110 PANDION. 



form in diameter, slightly wider at the upper end, and 

 considerably dilated at the lower. 



Nostrils oblong-, broader above, slightly curved, 

 oblique, lateral. Eyes large, without a projecting eye- 

 brow; eyelids edged with bristly feathers. Aperture 

 of the ear roundish, rather large. 



Head not remarkably large, ovate ; neck rather long-, 

 and somewhat slender ; body of moderate bulk, not so 

 robust as in the eagles ; wings very long. Legs of 

 great strength, and moderately long ; tibise long and 

 muscular ; tarsi very short, thick, rounded, covered all 

 round with imbricated scales, of which the anterior are 

 larger and flat, the posterior smaller, and having the 

 upper angle elevated into a point ; toes thick, strong, 

 free, the fourth or outer versatile, and larger than the 

 second, all covered with imbricated scales, of which 

 those on the sides, and especially beneath, rise towards 

 their centre into a conical point ; on the inner side of 

 the outer toe, some of them being so prominent as to 

 resemble short spines ; towards the end above are a few 

 broad scutella. Claws long, rather slender, very acute, 

 curved into a semicircle, rounded above and beneath, 

 the sides flattened, those of the first and fourth toes 

 largest, that of the middle toe with an inner projecting 

 edge and internal flat surface. 



Plumage compact. Cere for the most part bare ; 

 eyelids feathered; space between the bill and eye 

 sparsely covered with bristly feathers. Feathers of 

 the head and neck compact, rather short, narrow, and 

 tapering ; of the back broad, rounded, but acuminate, as 

 are those of the breast ; the abdominal feathers softer 

 and more elongated. Tibial feathers short, slender, 



