14 NORTHERN ZOOLOGY. 



brown for one-third of their length, and the others have an intermediate quantity. The brown 

 does not join the white in an even line across the tail, as in Wilson's figure, but runs into a 

 peak along the shafts of the more exterior feathers; while in the central ones the reverse is 

 the case, the white being prolonged, on the shaft, into the brown. There are some white 

 feathers about the vent. Bill soiled bluish-grey. Cere yellow. Iris hair-brown. Feet 

 yellowish. Claws black. 



Form, &c. — The bill, strong and much hooked at the point, is compressed, with its sides 

 inclined so as to produce a narrow, but not acute, ridge. There is a very obtuse lobe on the 

 cutting margin of the mandible, posterior to the commencement of the hook. The nostrils 

 are small, of an oval form, and have a transverse direction. The space between the orbit and 

 nostrils is covered with black hairs arranged in a radiated manner. The eyebrow is prominent 

 and the crown of the head flattened. The wings are shorter than the tail. The fifth quill 

 feather is the longest ; the fourth nearly equals it ; the third is equal to the sixth ; the second 

 is intermediate between the sixth and seventh ; and the first is a little longer than the eighth, 

 but considerably shorter than the seventh.* The first six have their inner webs suddenly, and 

 their outer webs, with the exception of the first, obliquely sinuated. In the first feather the sinu- 

 ation commences near the base, but in each succeeding one it is nearer the point, being, in the 

 fourth, about the middle, and in the sixth near the tip. The tail is rounded. The tarsi are 

 short and strong, and are closely covered to the root of the toes with short brownish-white fea- 

 thers : the outer thigh feathers hang down to the soles of the feet. The toes are short, strong, 

 and are protected above by three transverse large scales adjoining the claws, their bases being 

 reticulated with small scales. The middle toe is the longest ; the lateral ones are equal to 

 each other and a little longer than the hind toe, which is the most robust. A short web con- 

 nects the middle and outer toes. The claws are strong, much curved, grooved beneath, and 

 sharp-pointed : the middle one has a deep, sharp-edged furrow on its inner side. The hind 

 claw and the inner one are much larger than the other two. 



Dimensions 

 Of the specimen before it was set up. 



Inches. Lines. Inches. Lines. 



Length from point of the bill to the end of Length of the bill along the curve of its 



the tail 42 ridge 2 3 



Extent between the tips of the wings . CO 



Length of the tail .... 



„ longest quill feather . .22 



„ bill from the angle of the 



mouth ...... 2 8 



tarsus .... 4 



middle toe ... 3 5 



hind claw ... 2 5 



ditto, following its curvature 3 



middle claw . . 1 6 



The mature British F. chrymetos has a dark blackish-brown tail and wings, 

 blackish-brown back, clouded with brownish- black, and a paler and brighter brown 

 head. I have not seen an American one in this state. 



* As might be expected in immature birds, differences in the relative lengths of the quill feathers are observable in 

 the Ring tailed Eagles. In a specimen from the Rocky Mountains, in the Hudson's Bay Museum, the fourth quill 

 feather is the longest, and the third and fifth nearly equal it, the remainder having the proportions of those mentioned 

 in the text. 



