Page:Natural History, Birds.djvu/29



The structure and habits of the Falcons display the highest development of the destructive faculty. The feet are eminently formed for striking and trussing, and the beak for dissecting their prey, which, with scarcely an exception, consists of living animals; and for the pursuit and conquest of, these, the birds before us are endowed with vigorous limbs; the wings being for the most part long, dense, and capable of powerful flight, and the feet strong and muscular, and armed with formidable talons. In almost all cases they obtain their prey by the exercise of their own energies, either striking it down upon the wing, or pouncing upon it on the ground: all the vertebrated animals that they can overcome and kill are their victims, though some species are more restricted in their choice than others, and a few even feed upon large insects. In a state of freedom no rapacious bird would eat any other than animal food, and if it were placed in circumstances where this could not be obtained, it would probably die of hunger, rather than voluntarily have recourse to any other diet. Yet the experiments of John Hunter prove that there is no physical impossibility in the case. "That the Hawk-tribe can be made to feed upon bread, I have known," says that distinguished anatomist, "these thirty years; for to a tame Kite I first gave fat, which it ate readily; then tallow and butter; and afterwards small balls of bread rolled