FALCONING. PANDION. 43 



wide, the dorsal line convex, the tip obliquely truncate and 

 rounded. Mouth rather wide ; tongue short, emarginate and 

 finely papillate at the base, concave above, rounded ; 03so- 

 phagus very wide, with a large crop ; proventriculus wide ; 

 stomach large, round, with the muscular coat thin ; intestine 

 extremely long and slender, forming very numerous convo- 

 lutions ; coeca very short ; cloaca very large and globular. 

 Nostrils oblong, oblique. Eyes of moderate size, without 

 projecting superciliary ridge. Aperture of ear rather small, 

 and roundish. Head ovate, of moderate size ; neck of mode- 

 rate length ; body compact. Feet very robust ; tibiae long 

 and muscular ; tarsi very short, thick, covered all round with 

 imbricated scales, of which the posterior are pointed ; toes 

 thick, strong, free ; the fourth versatile and longer than the 

 second, all with a few broad scutella at the end, the scales 

 on the sides, and especially on the lower surface, rising into 

 a conical central point, some of them on the inner side of 

 the outer toe being so prominent as to resemble short spines ; 

 claws long, rather slender, well curved, rounded above and 

 beneath, with the sides flattened, and the tip very acute ; 

 those of the hind and outer toes largest. Plumage compact ; 

 the feathers on the head and neck tapering, on the body 

 broad and rounded ; on the tibia short, slender, and rather 

 soft, without the outer elongated tuft seen in the Eagles, 

 Buzzards, and most other genera. Wings extremely long, 

 comparatively narrow, rounded, with the first quill longer 

 than the fifth, the third longest. Tail rather long, a little 

 rounded, shorter than the folded wings. 



This genus is easily distinguished by the extreme elonga- 

 tion of the intestine, the convexity of the claws beneath, 

 the want of a tuft of feathers on the outer side of the tibia, 

 the conical form of the scales on the lower surface and sides 

 of the toes, and the great length of the wings. The Ospreys 

 feed chiefly on fish, which they seize as they approach the 

 surface. 



6. PANDION HALIAETUS. FISHING OSPREY. 



Adult with the bill bluish-black, the cere light blue, the 

 feet pale greyish-blue ; the plumage above deep umber-brown, 

 the upper part of the head and neck white, the middle of the 



