ACCIPITRES. 121 



those whose tarsi are higher and scutellated; but the transitions from one 

 division to the other are almost insensible. 



F. nisus, Lin. (The Common Sparrowhawk.) Coloured like the Goshawk, 

 but its legs are longer, and it is a third less in size. It is employed, however, 

 by falconers. 



MILVUS, Bechstein. 



The Kites have short tarsi, and weak toes and nails, which, added to a 

 beak equally disproportioned to their size, render them the most cowardly 

 species of the whole genus ; they are distinguished by their excessively long 

 wings, and their forked tail, which give them great powers of flight. 



F. furcatus, Lin. (The Fork-tailed Kite.) White ; wings and tail black ; 

 the two external quills of the latter very long ; larger than the preceding. It 

 attacks reptiles. 



PERNIS, Cuvier. 



The Honey-Buzzards, with the weak beak of the Kites, have a very pecu- 

 liar character in the space between the eye and the beak, which, in all the 

 rest of the genus Falco, is naked, and simply furnished with a few hairs, but 

 in these it is covered with a dense plumage, the feathers of which are cut like 

 scales, their tarsi are half feathered above and reticulated : their tail is equal, 

 wings long, and their beak curved from its base like all those which follow. 



BUTEO, Bechstein. 



The Buzzards have long wings ; the tail equal ; the beak curved from its 

 base ; the space between it and the eyes naked ; the feet strong. 



CIRCUS, Bechstein, 



The Harriers differ from the Buzzards in their elevated tarsi, and in a 

 kind of collar on each side of their neck, formed by the tips of the feathers 

 which cover their ears. Finally, the 



SERPENTARIUS, Cuvier. 



The Snake-Eater or Secretary, is an African bird of prey, whose tarsi are 

 at least double the length of those of the preceding ones, which caused some 

 naturalists to place it among the Grallatoriae, or Waders ; but its legs, com- 

 pletely invested with feathers, its hooked and cleft beak, projecting eye-lids, 

 and all its anatomical details place it in the present order. It inhabits the 

 dry and open grounds in the vicinity of the Cape, where it hunts reptiles on 

 foot ; its claws consequently become much worn. Its chief strength lies in 

 the leg. 



