/.. 



Order I. ACCIPITRES. 



The second Family, 



FALCONID^, or Falcons, 



have the Bill partly covered at the base by a cere, compressed on the sides, and the culmen curved 

 from the cere to the tip, which is hooked and acute ; the lateral margins either toothed or festooned ; 

 the Wings long and pointed ; the Tail moderate and broad ; the Tarsi and Toes of various lengths and 

 strong ; and the Claws long, curved, and acute, especially those of the inner and hind toes. The head 

 and neck are covered with feathers, and the eyes placed laterally, deeply sunk, and protected by a bony 

 brow. 



The first Subfamily, 



POLYBORIKE, or Caracaras, 



have the Bill compressed on the sides, slightly hooked at the tip, and the lateral margins slightly fes- 

 tooned ; the Wings long, with the third to the fifth quills the longest ; the Tarsi long, slender, and 

 covered with irregular scales ; the Toes moderate and strongly scaled above, and all armed with strong 

 acute claws. 



Ibycter Vieill* 



Bill moderate, slender, with the culmen gradually curved to the tip, which is slightly hooked, the 

 sides much compressed, the lateral margins slightly sinuated; the nostrils lateral, placed in the fore 

 part of the cere, large, and more or less rounded. Wings long, pointed, with the fourth quill the 

 longest. Tail lengthened, broad, and rounded at the end. Tarsi about the length of the middle toe, 

 feathered below the knee, covered with large irregular scales in front, and with small ones behind and 

 on the sides. Toes lengthened, strongly scaled above, the inner stronger and shorter than the outer, 

 and all armed with long curved claws. The lores, sides of the head, and throat, denuded of feathers. 



The species are peculiar to the warmer parts of South America. Scarcely any thing is known with certainty of their 

 habits ; except that one of them has been stated by Sonnini to feed on berries, seeds, fruits, and insects, and, further, to 

 reside in the solitary forests, living in troops in company with Toucans. 





1. I. aquilinus (Gmel.) PL enl. 417. — Falco formosus Lath. ; 

 F. nudicollis Daud. ; Ibycter leucogaster Vieill. Gal. des Oiseaux, 

 t. 6. 



2. I. ater (Vieill.) Vieill. Analyse, p. 68., Gal. des Ois. t. 5. — Dap- 



trius aterrimus Temm. PI. col. 37. 342. ; Type of Daptrius Vieill. 

 (1816). 



3. I. faseiatus (Spix), Spix Av. Bras. t. 4. — Gymnops strigi- 

 latus Spix, Av. Bras. t. 4. a. 



Milvago Spix.\ 



Bill moderate, the culmen gradually curved to the tip, which is slightly hooked, the sides much com- 

 pressed, and the lateral margins sinuated ; the nostrils exposed, rounded, with an elevated bony tubercle 



* Established by Vieillot {Analyse, p. 22.) in 1816, along with Daptrius which is coequal; as is also Gymnops of Spix {Av. Bras.), 

 1824. 



f Spix in 1824 {Av. Bras. 1. p. 12.) established this genus, for which three other names have been proposed, viz. Phalcobcenus of 

 MM. Lafr. et D'Orb. {Syst. Av.), 1837 ; Parasifalco of M. Lesson, 1837 ; and Senex of Mr. Gray, 1839. 



