys, hybrids, and domestic races in the Family, the reader must be referred to the works of Professor Newton,[119] Count Salvadori,[120] and other authors.

Fossil remains of this group are found throughout the Miocene of France, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy, referred to _Anser_ and _Anas_, with _Chenornis graculoïdes_; the Pliocene of Oregon has furnished _Branta_, _Cygnus_, and _Anser_, that of Italy _Anas_ and _Fuligula_; the Plistocene of Malta _Cygnus_ and _Palaeocycnus_, that of Brazil _Chenalopex_. The superficial deposits of New Zealand contain _Cnemiornis_, mentioned above, as well as _Chenopis_ and _Biziura_; the Queensland drifts the last-named, and, it is said, _Anas_, _Dendrocycna_, and _Nyroca_; the Mare aux Songes of Mauritius _Anas_ and _Sarcidiornis_. _Centrornis majori_ is a remarkable form {137}from Central Madagascar, found at a depth of twelve to fifteen feet with another species _Chenalopex sirabensis_.[121]

ORDER VII. FALCONIFORMES.

Next to the aquatic Anseriformes may be placed the large and important terrestrial Order Falconiformes, with its Sub-Orders CATHARTAE and ACCIPITRES. The former contains the New-World Vultures (_Cathartidae_ or _Sarcorhamphidae_), possessing striking differences of structure from their allies;[122] the latter, the Secretary-Bird (_Serpentariidae_), the Old-World Vultures (_Vulturidae_), the Carrion-Hawks, Hawks, Eagles, Falcons and their kin (_Falconidae_), and the Ospreys (_Pandionidae_). All agree in the strong "raptorial" bill with basal cere, the U-shaped furcula, the large crop, the carnivorous habits, the great powers of flight, the superior size of the female, and the long nest-occupation of the young; but the Cathartae differ in having pervious nostrils, no syringeal muscles, less flattened metatarsi, and so forth.

Fam. I. CATHARTIDAE.–These Vultures range from tropical to temperate America, and are often of immense size; the bill is strong, hooked, but blunt; the feet are clumsy with small scales; the scutellated toes, of which the mid-digit is longest and the hallux somewhat elevated, are unfit for grasping; the claws are obtuse and little curved. The ample wings have eleven primaries and from twelve to twenty-five secondaries; the moderate tail is even or rounded, with twelve rectrices, or fourteen in _Pseudogryphus_. The head and long neck are commonly bare, but the latter may be covered with stubbly down, which in _Gyparchus papa_ extends to the occiput; the naked skin is often brightly coloured and accompanied by caruncles, while the crop is bare in _Sarcorhamphus_ and _Gyparchus_. The eyes are prominent, the cere is horny and sometimes very long, the tongue thick and fleshy, the aftershaft absent. The sexes are alike in plumage, with evenly distributed down, and the nestlings soon develop a white or rufous covering.

Though, generally speaking, predaceous, the members of this Family only attack disabled animals, or often act chiefly as scavengers, whence the smaller forms are commonly found near the abodes of man and even in towns. The larger species sail high above the earth with easy, long-sustained, and majestic flight, {138}accompanied by little movement of the pinions, as they circle over the plains or mountain-sides in search of prey. In this quest experiments have shewn that they are little guided by smell; rather does some individual, aided by its marvellously keen sight, spy the carrion from afar, its motives being instantly divined by its immediate neighbour; a third bird is next attracted; and so the tidings spread, until a greedy crowd meets to dismember the carcass, to fight over the morsels, and then to sit stupid and gorged, with drooping wings, on or near the ground. Except when feeding, the Cathartidae are non-gregarious, though "Turkey-Buzzards" and "Black Vultures" roost in company; the latter are said to take to the wing with ease, eschewing the preliminary hops of their allies; while all walk well. The voice is a hoarse sound or hiss, owing to the absence of syringeal muscles. The nest of sticks is placed in trees, cavities of rocks, hollow stumps, or on the ground, and may be bulky or of the slightest description; the one or two eggs are white, buff, or greenish, with or without reddish-brown and grey blotches. The parents regurgitate food–at least occasionally–for the nestlings, and eject foul-smelling matter when disturbed.

_Sarcorhamphus gryphus_, the Condor, only equalled in size among birds that fly by a few Old-World Vultures, and appearing still larger in clear mountain air, ranges down western South America and up to the Rio Negro on the east of Patagonia. The head and neck are bare, with dull red skin, wrinkled in folds on the latter; while an oblique ruff of white down surmounts the black plumage, which shews white edges to the wing-coverts and secondaries. The male has a fleshy crest extending from the mid-cere to the crown, a large wattle on the throat, and a small caruncle below; the irides being in that sex brown, in the female garnet-red. The bill is white with brown base. Smaller and browner examples occur in Ecuador, but larger appendages mark those of Chili and Patagonia. In the southern portion of their range Condors are found down to the sea-level, but Mr. E. Whymper[123] states that in Ecuador they frequent the Andes up to sixteen thousand feet, and rarely descend to the plains. Stupid and voracious, they can be lassoed while feeding, and, though they will attack old horses, calves, lambs, goats, deer, and dogs, especially when dazzled by the sun, they seldom risk an assault on mankind. The nest, of a few sticks, is placed on steep cliffs, and contains two white eggs.

{139}

A young bird was hatched in London after fifty-four days' incubation, but apparently nearly a year is taken to gain full powers of flight. _Gyparchus papa_, the King Vulture, of tropical America, save the West Indies, has a small fleshy crest on the cere in both sexes, but no wattles, though the skin of the sides of the head is wrinkled; the occiput is hairy, and a ruff of broad plumbeous feathers surrounds the neck. The rump, tail, and most of the wings are black; the remaining plumage being creamy white, the bare throat and back of the neck yellow, the skin of the head and neck elsewhere orange and red with blue patches near the ears, the bill orange and black, the irides white. This bird haunts woods near rivers and marshes, especially towards the coast, and feeds on snakes and carrion, from which it drives all other species; in flight, habit of gorging, and eggs, it resembles the Condor. Little smaller is the Californian Vulture (_Pseudogryphus californianus_), formerly extending to the Fraser River in British {140}Columbia, in which the long flat head and neck are bare, smooth, and orange-coloured, the bill being whitish and the irides carmine. The plumage is dull black with a whitish wing-band, due to the margins of the greater coverts and secondaries; lanceolate feathers form a basal ruff round the neck, and extend over the lower parts. The habits are similar to those of the foregoing, but the loose nest of sticks, placed in cavities of trees or crags, contains one rough greenish-white egg. The genus _Rhinogryphus_ or _Cathartes_ ("Turkey-Buzzard") includes _R. aura_, of temperate and tropical America, reaching to Tierra del Fuego and the Falklands, in which the head and upper neck are naked, smooth, and crimson; and _R. burrovianus_, found from Mexico to Brazil, where they are orange and the nape is feathered; the yellow-headed _R. perniger_, of Amazonia, being hardly separable. All are black with whitish bill, red irides, and a tuft of bristles in front of the eye; but the first has brown-margined feathers and metallic sheen above. In common with _Catharista_, they have the cere very long. During the day-time these quarrelsome scavengers, ubiquitous but necessary, haunt the house-tops and roadways of towns and villages, whence they retire at night to groves or forests in company; otherwise their habits are those of Vultures generally. They have been said to pair for life, while they deposit two whitish eggs with red-brown and lilac markings in some hollow of a crag, tree, or log, often on or near the ground, adding little, if any, bedding. _Catharista atratus_, the "Carrion Crow" or Black Vulture, which ranges from Argentina and Chili to the West Indies and Carolina, and occasionally further north, is most plentiful near the coast; the fearless demeanour, flight, manner of feeding, nesting habits and eggs, resembling those of Turkey-Buzzards, though the wing-action is more laboured, and the gait shuffling. Audubon says that the males strut and gesticulate like Turkeys when courting, while incubation lasts about three weeks. The colour is black, the naked head being dusky and the upper neck somewhat corrugated; the bill is blackish with light tip, the irides are brown.

Fossils referred to this Family are met with in North and South America.[124]

The points wherein the Cathartae differ from the Accipitres {141}having been already noticed (p. 137), it only remains to discuss in detail the several families comprised in the latter Sub-Order.

Fam. II. SERPENTARIIDAE.–This contains only _Serpentarius secretarius_, the African Secretary-Bird–now generally recognised as an Accipitrine form–which is most common in the south, though extending northwards to the Gambia, Khartum, and Abyssinia. It was first accurately made known in 1769, from an example living in the menagerie of the Prince of Orange, by Vosmaer, who was told that at the Cape of Good Hope it was called "Sagittarius," or Archer, from its habit of striding like a bowman about to shoot, and that this name had been corrupted into "Secretarius." Subsequently–about 1770–a pair was {142}brought alive to England.[125] The appellation is evidently, however, derived from the nuchal tuft, which bears a fancied resemblance to the pen of a clerk stuck above his ear. Standing some four feet high on very long legs, this bird gives the impression of a Heron or Crane, and is a striking object on its native plains. The short strong beak is greatly arched, and is not toothed, the neck is elongated, the body comparatively small, and the metatarsus boldly scutellated all round, the short straight toes with their blunt claws being joined anteriorly by small membranes. The ample wings have eleven pointed primaries and seventeen secondaries; the graduated tail of twelve rectrices has the two obtuse median feathers drooping and much prolonged. Down is evenly distributed over the adults, and an aftershaft is present. The general colour is bluish-grey, with black wing-quills, lower back and vent; the loose pendent crest on the occiput and nape contains ten plumes in pairs, the longer being black and the shorter grey with black ends; the tail is grey, subterminally barred with black and tipped with white, which sometimes shews on the short close flank-feathers. The long cere, naked sides of the face, and feet are yellow, the irides hazel. The sexes are similar.

In South Africa these useful birds–favoured by a protecting law–are often brought up tame about the homesteads, where they kill reptiles and keep off feathered intruders, though they occasionally tax the poultry-yard themselves; the food consists of small mammals, birds, lizards, and tortoises, but above all of snakes and insects. When the Secretary attacks a reptile, it advances on foot and delivers a forward kick with its powerful leg, striking simultaneously with the knobbed wings, which shield its body; then it retreats with a bound, as the hissing snake makes a vicious lunge; but soon, watching its opportunity, breaks through its opponent's guard and stands triumphant with crest erect, before swallowing the disabled foe.[126] If, however, the snake touches the bird's flesh, the result is reversed; and so well, according to Mr. Atmore,[127] does the latter know this, that it plucks out instantly any feather that the fangs have reached. Possibly reptiles are occasionally killed by being carried aloft and dropped. Usually seen stalking easily along, this graceful species can almost out-pace a {143}horseman, while it will fly when hard pressed, or soar to a considerable height. The huge nest, occupied from year to year, is placed in a bush or tree, and is composed of sticks and clay with a lining of wool and hair, the two or three eggs being white with rusty markings. In six weeks the downy white young are hatched, which remain some four months in the nest, often uttering a harsh cry. The legs of both nestlings and adults are very fragile, and snap if they trip while running.

A fossil form (_S. robustus_) has been recorded from the Lower Miocene of Allier in France.

Fam. III. VULTURIDAE.–The Old-World Vultures have a strong hooked bill–exceptionally slender in _Neophron_–which may be sinuate, but has no tooth. They possess a horny cere; a comparatively short, stout, reticulated metatarsus, often partly feathered; scutellated toes on a level, with bluntish slightly curved claws, and a short membrane between the outer and mid digits. They lack the bony ridge found over the eye in the Falconidae. The somewhat pointed wings are long and broad, with eleven primaries and from seventeen to twenty-five secondaries; the moderate tail, ordinarily of twelve feathers, is rounded, but varies to wedge-shaped in _Neophron_, where, as in _Gyps_, there are fourteen rectrices. The plumage is compact; the crop prominent; the head and neck are bare or sparsely-haired in _Otogyps_ and _Pseudogyps_, more or less downy in _Vultur_, _Lophogyps_, and _Gyps_, and partly feathered in _Neophron_; while a ruff of down or plumes covers the shoulders. The nostrils are circular in _Vultur_, horizontally elongated in _Neophron_, oval and vertical elsewhere; the fleshy tongue may show bristly or upcurved margins, and the syrinx has two pairs of tracheo-bronchial muscles. Uniformly distributed down and an aftershaft characterize the adults, while the white woolly nestling of _Gyps_ is said to be hatched naked.[128] Except as regards _Neophron_, the habits resemble those of the Cathartidae, the carrion diet producing a most offensive odour. The plumage of the sexes is the same.

_Vultur monachus_ (_cinereus_), the Black Vulture, has its headquarters in the Mediterranean Region, whence it extends to the Gold Coast, Nubia, the Lower Danube, North India and China, and has strayed to Denmark. Not unlike the more sociable Griffon Vulture in general habits, it shows a preference for wooded country, {144}constructing a bulky shallow nest of sticks, grass, and wool almost invariably on trees, and laying one, or rarely two, white eggs blotched with dark red. The plumage is brownish-black, with a ruff of lanceolate feathers below the bare neck, and black down on the crown and throat. The naked skin and cere are of a livid flesh-colour, the feet yellowish; the bill is black, the iris brown. _Lophogyps occipitalis_, of East and South Africa and Senegal, is dark brown with blacker remiges and rectrices, and some white on the wings; the reddish head and neck are bare, except for white down on the crown, which thickens towards the occiput; the ruff is brown, the abdomen and crop are white, the feet pinkish; the bill is orange with bluish cere, the iris brown. _Otogyps auricularis_, of North-East and South Africa, called the "Eared Vulture" from the fleshy lappets (of the same pinkish colour as the naked head, cere, and feet) on the sides of the neck, is brown, with blackish wings and tail, varied by white down on the thighs and chest; a brown ruff covers the hind-neck, while the bill and irides are yellow. _O. calvus_, the smaller Pondicherry- or King-Vulture of India, Burma, and Siam, is black. These birds usually hunt in pairs, driving all intruders except Eagles from their prey: they construct immense stick nests, often used in successive years, on thick bushes or trees; straw, leaves, and the like being added for lining, and one white egg, often with red-brown markings, deposited. _Gyps fulvus_, the Griffon Vulture, which has occurred in Germany, Poland, and once in Britain, breeds from the Spanish Pyrenees through Southern Europe and Northern Africa, reaching lat. 50° N. in Russia, and extending eastward to North India, by way of Turkestan, where it overlaps the larger form _G. himalayensis_. It is fawn-brown above and streaky buff below, with nearly black wings and tail, the adults having a downy white ruff, represented in the young by a brown collar; the head is thinly covered with white hairs, the beak is horn-coloured with blue-black cere, the feet are plumbeous, the irides orange. This active though cowardly species is often seen basking on rocks at mid-day; it flies or hovers with easy movements, and can soar until it almost disappears in the sky. It has a growling note. The nest, a mass of sticks and grass of variable size, is placed on cliffs, and contains one or even two white eggs, sometimes with rusty markings. Incubation lasts forty days, the young remaining three months in the nest. _G. kolbi_ of South Africa is much paler; _G. rüppelli_, of the north-east and south of {145}that continent, has a yellower head and browner back; _G. indicus_ of India and the Indo-Malay mainland; from which _G. pallescens_ is hardly separable, has a barer head and comparatively thin bill; the former breeds in trees in place of rocks. _Pseudogyps bengalensis_, the White-backed Vulture, ranging through India and down the Malay Peninsula, is black above, but brownish below, with the thin downy ruff and lower back white; the bill is greyish, the cere, feet, naked head and neck are black, the irides brown. This bird snorts, hisses, or even roars, and walks easily, though awkwardly. It nests in company on trees, and often lines the large stick-fabric with foliage, as do so many other Raptorial forms; the greenish-white eggs, seldom marked with red, vary much in bulk. _P. africanus_, of North-East and West Africa, is decidedly browner.

The genus _Neophron_ contains the smallest Vultures, _N. percnopterus_ being called, from its frequent occurrence on Egyptian hieroglyphs, the Egyptian Vulture or Pharaoh's Hen. It has wandered thrice to Britain and also to North Europe, while it breeds from Savoy and Provence to Madeira, the Canaries, the Cape Verds, North Africa, and India, meeting in the last-named the smaller _N. ginginianus_; in winter it visits South Africa, where it is called the "White Crow." The plumage is white, with black primaries and partially brown secondaries; a ruff of lanceolate feathers extends up to the occiput, the naked head and neck are yellow, the tip of the bill alone being black; the feet are pink, the irides crimson. Often seen striding sedately along in search of animal and vegetable refuse or dung, this species also follows the plough and devours worms, grubs, insects, reptiles, and frogs; while from its alleged habit of breaking bones left by other Vultures, it is called Quebranta-huesos or "bone-smasher" by the Spaniards.[129] The flight is slow and easy, the voice a croak. The flat nest of sticks, lined with soft materials, and especially rags, is placed on a crag or tree, and contains two white eggs with red-brown or claret blotches. _N. pileatus_ of South Africa–which has a larger north-eastern and western form–is brown, with black wings and tail, downy whitish nape, purplish naked areas, dusky bill and feet, and brown irides.

Of fossil forms there are recorded _Gyps melitensis_[130] from the Plistocene of Malta, and _Vultur_ from that of France.[131]

{146}Fam. IV. FALCONIDAE.–This group may be divided into the Sub-families (1) _Gypaëtinae_ for the Lämmergeiers; (2) _Polyborinae_ for the "Carrion Hawks"; (3) _Accipitrinae_ for the Hawks, with _Circus_, _Polyboroïdes_, and so forth; (4) _Aquilinae_ for the Eagles; (5) _Buteoninae_ for the Buzzards and Kites; and (6) _Falconinae_ for the Falcons.

Though the skull is small in _Circus_ and some other forms, it is usually large and broad, being considerably elongated in the Aquilinae. The short stout bill is strongly curved, and terminates in a hook, which is often nearly perpendicular, and is specially prominent in _Rostrhamus_, _Leptodon_, _Harpyhaliaëtus_, _Pithecophaga_ and _Thrasaëtus_; the basal third is straight in Eagles, while the edges of the maxilla are lobed or festooned to a variable extent, and in the Falconinae are distinctly toothed, or even bidentate in the case of _Spiziapteryx_, _Harpagus_, and _Baza_. A bony ridge over the eye conduces to the fierce aspect, especially in the larger species. The feet are robust and well-fitted for grasping, and are enormously developed in _Thrasaëtus_; the metatarsus is much flattened, and may be scutellated or reticulated, though the scales are usually smaller behind; the tibia generally exceeds it in measurement, but in Accipitrine forms is nearly equal, giving them a long-legged appearance. Elongated bare metatarsi are characteristic of _Circus_, _Polyboroïdes_, and the Polyborinae. The claws are sharp and curved, especially in _Rostrhamus_; a short membrane connects the middle and outer toes, and the inner also in the Polyborinae; while their under surface is more or less padded, and exhibits rugose spicules below in _Busarellus_, similar to those in _Pandion_. The powerful wings may be long and pointed, as in the Kites, Falcons, and Harriers; moderate and somewhat rounded, as in the Eagles and Buzzards; or short and narrow, as in Hawks. Falconers term the long-winged forms "noble," the short-winged ignoble. The tail, usually of medium size, but sometimes very short, as in _Helotarsus_ and _Gypohierax_, is decidedly elongated in the Accipitrinae and _Polyborus_, and also in _Milvus_, _Lophoictinia_, _Elanoïdes_, and _Nauclerus_, where it is forked–very deeply in the two last: it may be wedge-shaped, as in _Uroaëtus_, _Thalassaëtus_, _Harpyhaliaëtus_, and _Gypaëtus_; rounded, as in _Elanus_ and _Haliaëtus_; nearly even, as in _Buteo_ and _Aquila_; or emarginated, as in _Ictinia_ and _Rostrhamus_. Normally there are twelve rectrices, but _Thalassaëtus_ has fourteen. The colour varies greatly with age, {147}and it often takes four years or more to attain maturity, the markings commonly changing from longitudinal to transverse; but the sexes are usually alike, though the Kestrel, Merlin, Red-footed Falcon, and many Harriers are well-known exceptions, the last having generally blue-grey males and brown females. The occipital feathers are elongated in several of the Polyborinae, and a full crest occurs in many genera, _Lophoaëtus_, _Thrasaëtus_, _Harpyhaliaëtus_, _Helotarsus_, _Morphnus_, and _Lophoictinia_ being especially noticeable; _Circus_ has a facial ruff, coupled with exceptionally large aural apertures; the feathers of the neck may be lanceolate, as in _Haliaëtus_, or those of the nape, as in _Aquila_; and the plumage commonly over-hangs the metatarsus, which is feathered to the toes in various Aquiline forms, and in _Archibuteo_. The nostrils are circular in the Falconinae, oval or nearly linear elsewhere, with a central tubercle in the last-named and the Polyborinae, seldom found in the other Sub-families: they are generally in or near the cere, which is almost always fleshy. An aftershaft is present; the down in adults is uniform; that of the nestling being woolly and varying from white to grey, buff, brown, or black. The feet are yellow, red, or brown; the bill is ordinarily dark, and the cere yellow; _Gypaëtus_, however, has all these parts bluish-grey, with a crimson sclerotic membrane (equivalent to the "white of the eye") round the orange iris, the latter being yellow or orange in the Accipitrinae, brown in the Falconinae, and varying to red elsewhere. The syrinx has two pairs of tracheo-bronchial muscles; the tongue is thick and often concave; and Nitzsch[132] has recorded single or paired powder-down patches on the lower back of _Elanoïdes_, _Elanus_, _Regerhinus_, and _Circus_, with similar but scattered down-feathers in _Gypaëtus_.

The members of this Family range in size from the mighty Lämmergeier to the tiny Finch-Falcon (_Microhierax_); but they have many habits in common, though _Polyborus_ and _Milvago_ are somewhat terrestrial and vulturine, and a few species have crepuscular tendencies. They are decidedly non-gregarious, though the Polyborinae, _Erythropus_, and _Rostrhamus_ form partial exceptions; they pair very early in the year, if not for life, the larger forms in especial breeding almost before winter is over. Birds of the mountains, the plains, and the woods, they can bear the cold of the icy regions or the heat of the Equator, but towards {148}either pole the number of species decreases perceptibly. The sight is exceptionally keen, and the flight generally powerful and rapid; Eagles and Buzzards indeed move heavily to all appearance, as they circle or sail around with flapping action, but the spectacle of the former in chase of a grouse will quickly disillusion the observer. Kites are still more versatile upon the wing, nor are the Polyborine forms always deficient in this respect, while the dash and speed of Hawks and Falcons in their different styles is proverbial.[133] Harriers and the like may be seen buoyantly quartering the ground for hours, poising themselves almost motionless aloft, or gliding in circles to great heights; and the hovering or stationary position on the wing, which gives the name of "Windhover" to the Kestrel, is more general than might be supposed throughout the Family. Taken as a class, few birds can fly so well or so untiringly, though Vultures, Cranes, Storks, Albatroses, and the larger Gulls have even greater powers of endurance; they can, moreover, perch with great facility, and, while seldom running or walking fast, can move with freedom upon the ground, where they generally progress by means of hops, and aid themselves with their wings. Many of the Falconidae are very quarrelsome, and use their talons as weapons of offence, this trait being emphasized at the nesting-quarters, whence feathered intruders are rigorously excluded. The cry is shrill, but varies in depth; in the Peregrine Falcon it is a succession of short notes, in Eagles it resembles a yelp, in Buzzards a cat's mew, in Kites a whistle, and so forth; whereas in _Melierax_ it may almost be called a song. The diet varies considerably, and consists of mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, frogs, tortoises, crabs, molluscs, and insects. _Gypohierax_, _Aquila_, _Haliastur_, _Milvago_, and _Polyborus_ certainly eat carrion, and the last will attack newly-born lambs–a grievance made the most of by sheep-farmers in the case of Eagles; while the larger forms kill fawns, monkeys, foxes, hares, and other creatures of considerable size. Buzzards keep down rabbits, and hunt rats and mice as assiduously as Harriers and the Kestrel; the latter devours quantities of insects, as do also some of the Polyborinae; and the so-called "Honey" Buzzard (_Pernis_) gains its name from its fondness for grubs of bees or wasps. Kites work havoc among poultry; the Golden Eagle, and still more the Peregrine Falcon, among moor-fowl; the last two proving an {149}advantage in Scotch deer-forests, where the noisy grouse disturb the stags, but being in peril of extermination on the moorlands; yet it is questionable whether more good than harm is not done by the destruction of weakly game. The Osprey and Sea-Eagle eat little but fish, though they are not alone in that habit, while _Rostrhamus_ lives almost entirely on fresh-water molluscs. Most members of the Family do not alight to capture their prey, but seize it with their sharp talons either sitting or on the wing, the chief exceptions being the carrion- and insect-eaters; it is often conveyed to some favourite spot of ground or rock to devour, smaller objects being transported in the bill and the bigger torn to pieces and stripped before being swallowed. Large bones may be broken up, slender bones bolted entire; but hard substances are always ejected subsequently as pellets, after the manner of Owls (p. 401), the nature of the diet being readily detected from these castings. Exceptionally curious habits are credited to _Gypaëtus_ and _Gypoictinia_, as will be seen below. After a meal, quiescence is the rule, but none of the tribe gorge like Vultures. The predilections of species or even of individuals determine the situation of the nest, Eagles and other large forms preferring rocks in mountain-glens, lofty cliffs, or trees, for their bulky fabric of sticks, heather, and the like, which is lined with softer substances, and often bedded with foliage. The larger Falcons frequently select ledges on sea-girt or inland crags, and merely scrape a hole in the soil; but they, in common with the lesser Falcons, also utilize deserted habitations of Crows and so forth, or even lay their eggs on level ground or upon crumbling masonry; while the American "Sparrow-Hawk" (_Tinnunculus sparverius_) commonly appropriates old holes of Woodpeckers. Harriers, _Rostrhamus_, and other forms choose sites in reed-beds, gorse-coverts, fern, rough grass, or corn, and eschew hard materials; Hawks usually construct a flat platform of branches lined with thinner twigs. The eggs are generally bluish-, greenish-, or yellowish-white, with fine blotches, streaks, and spots of red, brown, or claret, chiefly towards the larger end; but in Falcons they are more or less covered with ruddy or orange markings, which often obliterate the ground-colour. Unspotted specimens are not uncommon, and in the case of Harriers we have an instance of a plain bluish coloration, a few rusty stains being exceptionally visible. Alternative sites are frequently tenanted, or former nests repaired. Incubation is often of {150}considerable duration, and the young remain long in the nest–four months, it is said, in the Lämmergeier; the longevity, too, of Eagles is notorious, a span of a hundred years having been actually recorded. Unconscious mimicry is shewn by _Accipiter pileatus_, which assumes the garb of _Harpagus diodon_ near Rio Janeiro.

Sub-fam. 1. _Gypaëtinae._–This group apparently links the Vulturidae to the Falconidae, but seems nearer to the latter. _Gypaëtus barbatus_, the magnificent Lämmergeier, is greyish-black with white streaks, and has a white crown, cheeks with a black band bifurcating at the eye to meet above, and pale tawny lanceolate plumage on the neck and lower parts. Dense black bristles cover the nostrils and lores, and a black tuft, which gives the name of Bearded Vulture, projects below the mandible. The sclerotic {151}membrane is crimson (p. 147). The young are chiefly brown and buff. From Portugal and Mauritania this species extends through the lofty mountains of South Europe to the Himalayas and North China, though practically exterminated in Switzerland and Carinthia; _G. ossifragus_ (_meridionalis_), with no black stripe below the eye, represents it in North-Eastern and Southern Africa. Avoiding its own kin, the Lämmergeier often breeds near Griffon Vultures; the large nest of sticks, lined with wool and hair, begun very early in the year, being placed in some cavity of a cliff or on a precipitous ledge, and containing one egg–or rarely two–which appear pale orange owing to the confluent markings. The flight is majestic and powerful; the cry weak and querulous, with a croak when irritated. In parts of Spain and India, natives assert that this bird preys only on carcases; but in Macedonia it is said to carry off lambs, kids, and fowls, and no doubt occasionally it kills small mammals and birds, though all statements should be carefully criticised, as it usurps the name of "Grifo" or Griffon in Spain, and that of Golden Eagle in India; while conversely any Eagle is pointed out in the Alps as a Lämmergeier. It has been credited with a habit of scaring young animals over the cliffs by descending with a sudden rush, but its nature is cowardly, and it does not seem to attack man; yet marvellous tales have been told of its strength and daring, some of which may in part be true, though the evidence is hardly convincing. Like _Neophron_, it is said to carry bones up into the air, letting them fall to break them, while land-tortoises are similarly treated in North Africa, and possibly this species is responsible for the death of the poet Æschylus, on whose bare head a tortoise is alleged to have been dropped.[134] _Gypohierax angolensis_, somewhat approaching the Vulturidae, is white, with the secondaries, most of the scapulars, the tips of the primaries, and the base of the tail black; the bare skin of the sides of the face and the feet are flesh-coloured, and the beak is grey-blue. Rare in East and South Africa, though common in the West, it is generally seen on lagoons, rivers, or sea-shores, sunning itself on some elevation, or skimming the water with laboured flight in search of fish. It will attack animals and eat garbage.

Sub-fam. 2. _Polyborinae._–Of the American "Carrion Hawks," _Polyborus tharus_ is dull black, with whitish neck, back, breast, {152}and tail, more or less barred with dusky, and broad blackish tips to the rectrices. The bare red skin of the cheeks and throat imparts a vulturine look, belied, however, by the almost gallinaceous feet. It inhabits South America from Ecuador and Guiana southwards; but thence the very similar _P. cheriway_ ranges to Florida and Lower California, _P. lutosus_ occurring in Guadelupe Island off the latter. The Carancho or Cáracara, as _P. tharus_ is called, resembles in habits the "Turkey-Buzzards" (_Rhinogryphus_), with which it consorts, though somewhat shy and quarrelsome. Semi-gregarious, and audacious if unmolested, it passes the hot hours in the shade, and roosts in company at night; while the powerful and graceful flight, with its alternate sailing or flapping movements, though not rapid, enables it to soar in spirals to a great altitude. It walks or runs with ease. The far-reaching grating note is usually uttered with the head thrown back; the food of refuse and carrion is supplemented by young lambs or alligators, birds, frogs, reptiles, land-crabs, worms, and insects. When on a tree, bush, or cliff, the large shallow nest, often renewed yearly, is made of sticks and lined with grass, leaves, roots, wool, or scraps of any sort; but, when on the ground or in swamps, reeds and herbage are commonly utilized. The three or four eggs ranging from white with red blotches to cinnamon with a few black marks.

_Ibycter_, _Phalcobaenus_, and _Senex_ are kindred Neotropical genera of a greenish-black colour, with a variable amount of white on the tail, lower parts, and even the wings and nape; the cheeks and throat are naked and red in the first, and orange in the second, while the cheeks only are yellow in the third. _Phalcobaenus_ has a slight crest, _P. carunculatus_ a fleshy orange caruncle at the base of the bill, _Senex_ rufous thighs. _Ibycter ater_ occurs in Amazonia, _I. americanus_ from Guatemala and Honduras to Brazil, _Phalcobaenus megalopterus_ from Chili to West Peru, _P. carunculatus_ in Ecuador and New Granada, _P. albigularis_ in Patagonia, while _Senex australis_ is the "Johnny Rook" of the Falklands. Close allies are _Milvago chimachima_ and _M. chimango_, ranging from Panama to Paraguay, and from about lat. 20° S. to Tierra del Fuego respectively; the former is brown, with creamy head, neck, tail, and under-parts, and rectrices barred with brown; the latter has the head rufous and black, the lower surface streaky-looking yellowish-brown, the tail greyer. The lores and naked orbits are pinkish.

These forms are similar in manners to _Polyborus_, but _Milvago_ is {153}more terrestrial, and chiefly frequents grassy plains; it is moreover less energetic, and has an easy and loitering though protracted flight, with a custom of uttering its whistling or mournful notes in chorus, the head being thrown back as in the Carancho. The nest of sticks, lined with grass, hair, and wool, may be on trees, in grass, or rushes, _Senex_ preferring sea-girt cliffs; the eggs, from two to five in number, are cream-coloured, or reddish with darker markings, and vary as in _Polyborus_. Human beings are very rarely molested by "Carrion Hawks," though birds seem to fear them greatly.

Sub-fam. 3. _Accipitrinae._–First of this group may be placed six genera of "Harrier-Eagles," classed as Circaëtinae by the late J. H. Gurney,[135] of which _Herpetotheres cachinnans_, ranging from South Mexico to Bolivia and Paraguay, is the only American representative. It is a crested bird, of a brown colour above, relieved by creamy buff, which extends over the whole under surface, the nape and face being mostly black. It eats snakes, and sits aloft bobbing its head while uttering a gruff "ha-ha." Of the African genus _Circaëtus_ one species, _C. gallicus_–Jean-le-blanc of the French–extends from Southern and Central Europe to Palestine, India, North China, Timor, and Flores. It is dark brown above, and white with blackish-brown streaks and bars below, the secondaries and tail having white tips, and the latter three dusky cross-bands. This sluggish but bold denizen of the plains may be seen perched on trees, quartering the ground with heavy flapping flight, or anon poising itself aloft on motionless wings, the harsh noisy cry being varied by a twittering note. Snakes form its favourite food, while frogs and fish from the shallows, small mammals, birds, lizards, crabs, and insects add to its daily fare. The bulky nest of sticks, bedded with grass or green leaves, is situated on trees, bushes, or even rocky ledges; a single bluish-white egg–or exceptionally two–being deposited. The female sits very closely, and both parents sometimes attack intruders. _C. cinereus_, of most of the Ethiopian Region, has the chest brownish-black and the belly white; _C. fasciolatus_ of Natal, and the similar _C. beaudouini_ of Senegal and North-East Africa, have the former part fulvous-brown, and the latter barred with dusky; _C. cinerascens_ of the east and west of that continent is much greyer below, with narrower bars. _Helotarsus ecaudatus_ of the whole Ethiopian Region is black, with maroon back and tail, and a broad grey band across the secondaries; {154}the wide crest, short rectrices, red cere, lores and feet, rendering it most remarkable. _H. leuconotus_ is hardly more than a creamy-backed variety. It sails aloft in powerful style, and dashes like lightning upon the snakes, mammals, and lizards, which form its prey; the nest of sticks is placed in trees or rocks, and contains, it is said, from two to four white eggs. The crested _Eutriorchis_ of Madagascar, and _Dryotriorchis_ of the Gold Coast, short of wing but long of tail, should probably be placed here. A fine broad crest also adorns _Spilornis_, of which genus some seven members occur in the Indian Region, and the Celebes group. _S. undulatus_ (_cheela_), extending from India to China, has the head black and white, the remaining plumage brown, with whitish markings above, round white spots below, and a broad light band across the white-tipped tail. _S. sulaënsis_ of the Sula Islands differs in being barred beneath; _S. holospilus_ of the Philippines has the whole body spotted. These arboreal forms live upon snakes, frogs, insects, and birds, the last of which they hunt in pairs, converging gradually on the victim from each side: the note is mournful; the small nest of twigs, lined with grass or leaves, is placed in trees; the two eggs are rufous or white with red markings.

The slender _Polyboroïdes typicus_, of most of the Ethiopian Region, combines the appearance of a Harrier with that of a typical Hawk; it is grey with white tips to the black remiges and rectrices, and shews black and white bars on the lower breast and abdomen. A whitish band crosses the tail, while the naked cheeks and cere are yellow. _P. radiatus_ of Madagascar is more silvery. Resembling the following group in habits, these birds prefer grasslands, especially when newly burnt, take comparatively short flights, and rest more frequently on trees or stumps. They are said to be able to bend the tibio-tarsal joint either way.