CLASS IT. AVES: ORDER 1. RAPTORES. 29 



THE FORK-TAILED KITE. 



CON, H. bidentuhis is found in Guiana and Brazil ; it is brown above and asliy-gray be- 

 neath ; its bill is short, and the upper mandible has two notches or teeth ; the body is a foot in 

 length. This bird lives in the borders of woods, feeding on birds, reptiles, and small quadrupeds. 

 In its habits it is rather indolent, its flight being slow and never prolonged. The other species 

 is the Two-TOOTHED Falcon, H. diodon. 



Oenus lERAX : Icrax. — Under this genus the British Museum Catalogue gives the following: 

 the Bengal Falcon, /. cocrulescens, which we have noticed at page 24 ; the Silky Falcon, /. 

 sericcus, and the White-naped Falcon, /. eutolmus. 



Genus NAUCLERUS : Nauclcrus, — This includes the Swallow-tailed Hawk or Fork-Tail, 

 N.furcatus ; it is twenty-five inches long ; the wings and tail black ; neck and under parts white ; 

 the tail-feathers, twelve in number, are deeply forked, the lateral ones excessively elongated. It 

 feeds on snakes, lizards, and frogs ; it devours also grasshoppers, locusts, and wasps, making at- 

 tacks on the nests of the latter. It builds its nest of dry sticks on the top of a tall oak or pine 

 near a stream ; the eggs are four to six, and of a grayish-white. The male and female sit altern- 

 ately. They feed on the w'ing, and often soar to an immense height, their evolutions in the air 

 being peculiarly graceful. This species is common in the Southern and Southwestern States, and 

 also in the Western States, as far north as Wisconsin. It is also occasionally, but very rarely, 

 found in Europe. It is migratory in this country, arriving in large flocks in April, at the same 

 time uttering a sharp, plaintive cry ; it departs in September. 



There are two other species of this genus, one African, the other South American ; the latter, 

 Elanoides yetapa, resembles the fork-tail above described, and is perhaps only a variety of it. 



Genus ICTINIA : Ictinia. — This includes two species. The Mississippi Kite, /. Mississippi- 

 ensis, is fourteen inches in length, and has a spread of wing of three feet. The head and neck are 

 hoary white, the back blackish-ash, the under parts whitish-ash ; the rump and tail are black, the 

 latter slightly forked. It is found in the Southern and Southwestern States, where it may be 

 seen sailing in large circles in the air in company with turkey-buzzards. 



The Spotted-tailed Hobby, I. plumbca, is a South American species, diflfering from the pre- 

 ceding, but has often been confounded with it. 



Genus MILVUS : Milvus. — This includes several species, the most prominent of which is the 

 Common Kite of Europe — the Milan Royal of the French ; Nibhio of the Italians ; Rother-Mi- 

 lan of the Germans — M. regalis. In some parts of England it is called Puttock. Its length is 

 twenty-six inches ; its color above dark brown ; rufous-brown below ; the tail long and deeply 

 forked. It sails gracefully in the air, now describing circles, and anon with outspread tail remain- 

 ing stationary. It pounces on its prey, consisting of moles, mice, leverets, rabbits, unfledged 

 birds, and the young of the gallinaceous tribe especially. It was formerly a great scourge to the 

 poultry-yard. It will also eat frogs, snakes, and fish. The nest, made of sticks and lined with 

 soft materials, is usually built on the fork of a tree in a thick wood. The eggs are two, sometimes 



