Order XII
Raptores.-VULTURES, HAWKS, and OWLS.
Toes four, three in front, the hind one, except in the Vultures, generally as long as or longer than the shortest front one; all the toes armed with strong, sharp, curved nails or talons; bill with a cere, or covering of skin, at its base, through which the nostrils open, very stout and strong, the tip of the upper mandible with a sharply pointed hook. " 13 FIG. 30.
FIG. 31.
A. Eyes set in a striking facial disk; tarsus generally feathered; plum age soft and fluffy.
Family Strigida: BARN ..
Family Bubonida:
KEY TO FAMILIES. a. Middle toe-nail with a comblike edge.
OWLS (Fig. 30), p. 213. 6. Middle toe-nail without a comblike edge.
HORNED OWLS, HOOT OWLS (Fig. 29, a), p. 213. ㅎ 3 FIG. 33.
FIG. 32.
B. Eyes not set in a striking facial disk; tarsus mostly bare, plumage firm and close. a. Plumage, in our species, black; hind toe small, claws blunt; bill not sharply hooked; head generally bare. Family Cathartidæ: AMERICAN VULTURES (Fig. 32), p. 191. ... b. Hind toe generally as long as or longer than the shortest front one; toes armed with sharp, curved nails or talons; bill with a sharp hook, head not bare.
Family Falconidæ: FALCONS, KITES, HAWKS, EAGLES (Figs. 29, 6, 33), etc., p. 193. ...