457 



PANDION HALIAETUS. THE OSPREY. P. IKi. 



Having in October 1835 obtained a very beautiful 

 Osprey, recently killed, I am enabled to present a full- 

 er description of that bird than any that I have seen. 



The bill is shorter than the head, very strong, deep- 

 er than broad at the base. The upper mandible has 

 the cere narrow, the dorsal outline sloping a little as 

 far as the edge of the cere, the rest curved so as to 

 form nearly the third of a circle, the ridge broadly 

 convex, the sides of the cere sloping outwards, towards 

 the end erect and slightly convex, the edges soft as far 

 as the anterior extremity of the nostrils, beyond which 

 they are hard, sharp, direct, and nearly straight to the 

 curve of the tip, which is deflected, subtrigonal, acute, 

 perpendicular to the gape-line. The lower mandible 

 has the angle short, broad and rounded, the back broad 

 and flattened at the base, rounded towai'ds the end, the 

 sides of the crura sloping outwards, of the rest convex, 

 the edges at the base soft and inflected, the edge-line 

 rising from the base to the middle, then sloping gent- 

 ly, the tip obliquely truncate, rounded. 



Mouth of ordinary width ; palate flat, anteriorly 

 with a broad ridge, from the posterior part of which 

 laterally proceed two very prominent parallel soft 

 ridges, wider behind and slightly incurved, having on 

 their summit papillae directed backwards. From be- 

 hind the middle of each of these ridges there is a trans- 

 verse papillate edge proceeding inwards, and another 

 at its posterior extremity. Palatal slit linear-lanceo- 



Qq 



