123. _The AQUILINE or EGYPTIAN VULTURE_ (Vultur percnopterus) _is a large
bird of prey, which has a naked head and neck; a black and hooked beak,
yellow at the base; and the quill feathers of the wings, except the first
two, black, edged with hoary._
_The male is of a dirty white colour, and the female brown, with, the
above exception of the quill feathers._
_Immense flocks of aquiline vultures are observable near all the
principal towns of Egypt, Syria and Persia._
Filthy and disgusting as these birds are, not only in their appearance but
in all their habits, they are of almost indispensable utility to mankind in
those countries where they are found. They may be considered the scavengers
of hot climates. In conjunction with other animals of similar appetites and
propensities, they clear away, by devouring them, all the remains of animal
substances which otherwise would be left to putrefy, and would infect the
air with the most noxious effluvia. They are consequently protected and
encouraged by mankind. The ancient Egyptians held them in such veneration
as to punish with death any person who destroyed them. In consequence of
this protection, they have become fearless of mankind, and, even in the
streets of the most populous towns of Egypt, may be seen to feed with the
greatest familiarity.
These vultures devour also the eggs and young ones of the crocodiles, and
destroy myriads of rats and mice, as well as reptiles of every description,
which abound among the mud, and in all the grounds that are fertilized by
the overflowing of the Nile.
124. _The CARRION VULTURE_ (Vultur aura) _is an American bird of prey,
about four feet and a half high, with a small head covered with red skin,
the bill hooked and white; and the plumage dusky, except the quill
feathers, which are black._
In America these birds are protected for the same services as are performed
by the aquiline vulture (123) in Africa and Asia. They not only devour the
filth of the towns and villages, but also destroy, in great numbers, the
eggs of alligators; which animals otherwise would become intolerable by
their prodigious increase. The vultures watch the females in the act of
depositing their eggs in the sand; and, as soon as they retire into the
water, dart to the spot and feed upon their contents.
125. _The CINEREOUS EAGLE_ (Aquila albicilla) _is a species of eagle
about the size of a turkey, of cinereous brown colour, with while tail,
the quill feathers white, the middle ones tipped with black; and the base
of the bill, and the feet, yellow._
_This bird is found in England, and in nearly every other country of
Europe._
The _flesh_ of the cinereous eagles is eaten in Greenland, and is said not
to be of bad flavour. Their _skins_ sewed together, are used as under
garments; and are also frequently employed as beds. The _beak_ and _claws_
are employed as amulets or charms; and are considered efficacious for the
cure of various complaints. The Greenlanders either kill these birds with
arrows, or catch them in snares laid in the snow, and baited with flesh.
The cinereous eagles feed on dead animals of every description, as well as
on fish, young seals, and several kinds of birds.
126. _The SECRETARY FALCON_ (Falco serpentarius) _is a bird of prey of
large size, with a bill hooked at the point and bearded at the base,
black plumage, a crest on the hind part of the head, the tail feathers
white at the tip, the two middle ones the longest, and the legs of great
length._
_This bird is about three feet in height, and, in its general appearance,
has some resemblance both to the eagle and the crane._
_It is an inhabitant of the interior of Africa, of some parts of Asia,
and several of the Asiatic islands._
As a destroyer of noxious reptiles and other injurious animals, the
secretary falcon is of great service to mankind. He attacks without fear
even the most poisonous serpents, approaching them with the point of one of
his wings, and either trampling them to death with his feet, or catching
them on the pinion of the other wing, and throwing them into the air
several times successively until they are dead.
This bird is easily domesticated, in which state he is not only serviceable
in destroying reptiles and serpents, but he might probably also be useful
in devouring rats and mice. Poultry of all kinds ought, however, to be kept
out of his way, or he would devour them also.
127. _The GENTIL FALCON_ (Falco gentilis, Fig. 31) _is a British bird of
prey about two feet in length, distinguished by its ash-coloured plumage,
with brown spots; the tail having four blackish bands, and the base of
the bill and the legs being of yellow colour._
_It inhabits several of the mountainous parts of Europe and North
America._
This was one of the several kinds of birds that were in great repute in
_falconry_; a sport which, some centuries ago, was pursued in all the
principal courts of Europe, and anterior to that by the ancient Greeks and
Romans. The estimation in which this sport was held may well be supposed
when it is stated that, at one period, scarcely any person of rank appeared
abroad without a hawk on his hand; and that, in old paintings, this
representation is considered even a criterion of nobility. The English laws
enacted for the preservation of falcons were so rigorous, that in the reign
of Edward the Third it was rendered felony to steal one of these birds; and
for a person to take the eggs, even in his own grounds, he was liable to be
imprisoned for a year and a day, besides a fine at the king's pleasure. The
falcons or hawks chiefly used in the British dominions, were the present
species, the _Peregrine falcon_ (_Falco peregrinus_), _Iceland falcon_
(_Falco islandus_), _Goshawk_ (_Falco palumbarius_), and _Gyrfalcon_
(_Falco candicans_). After the invention of gunpowder this sport fell
gradually into disuse; until, at length, hawks were discarded, and the
whole pleasure of killing feathered game was confined to shooting.
128. _OWLS are birds of prey, distinguishable by their round head, a
circular arrangement of feathers round each eye, the bill being hooked,
and the nostrils being covered with bristly feathers._
These birds are of great service to farmers by devouring mice and other
small animals, the uninterrupted increase of which would be extremely
injurious to the fruits of the harvest. The late Rev. Gilbert White, in his
Natural History of Selborne, states that he had paid considerable attention
to the manner of life of a pair of white owls, which constantly bred under
the eaves of the church. He says that, generally, about an hour before
sunset they sallied forth in quest of mice; that he has often minuted the
birds with his watch for an hour together, and found that the one or the
other of them returned to the nest about once in five minutes, with a mouse
in its claws.
Though serviceable in thus destroying mice, these birds also destroy young
rabbits, hares, and partridges, for which they are execrated by sportsmen;
and they sometimes enter pigeon-houses, where their ravenous propensities
cause them to commit great devastations.
129. _The GREAT or CINEREOUS SHRIKE_ (Lanius excubitor) _is a small bird
of prey, distinguished by having a straightish black bill with a notch in
each mandible near the end: the back hoary, the wings black, with a white
spot, and the tail white at the sides._
_There is likewise a black stripe on each side of the head, extending
backward from the base of the bill. The length of this bird is about
eight inches._
_It inhabits the woods of Europe and America._
Such are the courage and address of the cinereous shrike, that it is
capable of being trained to hawk for and catch small birds. We are informed
that Francis the First, king of France, was frequently in the habit of
chasing the smaller kinds of game with shrikes.
In some parts of the Continent where these birds are very numerous, they
are considered so useful, by waging continual war against rats and mice,
and destroying great numbers of noxious insects, that the farmers will not
allow them to be destroyed.
It is the singular propensity of the cinereous shrike to stick the insects
on which it feeds upon the thorny branches of trees, previously to eating
them. Even when confined in a cage, it often adopts a similar mode with
respect to its food, by sticking it against the wires.