by Thomas More

Among living birds some of the most notable groups are those which include Birds of Prey, such as eagles, falcons, hawks, and owls, and the structural features enabling them to catch small Mammals, other birds, reptiles, or fish are sufficiently obvious.

Take, for example, any sort of Falcon. Here we find great powers of rapid flight, a strong hooked beak, and well separated toes provided with large and sharp talons, which have been compared to grappling-irons; add also very perfectly structured eyes and’remarkably keen sight. Three toes are directed forwards and one backwards. In Owls the large eyes are suited for making the most of a feeble light.

Cormorants, of which there are two native species, the large Black Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) and the smaller Green Cormorant or Shag (P. graculus), are good examples of fishing birds. Perched on some convenient spot close to the water, they pounce suddenly down upon their victims; but this is by no means their only or even chief resource, for, being extremely expert swimmers and divers, they pursue fish on more than equal terms in the water, a favourite habit being to swim swiftly with their heads submerged.

Thus the Secretary Bird has been modelled on plan appropriate to its mode of life, and it is therefore for this purpose that, owing to the length of its legs and tarsi, its piercing eye is able to discover at a long distance the prey which, in anticipation of its appearance, is stretched on the sand or among the thick grass.

Albatrosses and Stormy Petrels are respectively the largest and smallest of the web-footed birds. They arc representatives of two allied families belonging to the Tube- nosed Birds (Tubinares).

Some raptorial birds feed chiefly on fish, as in the case of certain owls which hunt their prey in rivers, ponds, and canals, while the widely-distributed Osprey or Fishing-Eagle (Pane-lion) swoops down on sea-fish which come sufficiently near the surface, holding them by its powerful talons aided by the roughened under- surfaces of its feet.

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