FALCONIDiE, DIURNAL BIRDS OF PKEV. GEN. 152-156. 211 



I 152. Gemis ROSTRHAMUS Lesson. 

 "' Everglade Kile. Adult $ blackish ; coverts and base of tail feathers 

 white ; cere and feet yellow ; bill and claws black ; iris red ; 16-18 ; wing 

 13|-15J; tail 6^-7J, emargiuate ; bill about 1, extremely slender and with 

 a long hook ; tarsi scutellate in frout, the bare part shorter than the middle 

 toe ; claws very long, gently curved. 9 and young brown, more or less 

 variegated with fulvous and whitish. Florida, and southward. Cass, in Bd., 

 38; Maynard, Birds of Florida, pis. i, v (in press; best account of the 

 bird extant) sociabilis. 



153. Genus ICTINIA Vieillot. 



? 3; -■ Mississijypi Kite. Plumbeous, paler on the head and under parts, black- 

 ening on wings and tail; quills suffused with rich chestnut; sexes alike; 

 young varied with rusty and whitish; 14—15; wing 11— 12, pointed ; tail 

 6-6J, nearly square. Bill very short and deep, the comniissure with promi- 

 nent festoon ; nostrils small, circular ; tarsus short, scutellate anteriorly ; 

 outer aud middle toe webbed ; claws short, stout, flattened beneath. S. At- 

 lantic and Gulf States, N. to Illinois {Midgivay). Wils., iii, 80, pi. 25, 

 f. 1 ; NuTT., i, 92 ; Aud., i, 73, pi. 17 ; Cass, in Bd., 37. mississippiensis. 



154. Genus ELANUS Savigny. 



7 'f, t WJiite-tailed Kite. Blaclc-shouldeved Kile. Head, tail and under parts 

 white ; back cinereous ; most of the wing coverts black ; bill black ; legs 

 yellow ; young variegated with brown above, the head aud tail ashy. Rather 

 larger than the last ; nostrils nearly circular ; tarsi reticulate, feathered above 

 in front ; outer toe scarcely webbed ; claws rounded underneath ; tail emar- 

 giuate, but outer feather shorter than the next. South Atlantic and Gulf 

 States, California, aud southward, chiefly coastwise. Nutt., i, 93; Aud., i, 

 70, pi. 16; Cass, in Bd., 37 ; Coop., 488 leucueus. 



155. Genus NAUCLERUS Vigors. 



"y^l, I StvaUoio-tailed Kite. Head, neck and under parts, white; back, wings 

 and tail, lustrous black. Tail a foot or more long, deeply forficate ; wing 

 15-18, pointed ; feet small, greeuish-blue ; claws pale; tarsi reticulate aud 

 feathered half way down in front ; toes hardly webbed ; nostrils broadly 

 oval. A beautiful bird, common iu the South Atlantic aud Gulf States, in 

 its extensive wanderings sometimes reaching the Middle districts, aud in the 

 interior penetrating to Wisconsin (iZby), Missouri (Ooues) and even Min- 

 nesota (lat. 470 ; Trijjpe). Wils., vi, 70, pi. 51, f. 3 ; Nutt., i, 95 ; Aud., 

 i, 78, pi. 18; Cass, in Bd., 36 fuecatus. 



156. Genus ACCIPITER Brisson. 



*^* Tarsus feathered but little way clown iu front (in geii. 157 the feathering 

 reaches half way to the toes) ; toes long, slender, much webbed at base and padded 



