INTRODUCTION. xxiii 
hooked at the tip; under mandible blunt, and shorter than the upper. 
Nostrils near the middle of the beak, elongated, longitudinal. Head and 
neck partly bare of feathers. Wings rather pointed, the third quill the 
longest. Tail of fourteen feathers. Tarsus reticulated ; three toes before, 
one behind ; anterior toes united at the base (p. 313). 
Family FALCONIDAL 
Circus, Lacéféde.—Bill small, bending from the base, compressed and elevated ; 
cutting-edges of the upper mandible with a slight festoon. Cere large. 
Nostrils oval, partly concealed by the hairs radiating from the lores. Lower 
part of the head surrounded by a ruff of small thick-set feathers. Wings 
long ; the first quill very short, the third and fourth the longest. Tail long. 
Tarsus long, slender, and naked; toes rather short, and not very unequal ; 
claws slightly curved, and very sharp (p. 315). 
ButeEo, Lacépede.—Bill rather small and weak, bending from the base, part of 
the cutting edges of the upper mandible slightly projecting; cere large; 
nostrils oval. Wings with the first quill short, about equal in length to the 
seventh, the fourth the longest; the first four feathers with the inner edge 
deeply notched. Tarsus short, strong, usually scaled, but occasionally 
feathered and reticulated ; toes short, claws strong (p. 321). 
AQuiLa, Srisson.—Bill strong, of moderate length, curved from the cere, 
pointed, the cutting edges nearly straight. Nostrils oval, lateral, directed 
obliquely downward and backward, or sometimes circular. Wings large and 
long, the fourth quill the longest. Tarsus feathered to the junction of the 
toes, hind surface reticulated ; toes strong, the last phalanx of each toe 
covered by large scales ; claws hooked (p. 325). 
HALIAETUS, Savigny.—Bill elongated, strong, straight at the base, curving in a 
regular arc in advance of the cere to the tip and forming a deep hook, upper 
ridge broad and rather flattened. Nostrils oval, perpendicular. Wings 
ample, the fourth quill the longest. Tarsus feathered to the joint ; the front 
of the naked part scutellated, and the sides and back reticulated. Toes 
divided to their origin ; claws strong and hooked, grooved beneath ; the claw 
of the hind toe larger than that of the inner, which again exceeds either 
of the others (p. 329). 
Astur, Lacépféde.—Bill short, bending from the base ; cutting edge of the upper 
mandible forming a festoon. Nostrils oval. Wings short, reaching only to 
the middle of the tail-feathers, the fourth quill the longest. Tarsus stout, 
covered in front with broad scales. Toes moderate; the middle toe some- 
what the longest, the lateral toes nearly equal, but the inner claws consider- 
ably larger than the outer claw (p. 331). 
AccIPITER, Srzsson.—Bill bending from the base, short, compressed, superior 
ridge rounded and narrow, cutting margin of the upper mandible with a 
distinct festoon. Nostrils oval. Wings short; the fourth and fifth quill- 
feathers nearly equal in length, and the longest. Tarsus long, slender, and 
smooth. Toes long and slender, particularly the middle toe ; claws curved 
and sharp (p. 333)- 
Mixvus, Lacépede.—Bill straight at the base, curved from the cere to the point, 
cutting margin with a slight festoon. WNostrils oval, oblique. Wings long, 
the third or fourth quill the longest. Tail long and forked. Tarsus short. 
