BIRDS WHICH HAVE HOOKED TALONS

Latine · Mayhoff 1906

uncos ungues habentes omnino non congregantur et sibi quaeque praedantur. sunt autem omnes fere altivolae praeter nocturnas, et magis maiores. omnibus alae grandes, corpus exiguum. ambulant difficulter; in petris raro consistunt curvatura unguium prohibente.

English · Bostock & Riley 1855–57

Many birds of this kind feed also on acorns and fruit, but only those which are not carnivorous, with the exception of the kite; though when it feeds on anything but flesh, it is a bird of ill omen.

The birds which have hooked talons are never gregarious; each one seeks its prey by itself. They nearly all of them soar to a great height, with the exception of the birds of the night, and more especially those of larger size. They all have large wings, and a small body; they walk with difficulty, and rarely settle upon stones, being prevented from doing so by the curved shape of their talons.