The Catchers are met with in all parts of the world, but it is only in the warmer climates that they are found in great numbers, or seem to exhibit the full development of their matchless powers, which are alike displayed amid the recesses of the forest or on the heights of mountain ranges; even the inhabitants of the water are not secure against their treacherous rapacity. Some groups carry on the work of destruction during the day, some prefer the evening for their excursions, while others only commence their murderous onslaughts when night has fully closed in, and given them the protection of its sheltering darkness. All have but one mate, and breed once or twice in the year. Their nests are often built with great skill, and usually placed in holes of trees, in crevices of walls and rocks, or, in some instances, upon the ground. The eggs vary from one to eight in number, and the young are tended with great affection by both parents.
BIRDS OF PREY (Raptores).
The numerous species included in this group present a remarkable inequality of size, some vying with the largest members of the feathered race in the majestic development of their powerful bodies, whilst others are no bigger than a Lark; still, despite this difference, there is such an unmistakable impress upon their forms and plumage as renders it easy to distinguish a Bird of Prey at the first glance. All the members of this rapacious series are endowed with a powerful and compact frame, broad breasts, and strong limbs; the head is usually round, occasionally elongated, the neck short and muscular, the trunk robust, and the legs and wings exhibit such unmistakable strength in their formation as can leave no doubt as to the attributes of the bird, even should it be seen deprived of its feathers, beak, and claws. The beak is short, decidedly curved, hooked at its extremity, and covered with a cere at the base of the upper mandible; the latter is immovable, and somewhat compressed at its sides. The margins of the beak are not only very sharp, but are frequently rendered more terrible by the presence of a tooth-like projection from the upper mandible, which fits into a corresponding excavation in the lower jaw. In such species as are without this tooth-shaped appendage the margins of the upper mandible are waved and trenchant, distinctly indicating their carnivorous propensities. The feet are massive and strong, the toes long in proportion to the size of the tarsi, and very motile; both legs and feet are covered with scale-like plates, and the toes furnished with claws or talons, which are either curved and sharp or comparatively straight, but in both cases rounded above and channelled beneath in such a manner that the lower part of each claw presents two distinct sharp margins. The plumage is generally soft, and formed of large feathers, which are either thick, small, and firm, or broad, soft, and silky, or even woolly in their texture. The bridles, a place between the base of the beak and the eye, and the eye itself are frequently entirely naked, whilst, on the contrary, some members of this group are distinguished by a circle of radiating feathers surrounding the orbit. The quills that form the wings and tail are always of considerable size, and their number in most species is pretty nearly the same—that is to say, ten primaries, and at least twelve or at most sixteen secondaries, form the wings; the tail is composed almost invariably of twelve quills, which appear placed, as it were, in pairs. In some races the feathers cover not only the tarsi, but even the toes, where they are distinguished by the name of hose, a term that will be frequently employed in our descriptions of the birds with which we are about to deal. The plumage of the Raptores is usually dingy and sombre in its hues, though some few species exhibit considerable beauty of appearance, and the bare places on the head, the comb, wattles, bridles, cere, beak, feet, and eyes are occasionally brightly coloured. The internal construction of these birds is on a par with their external configuration; the skeleton is strong, and the sternum so large as to extend over the whole of the fore part of the breast; the keel is high, the bones of the wings comparatively long, and those of the legs powerfully developed. The bones of the entire skeleton are for the most part without marrow, and thus admit of the entrance of air, received from the large lungs and air-cells which extend throughout the body. The gullet is very dilatable, and is usually enlarged into a crop.
As we have said in our introductory chapter, the sight of the Raptores is very acute, and their eye adapts itself with remarkable facility to varying distances; and if any of our readers have tried the experiment of holding their hands alternately close to and at some distance from the eye of a Falcon, they have no doubt been astonished at witnessing the extraordinary dilations and contractions of which the pupil is capable. In some species the sense of hearing is also good, and we shall shortly have fully to describe the high degree of excellence observable in the structure of the ear of an Owl; their sense of smell, on the contrary, is by no means keen, and that of touch scarcely more acute or reliable. All Birds of Prey are remarkable for great courage, and exhibit such cruelty, rapacity, and cunning as cannot fail to render them terrible foes to all creatures weaker than themselves. In their relations to each other, on the contrary, the different species exhibit great affection; they combine readily in the defence of their companions, and do battle for them with the utmost devotion. To what perfection the intelligence of the Birds of Prey has been brought will be seen in our description of some of the services rendered to our forefathers by the Falcons. As regards their voices, few species are capable of uttering more than two or three harsh and unpleasing notes.
Plate 9 Cassell's Book of Birds
SPARROW-HAWK ____ Accipiter nisus
(Two-thirds Life size)