1 66 ALLEN'S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY. 



cour's Kite (Naueltrus riocourt) is the representative in the 

 former continent, its place being taken in the New World by 

 the following. 



THE PIED SWALLOW-TAILED KITES. GENUS 

 ELANOIDES. 



Elanoides, Vieillot, N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. xxiv. p. 101 (1818). 

 Type, E. furcatus (L.). 



These birds, like the Eagles, have the feet bare, but they are 

 much weaker than in the last named group, and have not such 

 powerful talons. The nostril is oblique, and is generally 

 closed in by a membrane on its upper margin, so that the 

 nasal aperture becomes almost linear in character. The tail 

 is very long and distinctly forked, the outer tail-feather being 

 the longest. The wing is also of great length and even ex- 

 ceeds the tail in dimensions. 



I. THE SWALLOW-TAILED KITE. ELANOIDES FURCATUS. 



Fa Ico furcatus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 129 (1766). 



Nauclerus furcatus, Macg. Brit. B. iii. p. 277 (1840); Newton, 



ed. Yarr. Br. B. i. p. 103 (1871) ; B. O. U. List Brit. B. 



p. 100 (1883). 

 Elanoides furcatus, Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 317 (1874) ; 



Seebohm Br. B. i. p. 63 (1883); Saunders, Man. Brit. 



B. p. 328, note (1889). 



(Plate XLV1I.) 



Adult Male. General colour above black, varied with shades 

 of purple or green, according to the light ; mantle and lesser 

 wing-coverts deep velvety-black ; wings and tail externally light 

 slaty-grey, with a slight gloss of purple or bronzy-green, the latter 

 tint especially developed on the two centre tail-feathers ; head 

 and neck all round white, as well as the hinder part of the back 

 and rump ; the entire under surface of the body pure white ; 

 upper wing-coverts white at the base, shaded with grey, and 

 glossed with green ; under wing-coverts and bases of inner 

 secondaries white ; bill dark horn-blue ; feet light milk-blue ; 

 iris rich dark reddish-brown. Total length, 2 1 inches ; culmen, 

 i'o; wing, 17-0; tail, 13*0; tarsus, 1-4. 



