MILVUS ELANUS. 65 



a. Tail forked. 



Of this group I have examined F. milvus, F. ater, and F.furcatus. The type of the group 

 is perfectly represented in them all ; they also possess lumbar tracts, although these are narrow. 

 In F. milvus and F. ater the fourth, and in F. furcatus the third, primary is the longest. 



b. Tail truncated. 



To this position I refer F . pondicerianus, which agrees perfectly with F. milvus in the rest of 

 its organization, and differs from it even in its pterylosis only in the absence of the lumbar 

 tracts. F. phimbeus (Ictinia VIEILL. TEMM., PL Col., ISO young), cannot be so decidedly 

 placed here ; yet it differs pterylographically only in having the outer branch of the inferior tract 

 more closely approximated to the main stem. Its wings are exactly as in F. milvus ; the fourth 

 primary is but little longer than the third, which, like the two preceding ones, has a slight emar- 

 gination. In all, there are twenty-three remiges, and the lumbar tract is present. The tooth in 

 the beak, which characterises this species, is also indicated in F. pondicerianus and the True 

 Kites. 



10. ELANUS. 



Judging from an examination of F. melanopterus (TEMM., PL Col., 85 adult, 319 young), 

 the pterylosis fully justifies the separation of this group from the preceding. 



The gular portion of the inferior tract is very narrow, and its inner branch remarkably long. 

 The outer branch of the pectoral stem is connected for three fourths of its length with the main 

 stem, and then separates very perceptibly from it. The dorsal portion of the spinal tract does 

 not reach the fork of the scapular portion, but two rows of single feathers, which run parallel to 

 it, attain the fork. Immediately on the outside of these rows of feathers the two large, elliptical 

 powder-down-tracts, which are pointed behind, commence; these reach to the lumbar tracts, 

 which consist of only one row of small feathers. The wings contain twenty-jive remiges, of 

 which only the first has a true angular emargination, and is a little shorter than the second, which 

 is the longest. The well-known, remarkably soft, silky nature of the plumage conduces not a 

 little to the pterylographic difference between this group and the preceding one. 



11. 



I regard as the representative of a distinct group the remarkable F. lophotcs (TEMM., PL Col., 

 10), referred by Cuvier to the True Falcons, with which it has certainly nothing to do 1 . Pterylo- 

 graphically, it closely approaches the preceding Falcons, especially in the outer branch of the 

 inferior tract being separated only at the extremity, and in the similarly situated distinct powder- 

 down-tracts. But the wings are short, and contain twenty-four remiges, of which the first are 



1 This genus is now usually termed Baza, having been so named by Hodgson in 1836. P. L. S. 



9 



