o^o ACCIPITER NISUS. 



tant from the anus. The rectum is at first three-twelfths 

 in diameter, but towards the end one inch. 



The eyes are large ; the eyelids are furnished with 

 ciliary bristles on the margin ; the upper bare, with the 

 lachrymal bone prominent. Nostrils in the fore part 

 of the cere, oblique, oblong, broader behind. Aperture 

 of the ear round and rather large. 



The tarsi, which are anteriorly feathered for nearly 

 a third of their length, are rather long, slender, com- 

 pressed, broader behind than before. On their anterior 

 and outer part, is a long plate, obscurely marked with 

 eighteen scutella, of which the five lower are however 

 distinct ; the sides are covered with hexagonal scales, 

 those on the inner partially obliterated, the posterior 

 row large and scutelliform. In some individuals, the 

 anterior oblique scutella, as well as the hexagonal scales 

 of the sides, are so indistinct, that all traces of them 

 disappear when the parts become dry. The toes are 

 slender, the third and fourth connected at the base by 

 a web extending beyond the second joint of the latter, 

 and curving forward as far as that of the former ; the 

 first toe shortest, the second shorter than the fourth, 

 the third much longer. On the first toe are eight scu- 

 tella, on the second fourteen, on the tbird twenty-six, 

 on the fourth fourteen, and a few smaller scales at the 

 base. The claws are extremely attenuated towards the 

 point. 



The plumage of the upper parts is soft, but distinctly 

 imbricated ; of the lower softer and blended. The wings 

 are of moderate length, reaching beyond the middle of 

 the tail. The fourth quill is longest, the fifth scarcely 

 shorter, the third intermediate between the sixth and 



