PERNIS. BEE-HAWK. 253 



jection small. Aperture of ear large, transversely elliptical. 

 Legs short, robust ; tarsi very short, strong, roundish, covered 

 with feathers for half their length in front, on the rest of their 

 extent with flat hexagonal scales, of which the anterior are large. 

 Toes of moderate length, strong, the first stouter, the fourth 

 most slender, and connected with the third at the base by a 

 pretty large web ; all covered above with transverse series of 

 scales, and toward the end with scutella, beneath with round- 

 ish, prominent, hard papillae. Claws long, rather slender, 

 arcuate, less curved than in any other British genus, tapering, 

 acute, rather compressed, laterally somewhat convex, with a 

 slight groove, concave beneath ; those of the first and second 

 toes nearly equal and strongest, the third longest, and having 

 an inner sharp edge. 



Plumage compact, soft, slightly glossed. Cere bare, being 

 destitute of bristles ; feathers on the fore-part of the head, 

 cheeks, loral space, and chin, very small, ovato-oblong, obtuse, 

 compact ; those on the rest of the head oblong, of the hind-neck 

 ovate, of the rest of the upper parts broad and rounded, of the 

 fore-neck and breast oblong ; the feathers of the abdomen and 

 tibiae more compact than usual ; the outer tibial feathers elon- 

 gated ; the lower tail-coverts very long and compact. Wings 

 very long, broad, rounded, of twenty-three or twenty-five quills, 

 of which the third is longest, the outer five abruptly cut out 

 on the inner web ; all the rest rounded, with a minute tip. 

 Tail long, broad, even or slightly emarginate, but at the sides 

 rounded, of twelve broad, acuminate feathers. 



This genus, of which the species are not numerous, appears 

 to be intermediate between Buteo and Milvus, and in the 

 general form and short strong tarsi to approximate to Pandion. 

 It is distinguished from Buteo by having the bill longer, the 

 cere broader, the feet much shorter and stronger, the tarsi des- 

 titute of scutella, the wings and tail much longer. From 

 Milvus it differs in having the bill more slender, the feet much 

 stouter, the tarsi not scutellate, the tail not forked. From all 

 the genera of this family it is distinguished by the imbricated, 

 compact, scale-like feathers on the parts about the base of the 

 bill. 



