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HE order of Birds called “ Raptores,” or Birds of
Prey, includes most of those species which feed
on the flesh of other birds, and of quadrupeds,
as well as some which subsist chiefly on reptiles,

fishes, and the larger insects. Many of the birds of
this important order, especially those which are called
the diurnal birds of prey, are provided with wings of
considerable power, enabling them both to soar aloft
when scanning the landscape in quest of their prey,
and also to descend upon it, when perceived by their
acute vision, with a swoop of extraordinary rapidity
and force; they are also provided with strong pre-
hensile toes, armed with curved and sharp claws or
talons, enabling them to seize and hold their prey
with an effectual grasp; and their bills are armed
with a sharp hook, terminating the upper jaw or
mandible, and serying as a weapon for tearing in
pieces the prey /Awhich is thus secured by the clutch
/

6 . RAPTORIAL BIRDS

of their talons, and which is usually subdivided in this
manner before it is swallowed. Most birds of prey,
except the Owls, seek their food by day, and we have
first to consider these diurnal Raptores, and subse-
quently to examine the nocturnal Raptores or Owls.

In the arrangement which has been adopted in the
Norwich Museum, the series of diurnal birds of prey
commences with the African Secretary Bird, the only
species of the genus Serpentarius, which being one of
the most abnormal birds ofthe group, seems naturally
to occupy a post upon its outskirts.

The Secretary Bird (so-called because the long
feathers at the back of its head have been thought to
bear a fanciful resemblance to a pen fixed behind the
ear of an amanuensis,) is the longest legged of all the
birds of prey ; and unlike most birds of the Raptorial
order, is much addicted to running, which it seems to
prefer to having recourse to flight; it in this manner
courses over the sandy deserts of tropical and South-
ern Africa, chiefly feeding on the reptiles which are
peculiar to those scorching sands, including many
poisonous snakes, which the Secretary attacks without
hesitation, and generally with impunity, stunning its
prey with powerful blows of its foot, while it spreads
its wing before it as a shield to defend its body from
the serpent’s bite.

Allied to the Secretary, but of smaller dimensions,
is another African bird, (of which a second species
inhabits the Island of Madagascar,) called the Gymno-

IN THE NORWICH MUSEUM. 7

gene (of the genus Polpboroides), which is very remark-
able as being the only bird known in which the upper
tarsal joint (that is, the joint in the middle of the leg,)
can to a certain extent be bent forwards as well as
backwards—a power of which this bird avails itself
when in searching for the frogs on which it frequently
feeds, it inserts its foot into the fissures in the ground
which are caused by the heat of an African sun, and
in which the frogs of South Africa usually take refuge
when the smaller pools of water are dried up.

Our next group is an American one, consisting of
the birds called Caracaras, or Carrion-eating Hawks,
and comprising the genera Polyborus, Senex, Phalco-
benus, Milvago, and Lbycter.

The birds of the three first of these genera feed
partly on carrion, and partly on insects, and small
reptiles; but those of the genus /dycter appear to
subsist upon insects almost exclusively. Perhaps the
most remarkable bird of this group is the species called
Senex australis, which inhabits the Falkland Islands,
and is noted for its singular propensity for carrying
off any small object which may excite its curiosity.
One of these birds was seen to purloin a pocket
mariner’s compass, and another actually pounced upon
and carried off a sailor’s glazed hat, which had been
- accidentally left on the ground at a spot frequented by
these birds.

Between the Caracaras and the true Vultures is
introduced the genus Gy/ofierax, consisting of a

tr
/

8 RAPTORIAL BIRDS

single species, a native of tropical Africa, which is
usually called the Angola Vulture, but which 1s scarcely
entitled to that designation, as it differs from the Vul-
tures, properly so called, in having its head clothed
with feathers, and also in its habits, for, instead of
feeding like the Vultures on carrion, it frequents the
sea coasts, and lives like the Sea-Eagles by the capture
of fish, though it varies its diet by also preying upon
crabs.

The true Vultures are divided into the following
genera — lVeophron, Coragyps, Cathartes, Gryphus,
Sarcoramphus, Vultur, and Gyps.

The genus /Veophron consists of three species, of
which one is found only in tropical and Southern
Africa, another occurs in India, and the third, which
bears the name of the Egyptian Vulture, is distributed
throughout Africa, Southern Europe, and South-west-
ern Asia.

The predilection of all the true Vultures, for feeding
on unclean offal, is most strongly developed in all the
species of the genus (Veophron, which, on that account,
are most useful scavengers in those hot countries
which they inhabit.

The Egyptian Vulture is interesting as having been
satisfactorily identified, through the medium of its
modern Arabic name of Rachama, with the unclean
bird mentioned in the English version of the Penta-
teuch, under the title of ‘‘ Gier—Eagle.”

The four succeeding genera contain the American

IN THE NORWICH MUSEUM. 9

Vultures, three of which (one belonging to the genus
Coragyps, and two to the genus Cathartes,) perform
services as scavengers in many tropical cities of
America, similar to those for which the African towns
are indebted to the Vultures of the genus /Veophron.

Nearly allied to these smaller scavengers are the
two great American Vultures, the Cathartes cali/ornia-
nus, or Californian Vulture of the Rocky Mountains,
and the Gryphus condor, or Condor Vulture of the
Andes, the latter being the largest bird of prey known.
Both these species are remarkable for the extra-
ordinary altitudes at which they are sometimes ob-
served to soar, and from whence they can discern
their distant prey. The Condor attacks with equal
avidity the newly dropped and weakly calf, or the
abandoned carcase of any animal which may have
accidentally perished in the gorges of the Andes, or on
the adjacent plains.

The Californian Vulture is equally on the watch for
such carcases as may occur in the territory over which
its range extends, and both species frequently descend
to the shores of the Pacific Ocean to prey upon
stranded whales, or upon seals which have been
abandoned, after the sealer has secured the fur or the
oil for the sake of which these animals are constantly
destroyed on the western coasts of the American
continent.

The remaining Vulture of the New World is that
beautifully-coloured species (though the vivid hues of its

1 fe) RAPTORIAL BIRDS

head and neck fade grievously in preserved specimens)
which bears the name of the King Vulture, an appella-
tion given to it because the small black Vultures,
which are its fellow denizens of the tropical parts of
America, always abstain from attacking a carcase on
which the King Vulture has descended, until the
latter has satiated his royal appetite and with slowly
flapping pinions, has winged his way to the dead limb
of some lofty tree, where, with his crimson head and
purple neck nestled down between the cream-coloured
feathers of his wings and shoulders, he will patiently
sit till the return of hunger recalls him from the
memories of his last feast to a quest for the repast
which shall succeed it.

The two remaining genera, Vu/tur and Gyps, con-
tain all the larger true Vultures of the Old World,
some of which approach very closely in size to the
American Condor. They are widely spread over the
continent of Africa, and over the southern countries
of Europe and Asia; and, like the rest of this tribe,
subsist chiefly on abandoned carcases of animals,
which have accidentally died, or have fallen victims to
the pursuit of either hunters or wild beasts. One of
these species, the Fulvous Griffon Vulture, (gyps fud-
vus) was frequently sculptured by the ancient Egyp-
tians on the entablatures of their temples, and is
believed to have been held sacred by their priests, to
one of their fabled deities, Maut, he Goddess of
Maternity.

IN THE NORWICH MUSEUM. IJ

The Vultures are followed by the Leemmergeyers, of
which there are two species differing very slightly
from each other, and forming together the genus
Gypaétus, a name which signifies Vulture-Eagle, and
thus indicates the natural position of the Lammer-
geyers, which, both as regards their form and habits,
are intermediate between the Vultures and the typical
Eagles.

The Laemmergeyers inhabit the mountainous parts
of Africa, and of many warm and temperate countries
of Europe and Asia, and are much more in the habit
of attacking living prey than are the true Vultures.
One of the animals which they frequently devour is
the tortoise, whose strong shell they contrive to
shatter by carrying the reptile into the air and then
dropping it on a rock or large stone; and it is re-
markable that the ancient Greek tragedian, A‘schylus,
is recorded to have lost his life by a tortoise having
been thus dropped upon his bald head whilst he was
sleeping in the open air in the Island of Sicily, a
locality inhabited till recently by Lazmmergeyers, which
still abound on the opposite shore of the Mediter-
ranean, amongst the mountains of Northern Africa.

From the genus Gyfaé/us we pass to that well-
known and formidable group, the Eagles; commen-
cing with those genera in which, as in Gyfaétus, the
lower portion of the leg, called the tarsus, is clothed
with feathers.

The first of these, the genus Uvoaétus, contains but

12 RAPTORIAL BIRDS

one species, the large wedge-tailed Eagle of Australia,
which occupies this place because the conformation
of its head, neck, and tail, appear to offer some special
points of affinity to the genus Gyfaéetus, which it im-
mediately succeeds.

The next genus, Agzz/a, contains all the most typi-
cal Eagles, of which the Golden Eagle is the best
known as being the only feathered-legged Eagle,
which is a native of the British Islands.

This magnificent bird, some two hundred years ago,
nested amongst the rocks of Derbyshire, but it now
only occurs in England as an occasional straggler,
though a few pairs still nest in the Highlands of Scot-
land, on estates where they are not allowed to be
destroyed. The greater number of the Scotch Goiden
Eagles have, however, been exterminated in conse-
quence of their destroying lambs, fawns, grouse, and
mountain hares, which appear to constitute their chief
food. The Golden Eagle is found in Europe, North
Africa, Asia, and North America, and is the only
species of the genus which occurs in America, al-
though the other species, to which our space will not
allow us to refer in detail, have a wide distribution
over the warm and temperate countries of the Old
World.

The genus (Veopus, which follows Aguwz/a, is limited
to two Oriental species, of which the best known is
that called JVeopus malayensis, which has frequently
come under the notice of Indian Ornithologists as a

IN THE NORWICH MUSEUM. 13

voracious devourer of the eggs of other birds, especially
those of the Indian Pheasants. The extraordinarily
long and sharp claws of this species are particularly
worthy of observation. The second and less typical
species of this genus, /Veofus gurneyi, (which is a
native of some of the islands in the Indian Oceéan,) is
remarkable for its great rarity, the Leyden and Nor-
wich Museums being (it is believed) the only public
collections which contain this fine bird.

The next group consists of those genera which are
called Hawk-Eagles, because their wings are shorter,
and their tails more developed than is the case with
the typical Eagles, in both of which respects they re-
semble the true Hawks. Of these Hawk-Eagles the
genera JVisaétus, Limnaétus, Lophaéttus, Spizastur, Pter-
nura,and Spizaétus, have the legs clothed with feathers
as in the typical Eagles; whilst the other genera of
the group, Zhrasaétus and Morphnus, have the tarsi
bare of feathers and covered with scales, in which
they resemble all the remaining non-typical members
of the Aquiline family. The first of these genera,
LVisaétus, consists of three species, two of which are
limited to Southern and Tropical Africa, the other,
called Bonelli’s Eagle, being spread over Southern
Europe and Asia, and Northern Africa. All three
species are comprised in the collection of the Norwich
Museum.

The genus Lzmnaétus contains all the remaining
Hawk-Eagles of the Asiatic Continent, and of the

14 RAPTORIAL BIRDS

Islands of the Indian Ocean; and our Museum is
fortunate in also possessing all the known species of
this genus, including some of considerable rarity—in
the case of one of these, Zzmmnaétus borneonensis, the
two specimens which we possess are the originals of
the fine plate of this species in its adult and immature
dress, given by Mr. Gould in his folio work on the
Birds of Asia.

The genera Sfrzastur and Pternura are limited to
the tropical portions of the American Continent. One
species of the genus /%ernura, which we possess,
both in its immature and adult dress, (the Pternura
zstdora of New Grenada,) is so rare, that neither the
British Museum nor the celebrated collection at Ley-
den contain an example of it. The two other species
ef the genus (P. ornatus and P. tyrannus) which from
their being less rare, are better known to travellers,
were both observed by Prince Maximilian of Wied,
during his explorations of the Brazilian forests, to be
much annoyed by Toucans, which mobbed them as
small birds in England sometimes mob a Kestrel or
an Owl. <A specimen of P. ¢yrannus, obtained by this
Naturalist, was killed whilst in the act of capturing
an Opossum.

The genera Lophaétus and Spizaétus are confined to
the Continent of Africa. Each genus consists of but
a single species, and that which constitutes the genus
Spizaétus, S. coronatus, is one of the largest and most
destructive Hawk-Eagles of the Old World. ‘The

IN THE NORWICH MUSEUM. 15

female specimen of .S. coronatus, now in the Norwich
Museum, was shot by Mr. Thomas Ayres, of Natal,
just after it had killed a large Monkey ofa species
called Cercopithecus lalandi, which inhabits the forests
of that colony, and of which the Museum contains a
specimen.

But formidable as are the great African Hawk-
Eagles, their near congener, the Harpy Eagle of Tro-
pical America, ( Ziraésatus harpya) is even more so;
and as regards the development of its talons, and the
strength of its foot, is probably the most powerful
bird of prey in existence.

Like the African Sfzzaétus coronatus, the Harpy is a
destroyer of monkeys, and is usually found in the forests
where these animals abound. The remaining Eagle
of this group (Morphnus guianensis), is, as its name
denotes, a native of Guiana. It is inferior in size and
power to the Harpy, but is a rarer species in European
collections, probably from the circumstance of its
geographical range being more limited than that of
the Harpy.

The Hawk-Eagles are followed by a large group of
Eagles of a feebler type, which mostly prey chiefly on
small rodent quadrupeds, on the smaller reptiles, and
on insects; and which, as they appear in some
measure to combine the characteristics of the Buzzards
and the Harriers with those of the Eagles, may be
appropriately termed either Buzzard-Eagles or Harrier-
Eagles; the former of these two names being that
adopted in the Norwich Museum.

16 RAPTORIAL BIRDS

The genera among which the Buzzard-Eagles are
distributed are the following—Harpyhaliaétus, Urubi-
tornis, Urubitinga, Geranoaéttus, Hypomorphnus, Buteo-
gallus, Flerpetotheres, Spilornis, Circaétus, and Helotar-
sus. Of these ten genera, the seven first belong to
the New, and the three last to the Old World. The
first of the American genera ( Harpyhaliaétus ) consists
of a single South American species, which is remark-
able as being the only bird of prey known to feed on
that unsavoury quadruped the South American Skunk ;
the succeeding genus, Uruditornis, also consists of but
one species, U. solitarius, a bird of very great rarity in
collections, but which we fortunately possess both in
adult and in immature plumage.

Amongst the remaining American Buzzard-Eagles,
there is one species which exceeds all the others in the
beauty of its plumage, and also differs from them in the
nature of its food, having a singularly vulturine predi
lection for feeding on putrid carrion. ‘This bird is
called, from a remarkable black band which crosses its
breast, the single-banded Buzzard-Eagle ( Zypomorphnus
unicinctus ),and has a wide geographical range extend-
ing from Chili as far north as the southernmost states
of the North American Union. One other South
American species of this group* (Urubitinga schistacea)
may also here be mentioned as of great rarity, and
was first figured in the “ Transactions” of the Zoologi-
cal Society from a specimen in the Norwich Museum.

* It is, however, doubtful whether this species should not
rather be placed amongst the Buzzards of the genus Leucopiernis.

IN THE NORWICH MUSEUM. . 17

Leaving the American Eagle-Buzzards, we come to
the genus Sflornis, the species of which are natives
of the countries of South Eastern Asia, and of some of
the Islands of the Indian Ocean, and are all adorned
with a peculiarly spotted plumage, especially on the
under parts, which at once distinguishes them from
the other birds of this group. The following descrip-
tion of the mode of obtaining its prey practised by
Spilornis bacha, the species which inhabits Ceylon,
has been recorded by Mr. E. L. Layard, who was
long a resident in that island.

‘It frequents the borders of tanks and morasses, feeding on
frogs, snakes, and lizards. Concealed in the dark foliage of
some overhanging tree, it heedlessly marks the smaller frogs
approach the grassy margin of the pool. Suddenly the large
green bull frog (Rava m2labarica) uplifts its head, and utters its
booming call. The Sfcornis is now all attention, with out-
stretched neck it fixes its glaring eyes on its desired prey, lower
and lower it bends, for the frog with a croak of triumph gains a
log, but a shadow glides over him ; in vain he crouches, and his
colour becomes a dull brown, so closely resembling the log, that
human eyes would take him for a knot in the decaying timber ;
with noiseless rapidity the barred-wings pass on, and the log is
untenanted. Fast clutched in the talons of his merciless foe the
prey is borne to the well-known perch, and a sharp blow on the
back of the head from the bill of the bird deprives it of life.”

Nearly allied to Spi/ornis is the genus C7rcaétus, all
the species of which are natives of the African Con-
tinent, but one of them (Circaétus gallicus) also occurs

in the southern countries of Europe and Asia. The
B

18 RAPTORIAL BIRDS

Norwich Museum possesses all the known species of
this genus, one of which, Czrcaétus fasciolatus, has only
been found in the Colony of Natal, and is so scarce,
that the two specimens at Norwich, and one in the
British Museum, are the only examples known to
exist in any European collection.

The female specimen now at Norwich was found,
when killed, to have been feeding very plentifully on
winged /ermites, which. constitute, at certain seasons,
a very favourite article of food for many of the South
African birds of prey. This specimen was figured in
the “Ibis,” for the year 1862

The remaining birds of this group consist of the
African Short-tailed Eagles, of the genus /elotarsus .
of these there are two species, differing in the colour
of the back, which in the adult bird of the commoner
sort is rufous, whilst in the other, and scarcer species,
it is of a pale salmon colour; but both races are con-
spicuous for their beauty of colouring when alive ;
their legs and feet, and the bare skin between the bill
and the eye, being then of a bright coral red. These
Eagles are remarkable for the shortness of the tail, and
this, with the comparative length of the wings, and
the elongated feathers of the head, (which can be par-
tially raised during life) gives them a singular and
grotesque appearance.

Their usual flight is calm and majestic, but occa-
sionally they soar to a great height, from which they

* Another rare species of this genus (Z Beaudouini ), was figured
in the same volume from a specimen in the Norwich Museum.

” a. ae

IN THE NORWICH MUSEUM. 19

allow themselves partially to descend, after the manner
of tumbler pigeons, again rising and repeating their
aerial gambols. It was in consequence of this habit
that the eminent French traveller and naturalist, Le
Vaillant, gave to the rufous-backed race of these Eagles
the name of “ Le Bateleur,’’ or ‘‘ the Tumbler.”

The Bateleur Eagle feeds frequently on carrion, but
is alsoa great destroyer of snakes, which it usually
does not devour on’ the spot, but carries away toa
distance securely grasped in its powerful talons. It
is probably this habit which has suggested to the
Arabs of North Eastern Africa, (who entertain many
superstitions about this Eagle,) the belief that the
Bateleur, if its young ones are injured, will carry in its
talons medicinal roots for their relief; for the curling
and writhing of a snake when borne on high through
the air, would cause it much to resemble the contor-
tions of a twisted root. It is a curious coincidence,
that the ancient Egyptian priests attributed to the
fabled Phoenix the habit of carrying to its nest twigs
of aromatic and spice-bearing plants, and as the
Bateleur Eagle is a native of the countries lying im-
mediately to the South of Egypt and Nubia, and cer-
tainly resembles the description given of the Phoenix
by ancient authors more nearly than does any other
bird now known, it seems. not improbable that it is
the species on the existence of which the ancient fable
of the Phoenix was originally founded.

Although the Bateleur becomes docile in captivity,

20 RAPTORIAL BIRDS

it is a remarkably fierce bird in its native state, and
Mr. James Chapman, in his South African travels, re-
lates a curious instance of his having been most
pertinaciously attacked by one of these Eagles, at
which he had fired when it was sitting on its nest.

The Buzzard-Eagles are followed by the Sea-Eagles,
of which there are nine species all comprised in the
genus Halaétus.

The Sea-Eagles are for the ‘most part powerful
birds, frequenting the sea coasts and the larger rivers
and lakes in every quartet of the globe, and feeding
partly on fish and partly on other animal food of
various descriptions.

The largest and most powerful of the Sea-Eagles is
the species inhabiting Kamskatcha, (ad/iaétus pelagicus)
which is very rare in collections, and of which, though
we possess two immature specimens, we have at pre-
sent no adult example.

The species which occasionally frequents in winter
the eastern coasts of England, and which still nests
in SOme mountainous parts of Scotland and Ireland,
is the next in size to that inhabiting Kamskatcha,
and much more extensively diffused, as it extends its
range westward to Greenland, and eastward to Japan,
and is found in most of the maritime countries of
Europe and Asia, as well as of Northern Africa; it is
usually called the white-tailed or cinereous Sea-Eagle
(Haliaétus albic:lla). ‘The Norwich Museum possesses
a grey variety of this Eagle, which is believed to be

IN THE NORWICH MUSEUM. 21

almost unique; it was obtained many years since in
Ireland, and is figured in Meyer’s British Birds.

As space will not allow us to refer more particularly
to the remaining species of Halaétus, we now pass
on to the succeeding genus, Pandion, the Osprey.
Ospreys are found frequenting situations similar to
those inhabited by the Sea-Eagles, in most countries
of the globe, and feed exclusively on fish, for the
capture of which, their powerful talons and roughened
soles are admirably adapted. The Osprey frequently
pounces on fish with so great an impetus as to plunge
completely below the surface of the water, from which
it again rapidly emerges with the scaly prey grasped
in its talons, which it then bears away to some con-
venient perch, and forthwith devours.

There is a slight variation in the size of the Ospreys
found in different parts of the globe, on account of
which some Naturalists have divided the genus Pan-
dion into four species, but these seem rather to be
mere local varieties of one widely spread and almost
cosmopolitan race.

We now come to the group of Kites comprising the
following genera— Halastur, Milvus, Gypoictinia,
Rosthramus, Nauclerus, Gampsonyx, FElanus, and
Letina.

The genus Halastur consists of four species, which
are found in South Eastern Asia, the Islands of the
Indian Ocean, and Australia, and which, like the Sea-
Eagles, feed in great measure upon fish. The Indian

2.2 RAPTORIAL BIRDS

species is considered sacred to the Hindoo deity
Vishnu, from whence it has received the Anglo-Indian
appellation of the Brahming Kite.

Dr. Jerdon, in his work on the “ Birds of India,”
says, that “ near cities it is very tame and fearless. I
have often seen one catching fish thrown up to it by
some pious Hindoo.”

The genus JZ/vus, which next follows, comprises ©
the Kites, properly so-called, of which there are seven
species widely spread over the temperate and tropical
countries of the Old World. The best known, and
perhaps the handsomest of the Kites is the species
which was formerly abundant in Great Britain, though
it has now become nearly extinct, having been des-
troyed almost everywhere either by game-keepers, or
by ornithological collectors. This Kite has been
called the Royal Kite (A¢@ilvus regatis), because in
former times it was a favourite amusement of the
Kings of France to fly their falcons at the kite in
the same manner in which they hawked the heron.

The late Col. Montagu, whose work on “ English
Birds” was published in 1802, when the Kite was still
common in many parts of England, thus describes its
habits.

‘* This bird, from its great length of wings and tail, is capable
of supporting itself in the air with very little motion, and for a
great continuance, but is slow in flight ; its depredations, there-
fore, are confined to such animals as are found on the ground,
young rabbits, hares, and game ofall kinds, poultry and young

IN THE NORWICH MUSEUM. 23

birds incapable of flying; it will also attack young lambs, and
feed greedily on carrion. In defect of these it readily eats mice,
worms, and insects, and even snakes, the bones of which we
have taken from the nest. It frequently resorts to the environs
of towns to feed on offal, and is seen to sweep such matter from
the surface of water with great dexterity.”

In Africa, and Southern and Eastern Asia, Kites of
various descriptions abound in many of the cities,
where they act as scavengers, and become excessively
bold in their habits, of which many anecdotes are
recorded. Amongst these is one related by Mr.
Layard of the large eastern Kite (AZ¢/vus govinda) in
the following words: ‘In one instance I saw a lad
about thirteen years old, struck to the grourd by the
sudden pounce of a Kite, which bore off a good-sized
fish from a basket the boy was carrying on his head.”

The next genus, Gyforctinia, consists of a single
Australian species, which is very rare in collections,
and which is a desideratum in the Norwich Museum,
though we possess a wing of this scarce bird, which
was sent over from the Swan River with other birds’
wings, intended as plumes for ladies’ hats.

The following genus, Rosthramus, also consists of
a single species, a bird of gregarious and migratory
habits, which is found in marshy districts throughout
the warmer portions of North and South America.
It is remarkable for the awl-shaped point in which
the upper mandible of its bill terminates, and which,
with its very sharp talons, is excellently adapted to its

24 RAPTORIAL BIRDS

requirements, as it usually preys upon small fresh-
water fish, and aquatic reptiles, which are often very
slippery and difficult to retain when captured.

The succeeding genus, /Vauclerus, consists of two
species, in both of which the long and elegant forked-
tail is a conspicuous feature. The larger species is
a native of the warmer countries of America; the
smaller, of tropical Africa. The habits of the Ameri-
can species, as observed in Texas, have been so well
described in the “Ibis,” by Mr. Dresser, that we
insert the following extract’from his notes.

‘¢ This bird presents a singularly pleasing appearance on the
wing, gliding in large circles without apparent effort ; still the
flight is very rapid, the tail is generally very widely spread, and
when sailing in circles, the wings are kept almost motionless.
I watched one very closely as it was hunting after grasshoppers
on a piece of prairie. It went over the ground as carefully as a
well-trained pointer, every now and then stooping to pick up a
grasshopper, and to me the feet and bill appeared to touch the
insect simultaneously. They seem very fond of wasp-grubs,
and will carry a nest up to some high perch, and sit there hold-
ing it in one claw, and picking out the grubs. I saw one drop a
nest and catch it before it reached the ground. I examined the
stomachs of ten or twelve, and found them to contain sometimes
beetles, and sometimes grasshoppers.”

The remaining genera of Kites consist of birds
which, like those of the genus /Vauclerus, feed princi-
pally on insects. Of these three genera, two (Gam-
psonyx and Jctinia) are limited to the American
Continent; but the third (/anus) is not only repre-

IN THE NORWICH MUSEUM. 25

sented in America, but extends also to Southern
Europe and Asia, Africa, Australia, and many Islands
of the Indian Ocean.

Nearly allied to the insect-eating Kites are the
birds of the succeeding group, the Perns, which con-
sist of the following genera—VPernis, Henicopernis,
Macheramphus, Regerhinus, Cymindis, Aviceda, and
Laza.

The first of these genera contains three species, one
of which, Pernzs apivorus—the European Pern, or as
it is popularly called, the Honey Buzzard, is a summer
visitor to Great Britain, where it occasionally breeds,
and would doubtless do so more frequently (especially
in the wooded parts of the southern counties,) if it
were not so constantly destroyed by game-keepers
and collectors.

This species, like its near congener, the Crested
Honey Pern of India, is exceedingly fond of the
grubs of the wasp, in search of which it habitually
scratches out from the ground the nests of this insect ;
and there is no doubt that the mistaken idea that the
bird in attacking such nests (and perhaps those of
wild bees,) is seeking for honey, has given rise to its
popular name of Honey Buzzard.

Beside the grubs of wasps, the European and Indian
Honey Perns are very destructive to the eggs of
smaller birds; and the European species has been
also observed to frequent the borders of ponds, where
it captures dragon flies, which it chases on the wing,

26 RAPTORIAL BIRDS

and also preys upon frogs, and occasionally on small
fresh-water fish. It likewise feeds on various other
descriptions of insects, as well as on lizards.

The European Pern, before it has attained its adult
dress, frequently assumes remarkable and beautiful
variations of plumage, examples of which, obtained
in Norfolk, are preserved in our collection of British
Birds.

The succeeding genus, Henicopernis, consists of one
species, the Long-tailed Pern of New Guinea, and
some of the adjacent islands. It is a bird of very
great rarity in European collections, and does not
exist in the British Museum; but there is a fine pair
in the Norwich collection, which were obtained, one
in the Island of Mysol, and the other in New Guinea,
by the celebrated traveller, Mr. Alfred R. Wallace.

The genus Henicopernis is followed by another
genus, AZacheramphus, composed of two species, both
of great rarity, one of which isa native of Malacca,
the other of Damara Land, where it was discovered
by the late C. J. Andersson, after whom it was named.
Only two specimens of this Damara species are known
to exist in collections, one in the British Museum, the
other in our collection at Norwich, to which it was
presented by its discoverer. This last-mentioned
specimen is the original of the figure of this species
contained in the “ Transactions” of the Zoological
Society for 1867.

Andersson’s Pern is remarkable for the small size of

IN THE NORWICH MUSEUM. 27

the horny portion of its bill as compared with its very
large gape, a peculiarity which it possesses in a greater
degree than probably any other bird of prey. Mr.
Andersson has recorded that it feeds on bats, and he
believed that it chiefly seeks its food in the twilight.

The next genera, Cymindis and Regerhinus, are
both composed of species inhabiting tropical America,
including one species of Regerhinus, which is found in
the Island of Cuba. They are all birds of consider-
able beauty of plumage, especially in their immature
stages; and the birds of the genus fegerhinus, are
also remarkable for the extraordinary development of
the upper mandible of the bill. The remaining species
of the group of Perns, are contained in the two very
closely allied genera of Aviceda and Baza.

The genus Aviceda contains one species inhabiting
tropical and Southern Africa, and another which is
only found in Madagascar, and is still a desideratum
in our Museum.

Of the genus 4aza, one species is a native of India
and Ceylon, another of Australia, and five others
occur in various islands of the Indian Ocean. The
birds of both these genera are mostly very elegant in
the markings of their plumage, and are all of them
more or less conspicuously crested. The species
inhabiting India and Ceylon (Saza lophotes), though
the smallest; is perhaps the most handsome of these
birds, and is referred to by Mr. Layard in his notes
on the Birds of Ceylon in the following terms :—

28 RAPTORIAL BIRDS

‘‘T shot one at Jaffna with half a lizard in its maw, and Mr.
Mitford procured another at Ratnapoora feeding on bees, which
it captured sometimes on the wing, and sometimes by darting at
the nest ; it was attended by its mate, and the two sat together
on the dead branches of a tree, raising and depressing their
crests.”

We have now arrived at the group of Falcons, the
larger species of which are birds of great power of
wing, bill, and talon, and of highly carnivorous habits ;
whilst the smaller Falcons are for the most part more
or less insectivorous.

Amongst the partially insectivorous Falcons must
be included the four species which form the genus
Flieracidea, of which two inhabit Australia, and two
are natives of New Zealand. The habits of the
species which is found in New South Wales, (A/era-
cidea berigora) are thus described by Mr. Gould.

‘* Although it sometimes captures and preys upon birds and
small quadrupeds, its principal food consists of carrion, reptiles,
and insects; the crops of several that I dissected were literally .
crammed with the latter kind of food. It is generally met with
in pairs, but at the seasons when hordes of caterpillars infest the
newly-sprung herbage, it congregates in flocks of many hundreds.”

Of the succeeding genus, Zzmnunculus, one species
is scattered over the whole of the American Continent
except the arctic region; while a second nearly allied
race is limited to the Island of Cuba. Two others
(one of which is our well-known British Kestrel,) are
widely spread over the continents of Europe, Asia,

IN THE NORWICH MUSEUM. 29

and Africa. Three species are peculiar to the African
continent, and three others are respectively limited to
the Seychelles, to Mauritius, and to Madagascar, to-
gether with three small adjacent islands. Of the
remaining two species, one is Australian, and the
other a native of the Celebes, and of some other
islands in the Indian Ocean. The habits of the
Kestrels generally appear to be very similar to those
of our British species, which preys upon the smallest
quadrupeds and reptiles, (giving the preference to
mice and lizards,) and also on little birds, insects, and
earth worms.

Closely allied to the Kestrels are the two species
of red-footed Hobby, which form the genus Zrythropus.
Of these two races, the western species (Erythropus
vespertinus) 1s only an occasional and very rare visitor
to Great Britain, but is abundant in some parts of
Southern Europe, of Western and Central Asia, and
of the African Continent, where it extends its south-
westerly migrations as far as Damara Land, in which
country the late Mr. Andersson observed that it
arrived every year at the commencement of the rainy
season, and often in flocks of thousands of individuals,
which chiefly feed during their sojourn in Damara
Land on the white ants or /ermites that abound in
that country. The eastern Red-footed Hobby (£27y-
thropus amurensts) differs from the western bird in
having the under wing coverts in the adult males pure
white instead of dark slate colour, and also in the

30 RAPTORIAL BIRDS

female birds being much less rufous, especially about
the head and breast. This species inhabits the East-
ern Countries of Asia, and also occurs in South
Eastern Africa, where it appears to replace the western
species, with which, however, it sometimes consorts
when it crosses the African Continent, and meets the
migratory flocks of its western congener in Damara Land.

The eastern Red-footed Hobby is a rare bird
in European collections, and was figured in the
“Ibis” for 1868, from specimens in the Norwich
Museum. ‘The succeeding genus, Polthierax, con-
tains but two species, one of which (Polihierax semitor-
guatus), a native of tropical and Southern Africa, is
remarkable for its very small size, and elegant plumage.
The Norwich Museum possesses a pair of these beauti-
ful and scarce birds, which were obtained in Namaqua
Land, South West Africa, by the late Mr. C. J.
Andersson.

Diminutive as is this smallest of the African Fal-
cons, it is surpassed in this respect by the four species
of Dwarf-Falcon which constitutes the genus Azerax,
and which inhabit the south-eastern countries of Asia,
and some of the Islands of the Indian Ocean.

These beautiful little Falcons are the smallest of the
diurnal birds of prey ; but notwithstanding their lilipu-
tian dimensions, they are able to capture and destroy
the small birds which, with various insects, constitute
their food.

The next genus, salon, contains two species, one

IN THE NORWICH MUSEUM. 31

of which, the Merlin, is well-known as the smallest of
the Falcons indigenous to Great Britain. This species
is sometimes trained by falconers to the pursuit of the
lark ; and in former days, when falconry was common,
was chosen for the use of ladies, being of course much
lighter than the larger Falcons, which the gentlemen of
olden times were in the habit of carrying to the field.

The Merlin is widely spread over Europe and Asia,
and also visits the northern portions of the African
Continent.

In America it 1s replaced by a nearly-allied but
slightly smaller species, there called the “ Pigeon-
Hawk,” respecting which the late John James Audubon
wrote as follows :—

**Tt is when the shores of our eastern rivers are swarming
with myriads of Rice-buntings, and other migratory birds, that
the daring feats of this little spirited Falcon are displayed. * *
* * * As you are gazing in astonishment at the multitudes of
feathered travellers, all of a sudden a larger bird attracts your
eye; it sweeps along in the stillness of the autumnal evening
with a rapidity seldom equalled, creating confusion, terror, and
dismay along the whole shore. The flocks rise en masse, with a
fluttering which comes strangely on your ear; double, and
double again, turn and wind over the marsh, agitated and fear-
ful of imminent danger; and now closely crowded they would
fain escape, but alas! one has been singled out, and in the
twinkling of an eye, the Pigeon-Hawk, darting into the middle
of the flock, seizes and carries him off. * * * * The daring
spirit which the Pigeon-Hawk displays, exceeds that of any
other Hawk of its size. It seizes the Red-breasted Thrush, the
Wild Pigeon, and even the Golden-winged Woodpecker on

32 RAPTORIAL BIRDS

land, whilst along the shores it chases several species of Snipes,
as well as the Green-winged Teal. * * * Even the presence
of the tyrant man it little heeds; and in Pennsylvania one of
this species came almost right upon me whilst in pursuit of a
dove which found safety in my bosom from its persecutor.”

The succeeding genus, C/iguera, is also composed
of two species, one a native of inter-tropical Africa,
the other of India, where it bears the native name
Turumti. Dr. Jerdon, in his interesting work on the
Birds of India, gives the following account of this

species :—

‘Tt frequents gardens, groves of trees, and even large single
trees in the open country, whence it sallies forth, sometimes
circling aloft, but more generally, especially in the heat of the
day, gliding with inconceivable rapidity along some hedgerow
or ‘bund’ of a tank, or across some fields, and pouncing sud-
denly on some lark, sparrow, or wagtail. * * * * It preys
chiefly on small birds, especially the social larks, sparrows, and
the smaller ringed-plovers, also not unfrequently on bats, which
I have seen it seize on the wing just atdusk. * * * * It
has a shrill angry scream, and is very courageous, driving away

crows, kites, or even the Wokhab Eagle,+ from the vicinity of

its nest or perch. * * * * It is occasionally reclaimed and

flown at quail partridges, mynas, but especially at the Indian
Roller. In pursuit of this quarry the Falcon follows most closely
and perseveringly, but is often paulked by the extraordinary
evolutions of the Roller, which now darts off obliquely, then
tumbles down perpendicularly, screaming all the time, and en-
deavouring to gain the shelter of the nearest tree or grove; but
even here he is not safe, the Falcon follows him from branch to
branch, and sooner or later the exhausted quarry falls a victim
to the ruthless bird of prey.”
+ Aquila punctata.

IN THE NORWICH MUSEUM. 33

Our next two genera, Harfagus and Dissodectes, are
(like the genera Aviceda and Gaza amongst the Perns,)
distinguished by a double notch or tooth in the cut-
ting edge of either side of the upper mandible. The
genus, /Zarpagus, consists of two species, which are
both natives of ‘Tropical America. The genus
Dissodectes, of three species, of which two are
natives of inter-tropical Africa, and the third of the
Island of Madagascar. ‘The rarer of the two African
species (Déssodectes dickinsoni) was discovered by the
late Dr. Dickinson on the banks of the river Shiré,
in South Eastern Africa, and was figured in the
“Ibis” for 1864, from a specimen in the Norwich
Museum. It is believed that the British and Norwich
Museums are the only collections which contain speci-
mens of this very scarce species.

The succeeding genus, //ypotriorchis, comprises the
Hobbies, of which there are nine species known,
three of which are natives of America, and six
of the temperate and warmer countries of the Old
World, where they are widely spread over Europe,
Asia, and Africa, as well as in Madagascar, Australia,
and several of the Islands in the Indian Ocean.
They are all birds of comparatively small bulk of
body, and of great proportionate length of wing,
points that are well exemplified in the British Hobby,
which is a summer visitor to this country, where it
formerly bred regularly in the larger woods, especially
those of the southern counties, but is now so fre-

c

34 RAPTORIAL BIRDS

quently shot at and destroyed, that it seldom has the
opportunity of following its natural instinct in this re-
spect, and is altogether a much rarer bird in England
than was formerly the case.

The British Hobby extends its range eastward fo
China, and southward to the Cape of Good Hope.
It feeds much on small birds, but is also partial to
cockchaffers, dragon flies, and other large insects,
which it captures on the wing. Like the Merlia, the
Hobby is sometimes trained for hawking larks, and
“larks killed wt. the hobbye.” forms an item of fare
in the curious and still existing household accounts of
the Lestranges of Hunstanton Hall, in the reign of
Henry the Eighth.

The remaining genus of Falcons bears the name of
falco, as it comprises all those species which are con-
sidered typical Falcons, and which are the largest and
most powerful birds of the falconine group, and the
most highly. esteemed for the purposes of falconry.

The first species of the genus is Falco peregrinator,
which is arranged at the head of the typical Falcons,
as bearing the greatest resemblance to the birds of the
preceding genus, the Hobbies. This species is a native
of Southern and Central India, and Ceylon; but in
Northern India it is replaced by a nearly allied race,*
Falco atriceps, a very rare bird in collections, of which
an adult male from the Punjab is in the Norwich

* By some ornithologists Falco atriceps is not admitted as a
distinct species.

IN THE NORWICH MUSEUM. 35

Museum. These Falcons are trained in India for
the chase of the smaller Indian bustards, as well
as of partridges, and some of the gallinaceous birds.

The third species, / peregrinus, has been called,
from its migratory habits, the Peregrine Falcon, and
was the Falcon most frequently used in former times
in Great Britain and Europe for hawking the heron
and other marsh birds, for which purpose it is still
employed in India.

The Peregrine Falcon naturally preys much upon
sea-fowl, and still frequents many parts of Great
Britain, nesting in rocky cliffs, and usually preferring
those adjacent to the sea-coast, though in very much
smaller numbers than in former times when guns were
scarcer, and wild birds less molested than is now the case.

The Peregrine Falcon has the widest geographical
range of any species of the genus falco, extending
over the continents of America, Africa, Europe, and
Asia, extending as far northwards as the Arctic
regions, and as far south as Chili in America, and the
Cape of Good Hope Colony in Africa; its western
range reaching to Vancouver's Island, and its eastern
to Japan.

In Australia and Tasmania the Peregrine Falcon
is replaced by an allied species, Falco melanogenys,
which principally differs from the true Peregrine in the
narrowness of the intervals which divide the black
transverse bars on the under parts of the adult bird ;
this species ranges northwards to many of the islands

36 RAPTORIAL BIRDS

of the Indian Ocean, and even to the coast of China;
and it has also been met with on the coast of Patagonia.

The southern portions of the African Continent, as
well as the Island of Madagascar, and those of the
Comoro group, possess another Falcon which, m the
character of its markings, resembles Falco melanogenys,
but which, from its smaller size, has obtained the
name of falco minor. ‘These five Falcons, peregrinator,
atriceps, peregrinus, melanogenys, and minor, may be
considered as forming the first group of species in the
genus falco, the second group being composed of two
species, holding a position intermediate between the
Peregrine and its nearest congeners on the one hand,
and the Lanner and its immediate allies (to which we
shall subsequently refer) on the other.

The two species forming this second gronp are the
Barbary Falcon (Falco tunetanus), one of the smallest
species of the genus, which, as its name imports, is
a native of Northern Africa, as well as of Southern
Europe, and South-western Asia, and the Babylonian
Falcon, so-called because the first specimen brought
to this country was obtained near the site of the
ancient Babylon. This species, which is somewhat
larger than the Barbary Falcon, was first figured and
described in the “Ibis” for 1861, from a specimen
obtained in Oude by Major Irby, and presented by
that gentleman to the Norwich Museum.

The Babylonian Falcon is called by the falconers
of Northern India the Red-headed Shaheen, and is

IN THE NORWICH MUSEUM. 37

trained to the chase of the smaller water-fowl. In its
wild state it has a singular prepensity fer chasing bats
in the evening, capturing them on the wing apparently
more fer the sake of spert than of foed.

The third subdivision of the genus Falco consists of
the Lanner (Falco lanarius) and two ether nearly
allied species.

The Lanner is a Falcen of great beauty, much re-
sembling tke Babylonian Falcen in general appear-
ance, but with a mere completely rufous head. It is
a native ef Seuthern Eurepe, South-western Asia, and
Northern Africa, and is trained for falcenry by the
Arabs, fer whick purpose it was formerly much es-
teemed by the falconers of Germany. The Lanner
is remarkable as having been the sacred Falcon of the
ancient Egyptians, upon whose monuments its repre-
sentation frequently occurs.

In Abyssinia and the countries adjacent, as well as
in these parts of Western Africa which he in the same
latitude, a Falcon is found which only differs from the
Lanner in its somewhat deeper colouring. This Fal-
con bears the name ef Falco tanypterus, and is the
second species of the Lanner group, the third species
being Falco cervicalis of South Africa, which in its
adult state is readily distinguished from its more
northern congeners, by the entire absence of spots
and marks on its under surface, thus presenting a
beautifully rich and unbroken cream-coloured plumage
from the throat downwards,

38 RAPTORIAL BIRDS

The fourth group of typical Falcons consists of the
Saker,* (Fa/co sacer) and two allied, but smaller species.
The Saker is a larger Falcon than the Lanner, and has
a more eastern geographical range. In Europe it is
only found in Turkey and Southern Russia, whence it
extends eastwards to China.

In Africa it has a comparatively limited range,
reaching from Algeria to the Red Sea. The Arabs of
the Sahara use both this Falcon and the Lanner for
the chase of the Houbara bustard; and the Saker is
also trained for falconry in some countries of Central
Asia.

The Saker is occasionally found in Northern India,
but in the Indian peninsula generally, its place is
supplied by its smaller congener, Hadco jugger, which
is there called the Jugger or Lugger Falcon, and is
much in use among the Indian falconers for the chase
of the smaller species of heron, and other birds of
feebler type than those at which the Peregrine is there
flown.

The third Falcon of this group, which closely re-
sembles the Jugger, is a native of Mexico and the
adjacent countries of North America. It is a rare
species in collections, and the Norwich Museum is
fortunate in possessing this Falcon and also the two

* Some naturalists divide this species into two distinct races,
(F. sacer and F. milvipes,) but the correctness of this view is at
present doubtful. Both these supposed races are represented in
the Norwich Museum.

IN THE NORWICH MUSEUM. 39

equally rare Australian species which form the fifth
group. One of these Australian Falcons is of a uni-
form dark brown colour, and bears the name of Falco
subniger ; the other species is grey, and is called Falco
hypoleucus. Falco hypoleucus has not been found be-
yond the limits of Australia, but Falco subniger is said
also to have been obtained in New Zealand.

The only remaining group of typical Falcons con-
sists of those which inhabit the most northern parts
of Europe, Asia, and America, and bear the name of
Gyr-Falcons.

These are the largest and most powerful of the
Falcons, and were the most highly valued of any that
were anciently used for purposes of falconry.

The most beautiful of the Gyr-Falcons is that in
which the ground colour is white, and which bears the
name of Falco candicans. This species is found mofé
or less frequently in all the most northern countries
of the globe, but it appears to be most numerous in
Greenland, where it breeds, and in Iceland, where it
occurs during the winter months.

The northern portions of the Old and New Worlds
also possess Gyr-Falcons, in which the ground colour-
ing, instead of being white, as in Falco candicans, is of
a dark grey. These grey Gyr-Falcons are divided
into two species, the race which is found in Northern
Europe and probably in Northern Asia also, having
received the name of falco gyrfalco, or the Norway
Falcon, whilst the somewhat larger race, which in-

40 RAPTORIAL BIRDS

habits Iceland, Greenland, and the arctic portion of
the mainland of North America, has been named
falco islandicus, or the Iceland Falcon. There are,
however, some slight differences in the plumages of
the Grey Falcons which are included under the latter
appellation, and these, in the opinion of some
Naturalists, are sufficient to subdivide the western
Grey race into three distinct races—the Icelandic,
the Greenlandic, and the Labrador.

Both the White Gyr-Falcon, and also the Grey Gyr-
Falcons of Iceland and of Scandinavia, occasionally,
but very rarely, occur in Great Britain as winter
visitors.

We have dwelt at some length on the typical
_ Falcons as forming a genus to which, from its associa-
tions with ancient falconry, great interest attaches,
and must now pass on to the family of Buzzards, a
widely-spread group of birds of prey, somewhat re-
sembling the Falcons in their general form, but greatly
inferior to them in power of flight and general vigour,
courage, and activity; in consequence of which the
Buzzards prey less upon the larger gallinaceous and
aquatic birds, than is the habit of the typical Falcons,
and more upon the smaller quadrupeds and reptiles.

The Buzzards are arranged in four genera, Archi-
buteo, Luteo, Tachytriorchis, and Leucopternis. The
first of these contain the Rough-legged Buzzards, so
called because, in them only, the tarsi are clothed
with feathers—not all round the leg as in the

IN THE NORWICH ‘MUSEUM. 4I

feathered-legged Eagles, but merely on the front and
sides.

_ The various species forming this genus are found
in Europe, Asia, and North America. The European
Rough-legged Buzzard (Archibuteo dagopus) has been
known, though very rarely, to breed in Great Britain,
and is not an unfrequent autumnal visitor to our
coasts, where in some years it has appeared in con-
siderable numbers, especially in the Eastern Counties.
These migratory arrivals are almost entirely composed
of birds of the year, which have probably traversed
the German Ocean after leaving their native haunts
in the north of Norway and Sweden, where they
in great measure subsist on that singular little rodent,
the Lemming, the strange migrations of which are
believed considerably to influence the movements of
this and other Scandinavian birds of prey.

Of the genus Luteo, one species, Butco vulgaris, is
a native of England, where it is called the Common
Buzzard, because, though now comparatively rare, it was
before the trap and the gun had reduced its numbers,
one of the commonest of the British Birds of prey.

This species is found throughout most parts of Europe
and Western Asia; its chief food appears to consist
of mice, moles, and lizards. The Norwich Museum
contains a fine series of various species of the genus
Buteo, as well as of the two succeeding genera,
Tachytriorchis and Leucopternis, both of which are
limited to the Continent of America.

42 , RAPTORIAL BIRDS

Several species of these three genera which we
possess are birds of considerable rarity, amongst which
we may particularly mention the type specimens of
Buteo fuliginosus, figured iv the transactions of the
Zoological Society, and the type specimen of Zachy-
triorchis zonocercus, which has been also figured there,
as well as subsequently in Mr. D. G. Elliot’s recent
folio work on the Birds of North America.

Another species which our Museum possesses, and
which, like Buteo fuliginosus. and Tachytriorchis zono-
cercus, is a native of the most southerly countries of
North America, may also be mentioned as being, not
only very rare, but also very conspicuous for the
beauty of its snow-white plumage. This handsome
Buzzard bears the name of Leucopternis ghiesbreghtiz,
given to it in honour of its discoverer Auguste Ghies-
breght, a Belgian naturalist, who first obtained this
species in Southern Mexico, not far from Vera
Cruz. |

Leaving the Buzzards, we now arrive at two genera
composed of birds which appear to form a link be-
tween the Buzzards and the Hawks, and which there-
fore may with propriety be termed Buzzard-Hawks.
The first of these genera, Poliornis, is limited to
Eastern and South-eastern Asia, and the neighbouring
islands, with the exception of one species, which is a
native of Abyssinia, and the adjacent countries of
Africa.

The second genus, Asturina, is composed of various

IN THE NORWICH MUSEUM. 43

species inhabiting tropical America, and one of which
occurs also in the West Indies. The habits of the
birds of both these genera partake much of the some-
what sluggish character of the Buzzards, to which
they are probably more closely allied than they are to
the Hawks.

Two of the American Buzzard-Hawks, Asturina
natterert and Asturina pucherant, have recently been
figured by Messrs. Sclater and Salvin in their admir-
able work, entitled ‘‘ Exotic Ornithology,” from speci-
mens which are preserved in the Norwich Museum.

The Hawks, properly so called, which form the
next group for our consideration, are distinguished by
their short wings, rather long legs, and large tails, to
which latter peculiarity they are probably in great
measure indebted for their remarkable power of turn-
ing rapidly in their course when pursuing their prey,
which they are thus able to follow amongst trees and
shrubs in a manner which the longer-winged Kites
and Falcons are unable to attempt.

Many of the Hawks are birds of great courage and
activity, and very powerful in proportion to their size.
The family of Hawks is represented in almost all
parts of the world, and is divided into the following
genera — Leucospiza, Tachyspiza, Urospiza, Accipiter,
Lophospiza, Astur, Melierax, Micrastur, and Isch-
noscles.

The genus Leucospiza contains but two species,
Nove-hollande and ray, both natives of Australia, and

44 RAPTORIAL BIRDS

the former of which occurs in New Guinea and Tas-
mania, and is remarkable as being the only bird of
prey whose entire plumage is of a pure and unbroken
white, a circumstance which makes this species one
of the most striking and beautiful of its family.

The following genus, Zachyspiza, contains a single
small species, Zachyspiza soloensis, which is a native of
South Eastern Asia, and of the adjacent islands, and
which is separated from the other hawks on account
of the remarkable proportionate shortness of the tarsi.

This is succeeded by the genus U7vosfzza, consist-
ing of several species which are scattered over the
islands of the Indian Ocean, and three of which occur
as far south as Australia, two of them being also found
in Tasmania.

One species of this genus, Urospiza haplochrous, a
native of New Caledonia, was first figured and des-
cribed in the “Ibis” for 1859, ere a specimen in the
Norwich Museum.

The following genus, Accipiter, consists of a large
number of species scattered over Europe, Asia, Africa,
America, and many oceanic islands, all more or less
closely related to the well-known Sparrow-Hawk of
Great Britain, which, however, is itself a bird of ex-
tended geographical range, being found as far east-
ward as Japan. ‘This well-known species is remark-
able for the great power and courage which it displays
in proportion to its size, and was formerly trained for
hawking the partridge. It was in former times very

IN THE NORWICH MUSEUM. 45

common in this country, and though much persecuted
by gamekeepers, who dread its ravages amongst young
pheasants, is still far from being rare.

The Norwich Museum contains several very scarce
species comprised in this genus, one of which, Acce-
piter brutus, is remarkable as having been hitherto
only found in the small island of Mayotta, which lies
to the north-west of Madagascar. The specimen of
this Hawk, which is in the Norwich Museum, is
believed to be the only one existing in this country.

The following rare species of this genus have been
figured from specimens in the Norwich Museum, viz.,
Accipiter stevensoni, from China, in the “Ibis” for
1863; A. francesit, from Madagascar, in the “ Ibis”
for 1864; A. collaris, from Tropical America, in the
“Ibis” for 1860; and A. guttatus and A. ventralis
from the same region, in Sclater and Salvin’s Exotic
Ornithology.

The genus Accipiter is followed by Lophospiza, a
restricted genus, composed of two, or according to
some authors, three species, natives of South Eastern
Asia, and the adjoining islands.

To this succeeds the genus Astwr, of which the
typical species is the European Goshawk, Astur
palumbarius, a noble bird of great power and courage,
which is found in most parts of Europe, and in many
countries of temperate Asia, as well as in some parts
of Northern Africa. It is arare bird in Great Britain,
but was probably more abundant in this country

46 RAPTORIAL BIRDS

before the introduction of fire-arms. It is still used
for falconry in many parts of Asia, as it formerly
was in this country, where it seems to have been
principally flown at the pheasant, being less adapted
than the longer winged falcons for the pursuit of the
heron.

The Norwich Museum possesses two specimens of
a rare West African Goshawk, Astur macrurus, one of
which has been figured in the “Ibis” for 1870. The
next genus, AZée/ierax, is composed of hawks somewhat
allied to the Goshawks, but forming a distinct group
peculiar to the Continent of Africa. The largest
species of the genus, AZeierax musicus, ox the Chanting
hawk, is so named from the melodious character of
its whistling note, a peculiarity which is common to
at least one other species of this genus, but has not
been observed in other birds of prey ; the notes of the
Raptorial birds being as a rule too harsh and strident,
and too little modulated to be considered musical.

The remaining genera, Micrastur and Lschnosceles,
are both composed of hawks which are natives of
tropical America, and from which we may pass to
consider the remaining family of diurnal Raptores,
the Harriers, a remarkable group found in almost all
countries of the globe, except within the Arctic Circle,
but mostly preferring level and often marshy districts
to those of greater elevation.

The Harriers are birds of a somewhat slender and
elegant form, but are not distinguished for any great

IN THE NORWICH MUSEUM. 47

force or courage; and their habit is to skim over the
open country at no great elevation, occasionally sweep-
ing down to seize their prey, which consists of small
birds, or the eggs or young of larger species, and of
small rodent quadrupeds, and the smaller reptiles.

In most species of Harriers, the male bird when
fully adult, has the plumage more or less tinted with
grey, the female of most of the known species being
brown. It is also remarkable that in those species
in which the color of the eye is known, the iris is pale
yellow in the adult males, but almost always brown,
or brownish yellow in the females. The Harriers
possess a facial disk of small feathers surrounding
the cheek, which gives them a peculiar appearance,
differing in this respect from that of other diurnal
birds of prey, and somewhat resembling the Owls.

In the arrangement adopted in the Norwich Mu-
seum, the Harriers are all comprised in one genus,
which bears the name of C7rcus, and the collection
there preserved contains one specimen which is at
present entirely unique, viz., the only known example
of Circus macrosceles of Madagascar, presented to the
Museum by its discoverer, Mr. Edward Newton.
‘This specimen has not yet been figured, as it is
thought not to be fully adult, but the circumstances
under which it was obtained are thus recorded by Mr.
Newton in the “ Ibis’’ for 1863.

“On the 22nd of September, 1862, we were quietly paddling
through a clump of tall bulrushes, where we had marked down a

48 RAPTORIAL BIRDS

small flock of the litt'e white-breasted Duck (Vettapus auritus),
when I saw a Harrier hover for an instant just above the rushes,
and plunge down into them; immediately there was an outcry
from some water fowl, probably a Porphyrie, one species of
which I had before killed in this same clump of rushes. We
pushed-on to the spot with some difficulty, as the canoe’s head
was in another direction, and it was no easy matter turning it
among the rushes. The Marmites would not keep quiet, but
were cons‘antly talking, and as we were not nearly within shot,
I was in considerable excitement for fear the Harrier should fly
away before we got up. _ However, when we were about thirty-
five yards off, he rose, and [I killed him; on picking him up, I
found be had been robbing some water-fowl’s nest, his mouth and
crop containing three young birds, evidently taken from the egg-
shell, with fragments of the latter coloured pinkish white, with
red spots like that of a Water Rail or Porphyrio.”

Two other rare Harriers in the collection of the
Norwich Museum are the originals of published figures,
viz., a female of Circus matllardi, obtained im. the
Island of Reumon, and presented to the Museum by
Mr. and Mrs. F. Bedingfeld, which was figured in the
“This” for 1863, and a pair of the Czrcus wolf of
New Caledonia, which were figured in the proceedings
of the Zoological Society for 1865, and from which
this species was first described.

Three species of Harrier are natives of the British
Islands, and though far less common than was the
case when fire-arms were less abundant, and when
marshes were more extensive, are still not unfrequently
obtained in many parts of Great Britain. These
are Circus cyaneus, the Hen Harmer; C. czneraceus,

IN THE NORWICH MUSEUM. 49

Montagu’s Harrier; and C. eruginosus, the Marsh
Harrier.

The Hen Harrier, when more abundant than it now
is, was in ill repute with preservers of game from its
propensity to destroy partridge’s eggs, and its name of
Hen Harrier implies that it also occasionally harried
the good-wife’s poultry yard, in connection with which
it is worthy of remark, that in the Irish language this
bird is called “ Pee hah ne gark,” signifying “ the crow
that kills the hens;” and it is said that in some parts
of Ireland the poultry are still occasionally the victims
of its depredations.

_Both the Hen Harrier and the Montagu Harrier
frequent the upland moors as well as the marsh
lands, but the Marsh Harrier, as its name imports,
almost entirely confines itself to localities which are
more or less of a marshy character, and especially to
such as produce large beds of rushes, over which it
is in the habit of hovering when in search of its
prey.

All three of the British Harriers are widely spread
over Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa; and the
Montagu’s Harrier also extends its range as far south-
wards as the colony of the Cape of Good Hope.

The remainder of the birds of prey are comprised
in the large family of Strigidz or Owls, which, from
the nocturnal or crepuscular habits of most members
of the group, are styled nocturnal Raptores, in con-
tradistinction to the previously mentioned groups,

D

59° RAPTORIAL BIRDS

which are composed of birds that, with the exception
of a few semi-crepuscular species, seek their prey by
day, and are therefore called diurnal Raptores, as has
been already mentioned.

The plumage of the Owls is soft and downy, the
feathers being mostly large, pliant, and elastic, their
wings are of considerable length and breadth, the larger
quill-feathers are very broad, and their flight is buoyant
and remarkably noiseless, thus enabling them to steal
unheard upon their prey during the stillness of the
evening or morning twilight, or of the quiet moonlight
night.

The ears of the Owls are provided with larger
orifices than those of the other birds, enabling them.
to catch the rustling sound of the small nocturnal
quadruped, passing amongst grass or over dead leaves ;
whilst their eyes, which are large and with great power
of dilation or contraction in the iris, are admirably
fitted to enable them to descry their prey in the
dusk, but are in most Owls little able to bear the
brighter beams of daylight.

The bill in the Owls is sharply hooked at the point
of the upper mandible, as in the diurnal birds of prey,
but is not, as in many of the latter, furnished with
tooth-like notches on its cutting edges. The foot is
furnished with sharp and curved talons, and the
outer toe is more or less reversible. The food oj
Owls consists of the smaller mammalia, chiefly rodents
and bats, of birds which they mostly seize when

IN THE NORWICH MUSEUM, 51

roosting or on their nests, of the larger insects and of
small lizards, and in some cases of crustacea and
such fresh-water fish as frequent shallow streams and
pools.

Many Owls have two singular tufts of feathers on
their heads, from whence they are called Horned-
Owls. In the Norwich Museum the Horned-Owls
form the first portion of the series, and are divided
into the following genera—Phasmoptynx, Brachyotus,
Otus, Ptilopsis, Scops, Pseudoscops, Lophostrix, Ketupa,
Pseudopiynx, Bubo, Urrua, and Huhua.

The genus Phasmoptynx contains a single species,
which is scattered over most countries of Africa, and
also occurs in Arabia, and in Southern Spain. This
Owl much resembles in size and habits, that well-
known British species, of which so many specimens
migrate in autumn to our eastern coasts—the Short- .
horned Owl, also often called the Woodcock Owl,
from the season of its migration usually coinciding
with that of the Woodcock.

The Short-horned Owl is the only species forming
the succeeding genus Brachyotus; it is a bird which,
unlike most other Owls, does not frequent wooded
districts, but prefers either heathy moorlands or rushy
marshes, where it squats, when at rest, upon the
ground, upon which it also forms its nest. Though
it now very seldom breeds in England, it is known to
have done so more frequently before cultivation and
drainage had reduced its favourite haunts to their

52 RAPTORIAL BIRDS

present comparatively narrow limits. The Short-
horned Owl has probably the widest geographical
range of any known bird, and is found in most parts
of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, as well as in
various insular localities, of which the Sandwich Islands
are perhaps the most remarkable.

The Long-horned Owl of the British Islands is the
type of the succeeding genus, Ofus, all the other well
ascertained species of which are American, excepting
one that is a native of Madagascar. ‘The British Long-
horned Owl ( Otus vulgaris) is one of the handsomest
of the tribe, and from the increase of fir plantations in
which it loves to nest, appears to be resident in this
country in Somewhat increasing numbers.

The greater number of the Long-eared Owls, which
occur in Great Britain, are, however, migratory in-
dividuals, arriving in the autumn from Northern
Europe, whither they mostly return on the approach
of Spring. ‘This species is generally spread over
Europe and many parts of Asia, and also occurs in
winter in Northern Africa.

The genus /#i/opsis was instituted for the reception
of a peculiar species of Small-horned Owl, a native of
Africa; and that of Psewdoscops was similarly instituted
for the reception of a species peculiar to Jamaica,
but the remaining Small-horned Owls, of which the
various species are widely scattered over Europe, Asia,
Africa, and America, as well as over many oceanic

IN THE NORWICH MUSEUM. 53

islands, are all comprised in the genus Scops,* of which
the best known species is Scops zorca, an inhabitant of
Europe, and also of Northern Africa and of some parts
of Asia, as well as an occasional though rare visitor
to the British Isles.

This extremely beautiful little bird is a woodland
species, feeding chiefly upon mice and insects. A
specimen, which was found some years since disabled
by flying against the lantern of Cromer lighthouse
contained the remains of a mouse, together with those
of three caterpillars and several earwigs.

The genus Zoephostrix comprises two species, of
somewhat larger size than those of the preceding
genera, and remarkable for the length and beauty of
their tufts or “horns;” they are both natives of
tropical America.

The succeeding genus, Acfupa, consists of three
species of large Oriental Horned Owls, which are
especially remarkable for having the tarsus, or lower
joint of the leg, more completely divested of plumage
than is the case in any other Horned Owls, a pecu-
liarity which is well suited to the habits of the
birds of this genus, which prey chiefly upon crabs and
fish.

Of the three species of the genus Kefupfa, the
largest is limited to Northern India, and the smallest
* Some of the species inhabiting India and some islands of the

Eastern Ocean may not improperly be considered as forming a
distinct genus, which has received the name of Lempigzus.

54 RAPTORIAL BIRDS

is found in the peninsula of Malacca, and the.
adjacent islands, whilst a third species intermediate
in size, which bears the name of Ketupa ceylonensis,
from having been first observed in the Island of
Ceylon, is now known to extend its range as far west
as Syria, and as far east as the coast of China.

The succeeding genus, Pseudoptynx, consists of a
single species which inhabits the Philippine Islands,
and appears to form a link between the genus Ketupa
which precedes, and the genus 4wdo which follows it.
The genus 4ubo comprises the largest of the Horned
Owls, distinguished, on account of their great size, by
the appellation of Eagle Owls.

The species forming the genus Bde are found in
Europe, Asia, Africa, and America; the largest of
them, 4bo maximus, (which is an occasional though
very rare visitor to the British Isles,) has a very wide
geographical range, being found to extend from
Western Europe to the coast of China, and also oc-
curring as a winter visitor in Northern Africa, It is
remarkable that this magnificent bird of prey, a native
of the wildest mountain forests, will occasionally breed
freely in confinement, a result which has nowhere
been more favourably attained than in the Aviary of
Mr. Edward Fountaine, of Easton in Norfolk, who
was the first to bring this fact under the notice of
Naturalists, and who has succeeded in rearing young
Eagle Owls, which have themselves become the parents
of a second generation, also bred and reared in con-
finement.

IN THE NORWICH MUSEUM. 55

The genera Urrua and Huhua likewise include
Eagle Owls, more or less closely allied to those of the
genus 4ubo; of these genera, Urrua contains but a
single species, a native of India ; Awhua, on the con-
trary, comprise several species, some of which are
natives of Africa, and others of South-Eastern Asia
and the adjacent islands.

It may be remarked, that in the Owls of the genus
Fluhua, the iris of the eye is of a dark-brown, instead
of being of a brilliant orange, as in Bubo and Urrua.
Some of the species of the genus hua preserved in
the Norwich Museum are birds of great interest and
rarity.

The genera of Hornless Owls, at which we have now
arrived, are the following :— Scofopelia, Myrtha, Bulaca,
Ciccaba, Macabra, Pulsatrix, Syrnium, Nyctea, Surnia,
Nyctale, Gisella, Microptynx, Glaucidium, Gymnogtaux,
Pholeoptynx, Teenioglaux, Microglaux Athene, Spilo-
glaux, Teraglaux, Ninox, Scleloglaux, Scelostrix, Strix,
and Phodilus. The genus Scotopelia contains two
species, one of which, Scotopelia Feli, is alike re-
markable for its great size, its beauty, and its rarity.
It is a native of Tropical Africa, and like one of the
large South African Horned Owls (Huhua verreauxi ),
has been observed to prey on the wild guinea fowls,
which are abundant in many parts of that continent,
and which these large owls capture whilst roosting.
It also feeds on fish, the remains of which were found
in the stomach of the specimen originally obtained by

56 RAPTORIAL BIRDS

the Dutch Naturalist, Pel, to whom we owe the dis-
covery of this fine species. One of the specimens of
Scotopelia Peli now preserved in the Norwich Museum,
was the only example of this owl ever known to
have been brought alive to Europe; it lived many
years in captivity, and its portrait was published in the
“Tbis” for 1859. Through the kind intervention of
Mr. R. B. Sharpe, our Museum also possesses a unique
specimen of an allied smaller species, Scotopelia usshert,
figured in the “Ibis” for 1871. The succeeding
genera, Afyrtha and Bulaca, contain some of the most
beautiful species belonging to the family of Owls.
They are all natives of South-Eastern Asia, and the
adjacent islands, excepting two species of the genus
Myrtha, and which inhabit Tropical and Southern
Africa. One of these African species is JZyrtha
woodfordi ; the other, a newly discovered allied species,
M. nuchale, of which our Museum possesses the type
specimen. The genus Czccaba, which we have next to
notice, is composed of three species, inhabiting the
intertropical portion of the American Continent, which
is also the habitat of the Owls comprised in the suc
ceeding genera, Macabra and Pulsatrix. "Two species
belonging to the genera Czccaba and Macabra (viz.,
C. nigrolineata and M. albitarse,) were first figured in
the “Transactions” of the Zoological Society from
specimens in the Norwich Museum.

The next genus, Syr#éum, is composed of various
species, which are natives of North America, Northern

IN THE NORWICH MUSEUM. 57

‘Africa, Europe, and Asia. The most typical species

of the genus Syrazum is the well-known 5S. aluco, the
Tawny or Ivy Owl of the British Islands, which is
very generally diffused over the Continent of Europe,
as well as over some parts of North Africa and Asia;
the largest species of the genus is, however, the
magnificent Cinereous or Lap Owl, (S. cénereum) a
native of the most northern countries of Europe, Asia,
and America, of which the Norwich Museum possesses
an unusually fine series, consisting of fourteen speci-
mens, most of which were collected in Lapland by
that indefatigable ornithologist, the late Mr. John
Wolley, and presented, after his decease, to the Nor-
wich Museum by his father, the Rev. John Wolley,
together with many other valuable specimens obtained
by him during various expeditions in Northern Scan-
danavia.

The succeeding genus, /Vyctea, contains but one
species, the large and beautiful Snowy Owl, which is
appropriately so named both as regards the pure white
plumage which is predominant in its dress, and per-
haps also with reference to the arctic regions which it
usually inhabits. It is found in the most northern
parts of Europe, Asia, and America, but sometimes
strays further south, especially in Autumn and Winter,
when specimens are occasionally obtained in Scotland,
and also, but less frequently, in England and Ireland.
The Snowy Owl is a bird of voracious and somewhat
omnivorous appetite, and the following fact related by

58 RAPTORIAL BIRDS

Sir John Richardson, in his “ Boat Voyage through
Rupert’s Land,” is interesting as illustrating its charac-
ter in this respect, as well as affording evidence of the
great boldness and power of the Peregrine Falcon,
which in North America is often found in the same
districts as those inhabited by this great Owl.

‘*A Snowy Owl, in flying over a cliff on the banks of the
Mackenzie River, seized and carried off an unfledged Peregrine in
its claws, and crossing to the opposite bank, alighted to devour
it; the parent falcon followed, screaming loudly, and stooping
with extreme rapidity, killed the Owl by a single blow.”

The genus Vyc/ea is followed by the genus Syznzum,
containing but two species, which, from their small and
inconspicuous facial disk, somewhat approach in
appearance the diurnal birds of prey, and are called
in consequence Hawk-Owls. These birds are much
smaller than the Snowy Owl, but resemble it in habits.
One species inhabits the most northern countries of
America ; the other, those of Europe and Asia; and
the latter has been obtained, though very rarely, in
Great Britain. All these northern Owls have the
toes thickly clothed with feathers, a provision which
doubtless much conduces to their comfort in the high
latitudes which they frequent, and which is also
possessed, though hardly to the same extent, by the
small northern Owls of the genus /Vycfa/e, consisting
of two North American species, and of one that is
common to North America and Europe and parts of

IN THE NORWICH MUSEUM. 59

Asia; the latter, which is called Tengmalm’s Owl, is
also an occasional but very rare visitor to Great
Britain.

The genus Vyctale is followed by other genera of
small Owls; these are Gise//a, containing a single rare
species from tropical South America, (G7sella harrisit)
Microptynx, containing the smallest of the European
Owls (Microptynx passerina), which is also a native of
Northern Asia; G/aucidium containing several species,
all of which are natives of America, and one of which
(Glaucidium pumilum) is perhaps the smallest Owl in
existence. Most of these little Owls of the genus
Glaucidium subsist principally on insects.

The genus Glaucidium is followed by the genus
Gymnoglaux, consisting of two species of small and
somewhat bare-legged West Indian Owls, one of
which, Gymnoglaux nudipfes, was figured in the “ Ibis”
for 1859, from specimens obtained in the island of
St. Croix, and presented to the Norwich Museum by
Messrs. Alfred and Edward Newton.

The next genus, Pholeoptynx, contains the curious
burrowing Owls, which are natives of some parts of
the American Continent, and also of some of the
West Indian Islands. These Owls usually inhabit the
holes made by various rodent quadrupeds, such as the
Woshee, (Spermophilus douglassii) in British Columbia,
and the Wishton-wish, (.S. Zdovicianus) on the North
American prairies.

Mr. J. K Lord, in his interesting work on British

60 RAPTORIAL BIRDS

Columbia, mentions having found, in one hole which
he examined, a female Woshee, a burrowing Owl, with
her two eggs, and a “green-racer” Snake, a reptile
which, as well as the Rattle Snake, is, like the burrow-
ing Owl, an unbidden guest in the dwellings of the
North American Spermophilze. Mr. Lord adds—

‘*The burrowing Owl is strictly of diurnal habits, and feeds
principally on crickets, grasshoppers, large beetles, and larvz.”

These Owls are not, however, wholly dependent for
a home on the labours of their four-footed hosts, as
one which lived in confinement in the gardens of the
Zoological Society, excavated a burrow for itself in the
earthen floor of its cage, of sufficient dimensions to
shelter it effectually from view, whenever it desired to
retreat from the inspection of visitors, or for the pur-
pose of repose.

Three other genera of small Owls here follow, com-
posed of species widely spread over the countries of
the Old World, and severally bearing the names of
Tenioglaux, Microglaux, and Athene, of which last
genus, one species (A¢hene meridionalis) is celebrated
as having been anciently dedicated in Attica (where it
still abounds) to the tuletary goddess of ancient
Athens.

The genus Sfzlogdaux, which is next in order, con-
tains some of the smaller Owls, which are natives of
Tasmania, Australia, New Guinea, and Timor, to-
gether with one species which is a common bird in

IN THE NORWICH MUSEUM. 61

New Zealand, where it is noted for a cry much resem-
bling the words “ more pork,” a demand which is said
to have greatly scandalized a military officer newly
arrived from England, who first heard it when inspect-
ing his troops on parade, and who was slow to believe
that the illtimed request proceeded only from a
feathered biped on an adjacent tree.

The succeeding genera, /eraglaux, Vinox, and Scelo-
glaux, contain various Owls, which are natives of
Australia, South Eastern Asia, and many islands of
the surrounding ocean, which may be briefly defined
as comprised in an irregular triangle, having at its
several angles respectively the islands of Japan, Mada-
gascar, and New Zealand. The Owls of these three
genera are more or less remarkable for the compara-
tively small size and contracted appearance of the
facial disk, giving to many of them an appearance
somewhat resembling that of the diurnal birds of
prey. One rare species of this group (Sceloglaux
albifacies of New Zealand), which is the only species
in the genus Sceloglaux, was figured by Mr. Gould in
the supplement to his magnificent work on the Birds
of Australia, from a specimen now preserved in the
Norwich Museum.

Only one group more now remains to be mentioned
in concluding our somewhat lengthy notice of the
birds of prey. This comprises the genera Scelostrix,
Strix, and Phodilus, and its best known representative
species is the familiar Strix fammea, the Barn Owl of

62 RAPTORIAL BIRDS IN THE NORWICH MUSEUM.

the British Islands, which is also a common bird
throughout Europe, as well as in Western Asia, and
Northern Africa.

Other species of the genus S¢vzx are found in almost
all countries of the globe, the largest being the chestnut-
faced Owl, Strix castanops, of Tasmania.

Of the allied genera, Scelostrix and Phodilus, the
first is limited to Southern Africa, South Eastern Asia,
some of the islands of the Indian Ocean, and Australia ;
the second occurs in South Eastern Asia, and in some
of the adjacent islands ; but the Owls composing these
genera do not present any feature requiring special
notice in this slight sketch, and with them we may
therefore now bid adieu to the birds of prey, of which
we have endeavoured to present a slight outline, in the
hope that it may perhaps assist in making this portion
of the collection more interesting to those visitors who
may chance to peruse the foregoing pages.

The End.

JARROLD AND SONS, PRINTERS, NORWICH.

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AND ITS PUBLIC BUILDINGS ;

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ACCOUNT of a Manuscript Genealogy of the Paston
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ACCOUNT of the Company of St. George’s in Nor-

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MSS. 1737. 8vo, sewed, Is.

AN OUTLINE of the Geology of Norfolk. By
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cloth, 3s.

COOKE'’S Topographical and Statistical Description
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HISTORY and Antiquities of Norwich Castle. By
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maps and illustrations on stone, 4to, sewed, 6s.

KETT'S Rebellion ; Jack and the Tanner of Wymond-
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Powell,” etc. 12mo, stiff cover, 9d. (published at 2s. 6d.)

NORFOLK in the Eighteenth Century ; Twenty-four

Views of the most considerable Mansions and Seats of the
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RAMBLES in an Old City; comprising Antiquarian,
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EIGHT ORIGINAL ETCHINGS by the late Joun
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JARROLD & SONS, LONDON STREET, NORWICH.

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