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Order I. ACCIPITRES. 



Family TI. Falconid^;. 



The second Subfamily, 



BUTEONINiE, or Buzzards, 



have the Bill short, broad at the base, with the culmen much curved to the tip, which is acute, and the 

 lateral margins festooned ; the cere covering more than the basal half of the bill ; the Wings long, with 

 the third and fourth quills generally the longest; the Tarsi lengthened, generally naked, and covered 

 both in front and behind with broad transverse scales ; and the Toes, including the hind one, rather 

 short. 



Buteo Cuv* 



Bill short, broad at the base, laterally compressed to the tip, with the culmen much curved from the 

 base, which is broad, and rather flattened above ; the lateral margins festooned ; the nostrils large, oval ; 

 and the lores clothed with hairy feathers. Wings very long, with the third and fourth quills the 

 longest, and the inner and outer webs of some of the quills obliquely notched. Tail moderate, and even 

 at its end. Tarsi lengthened, naked, covered with transverse scales before and behind; but at the apex 

 and on the sides with small scales. Toes rather short, with the three anterior ones united at their base ; 

 the hind toe equal in length with the inner, and both strong, and armed with a long powerful curved 

 claw ; the base of the toes covered with small scales, and the apex with broad transverse ones. 



These birds have a heavy and indolent appearance, and generally inhabit woods and forests, being found in most 

 parts of the world. Their flight, which is sometimes performed during twilight, is easy and buoyant ; and is generally 

 taken in extensive sweeps, over meadows and marshes, near the surface of the ground. Small birds, quadrupeds, 

 and reptiles form their food, which they either seize while flying, or strike upon the ground from the top of a tree or 

 hillock from whence they have been watching. They breed in woods, though sometimes on rocks and the sides of deep 

 ravines, forming their nests of sticks, lined, with wool, hay, &c, and occasionally occupy the nests of other birds. The 

 eo-o-s are two or three in number. 



1. B. vulgaris Bechst. PI. enl. 419- — Falco buteo Linn.; F. 

 glaucopis Merr. ; F. variegatus, F. versicolor, F. cinereus, et F. 

 obsoletus Gmel. ; Buteo mutans, et B. fasciatus Vieill. ; Accipiter 

 buteo Pall. ; F. pogana Savi ; B. vulgaris japonicus Temm. <%• Schl. ; 

 Fauna Japon. t. 6. ?, Gould, B. of Eur. i. pi. 14. ; Buteo capensis 

 Temm. § SchL 



2. B. rufinus (Riipp.) Kaup, Fauna Abyss, t. 7. — Buteo cane- 

 scens Hodgs. ; B. longipes Jerd. ; B. rufiventris Jerd. 



3. B. jackal (Daud.) Cuv. Levaill. Ois. d'Afr. t. 16'. 



4. B. augur Riipp. Fauna Abyss, t. 16. — Falco hydro phihis 

 Riipp., Fauna Abyss, t. 17. 



5. B. plumipes Hodgs. Sport. Mag. Beng. 1836. p. 182. 



6. B. borcalis (Gmel.) Vieill. Wils. Amer. Orn. pi. 52. f. 1, 2.— 

 Falco Leverianus Gmel. ; F. ferrugineocauda Vieill. ; Buteo 

 americanus et B. fulvus Vieill. ; F. jamaicensis Gmel. ; Accipiter 

 ruflcaudus Vieill. ; B. vulgaris Richard. <y Sw. ; B. Swainsoni P>: 

 Bonap. ; B. montanus Nutt. ; B. ventralis Gould ; F. Harlani 

 Audub. B. of Amer. pi. 86., Vieill. Ois. de l'Amer. Septr. t. 6. 



* This division was established by Cuvier {Anatomic Comparee) in 1799 or 1800; and it embraces Mr. Gould's genus Craxirex (1838), 

 Pmcitopternis (1847), Tachytriorchis (1845), Gypsoictinia (1845), and Leucopternis (1847) of Dr. Kaup. 



