ACCIPITRES. 



FALC0N1LLE. 



AQUILINE. 

 Genus ELANUS. 

 Bill weak, the tip considerably produced, margin slightly festooned. Nostrils oval, and 

 protected by the long loral bristles. Wings very long, reaching to or beyond the tip of the tail 

 when closed, the 2nd quill the longest, and the 1st and 3rd slightly shorter ; the distance between 

 the tips of the secondaries and those of the primaries almost equal to length of tail. Tail slightly 

 sinuated, or even at the tip. Tarsus short and stout, covered throughout with small reticulate 

 scales, its anterior portion feathered for more than half its length. Toes very strong and short, 

 inner toe very slightly longer than the outer one. Claws well curved, acute, and all but the 

 centre one rounded beneath. 



ELANUS CEEULEUS. 



(THE BLACK-SHOULDERED KITE.) 



Falco cceruleus, Desf. Mem. Acad. R. des Sciences, 1787, p. 503, pi. 15. 



Falco vociferans, Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 46 (1790). 



Falco melanopterus, Daud. Traite, ii. p. 152 (1800). 



Elanus ccesius, Savign. Syst. Ois. d'Egypte, p. 274 (1809). 



Elanus melanopterus, Leach, Zool. Misc. iii. p. 5, pi. 122 (1817) ; Gould, B. of Eur. i. pi. 31 



(1837) ; Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 26 (1845) ; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 115 ; Layard, Ann. 



& Mag. Nat. Hist. xii. 1853, p. 104; Jerdon, B. of Ind. i. p. 112 (1862); Layard, B. 



S. Afr. p. 26 (1867); Hume, Rough Notes, p. 338 (1870); Shelley, Ibis, 1871, p. 44; 



Holdsworth, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 415; Hume, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 21 ; Jerd. 'Nests and 



Eggs,' p. 56 (1873) ; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 10 ; Butler, Str. Feath. 1875, p. 449 ; Hume, 



Str. Feath. 1876, p. 462; Inglis, Str. Feath. 1877, p. 16. 

 Elanoides ccesius, Bonn, et Vieill. Enc. Meth. iii. p. 1206 (1823). 

 Buteo vociferus, Bon. et Vieill. Enc. Meth. iii. p. 1220. 

 Elanus mirtor, Bp. Consp. i. p. 22 (1850). 

 Elanus cceruleus, Strickl. Orn. Syn. p. 137 (1855); Shelley, B. of Egypt, p. 198 (1872) ; Sharpe, 



Cat. B. i. p. 336 ; Legge, Ibis, 1875, p. 279 ; Dresser, B. of Eur. pts. xxxv. xxxvi. (1875). 

 La Petite Buse criarde, Sonn. Voy. Ind. ii. p. 184 (1782). 

 Criard Falcon, Lath. Gen. Syn. Suppl. i. p. 38 (1787); Black-winged Kite, Europeans in 



India. 

 Kapasi, Hind. ; Chanwa, Nepalese ; Adavi Bamadasu, Tel., lit. " Jungle-Tern " {apiid Jerdon). 

 Wckussa, Sinhalese, "West Province. 



Adult male. Length to front of cere 11*4 to 12-0 ; culmen from cere 0-75 ; wing 10-4 to 108 ; tail 5-2 to 5-6 ; tarsus 

 1-3 to 1-4; mid toe 1-0 to 1-1 ; claw (straight) 0*5 to 06 ; height of bill at cere 035. The wings exceed the tail 

 in old birds. 



