192 'NOKTII AMERICAN BIRDS. 



Naucleriis forflcatus, (Lix>?.) IJnxiWAY. 



SWALLOW-TAILED HAWK; FOEK-TAILED KITE. 



AccipUcr Cauda furcata, CatksI!Y, Carolin.a, I, pi. iv, 1754. Falco forficatus, Lixs. Syst. 

 Nat. 1, 89, 1758. Falco furcaius, LiSN. Syst. Nat. p. 129, 1766. — Penx. Arct. 

 Zobl. p. 210, No. 108, pi. X. — Gmei,. Syst. Nat. p. 262. Nauchrus forficatns, Ridg- 

 WAY, p. A. N. S. Pliil. Dec. 1870, 144. — Daud. Tr. Oiii. II, 152. —Shaw, 

 Nat. Misc. pi. cciv; Zoijl. VII, 107. — WiLS. Am. Oni. pi. li, f. 3, 1808. — AuD. 

 Birds Am. pi. 72, 1831 ; Orii. Biog. I, 368 ; V, 371. — Boxap. Ann. Lye. N. Y. II, 

 31; Isis, 1832, 1138. Mih-us furcatus, Vieill. Ois. Am. Sept. pi. x, 1807. Ela- 

 noides f ureal us, Gkay, List B. Brit. Mus. p. 44, 1844. — Stkickl. Orn. Syn. I, 141, 

 1855. — Owen, Ibis, II, 1860, 240 (habits). Nauchrus furcntus, Vig. ZooI. Journ. 

 II, 387 ; Isis, 1830, p. 1043. — Less. Man. Om. I, 101 ; Tr. Orn. p. 73. — Swaixs. 

 Classif. B. I, 312 ; II, 210, 1837. — Boxap. List, p. 4 ; Cat. Uce. Eur. p. 20 ; Consp. 

 Av. p. 21. — Gould, B. Eur. pi. xxx. — Aud. Sj-nop. p. 14, 1839. — Rrcil. Schomb. 

 lleis. Brit. Guian. p. 735. -De Kay, Zobl. N. Y. II, p. 12, pi. vii, f. 15. — Gkay, 

 Gen. B. fol. sp. 1, pi. ix, f. 9; Gen. & Subgen. Brit. Mus. p. 6. — BiiEW. (\Vii,s.) 

 Synop. Am. Orn. p. 685. — WooDll. Sitgr. Exp. Zufii & Colorado, p. 60. — Kaup, 

 Monog. Falconidffi, Cont. Orn. 1850, p. 57. — Breweu, Oology, I, 1857, 38. — Cas.s. 

 Birds N. Am. 1858, 36. — CouEs, Prod. Orn. Ariz. 1866, p. 12. — Dkesser, Ibis, 1865, 

 525 (Texas, nesting). — Gray, Hand List, I, 27, 1869. Elanus furcatus, Vio. Zobl. 

 Journ. 1, 340. — Steph. Zobl. Xlll, pi. ii, p. 49. — Cuv. Rfcg. An. (ed. 2), I, p. 334. — 

 James. (Wils.) Am. Orn. I, 75. — Jakd. (Wils.) Am. Orn. II, 275. — Jakd. Orn. 

 Eur. p. 29. — NuTT. Man. p. 94. Accipiter milvus carolincnsis, Briss. Om. I, 418, 

 1760. Elanoides yetapa, Vieill. Enc. Meth. Ill, 1205, 1823. 



Bp. C'liAit. Adult, male .ind female. Whole head and neck, lining: of Avings, broad 

 band acros-s the rump, and entire lower parts, pure white. Inter.scapulars and lesser 

 wing-covorts, rich, dark, soft, bronzed purplish-black. Rest of n]iper parts, including 

 lower part of rutnp, upper tail-coverts, and tail, more metallic slaty-black, feathers some- 

 what greenish basally, more bluish terminally, with a pecvdiar, soft milky appearance, 

 and with very smooth compact surface. Tertials almost entirely white, black only at tips. 

 White on under side of wing occupying all the coverts, and the basal half of tlic secon- 

 daries. Wing, 15.40 - 17.70 ; tail, 12.50 - 14.50 ; tarsus, 1.00 - 1.30 ; middle toe, 1.15 - 1.20. 



Younger. Similar, but with the beautiful soft purplish-bronzed black of shoulders and 

 back less conspicuously difl'ei-eut fi'om the more metallic tints of other upper parts. 

 yottn(7 (youngest ? 18,457, Cantonment Burgwyn, New Mexico). The black above less 

 slaty, vifith a brownish cast, and with a quite decided gloss of bottle-green ; secondaries, 

 primary coverts, primaries, and tail-feathers finely margined terminally with white. 

 Feathers of the head and neck with fine .shaft-lines of black. 



IIais. Whole of South and Middle America, and southern United States ; very rarely 

 northward on Atlantic coast to Pennsylvania ; along the Mississippi V.alley to Minnesota 

 and Wi.scon.sin ; breeding in Towa (Sioux City) and Illinois; exceedingly abundant in 

 August in southern portion of the latter State; Cuba; accidental in England. 



Localities : Guatemala (Sci.. Tbis. I, 217) ; Cuba (Cab. Journ. II, Ixxxiii) ; Brazil (Cab. 

 Jonrn. V, 41) ; Panama (Lawu. VII, 1861, 289) ; N. Texas (Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 325, 

 conmion, breeding) ; Veragua (Sai.v. 1867, 158); Costa Rica (I>awr. IX, I.'U) ; Minnesota 

 (thirty miles north of Mille Lac, lat. 47° ; Trippe, Birds of Minn., Pr. Es.sex Inst. VI, 

 1871, p. 113). 



A ])aiv markod as from England (.j(i,099. ?, and .30,100, i, "in Englaiid 

 geschosscn"; Schliiter Collection') aiv smallev tliaii \.\w avcra.ge "f .Vnierican 



