54 NORTHERN ZOOLOGY. 



The short feathers covering the thighs and legs are pale wood-brown, with small longitudinal 

 marks. 



Form, &c. — Bill much curved, the arc less elliptical than that of the two preceding species. 

 It is considerably compressed, but has a rather obtuse, rounded ridge. The cutting edge of 

 the upper mandible is very slightly undulated, and the hooked point is rather short, though 

 strong. The gape is wide, the angle of the mouth extending under the orbit. The cere is 

 short when compared with that of the two preceding species, and it is partly concealed by 

 the swelling out of the feathers of the forehead. Nostrils large and roundish. Lores fur- 

 nished with black hairs, which are disposed in a stelliform manner over a dense covering of 

 white feathers. Eyebrows projecting. The plumage of the head is very compact, without 

 any indication of the ruff or facial circle, which exists in the following species. Wings falling 

 an inch short of the end of the tail. The third quill feather is the longest ; the fourth is 

 scarcely perceptibly shorter; the fifth is a quarter of an inch shorter; the second is rather 

 more than an inch and a quarter shorter than the third ; the sixth is an inch shorter than the 

 second, or more than two inches shorter than the fifth ; the seventh is an inch and a half 

 shorter than the sixth ; and the three following ones diminish half an inch each in succession. 

 The outer webs of the third, fourth, and fifth, are rather suddenly chamfered away: that of 

 the second is also narrowed, but so near the quills as to be scarcely evident. The inner webs 

 of the first to the fourth inclusive are strongly sinuated. The outer margins of the quill fea- 

 thers are close and even, not with the tips of the barbs reverted, as in the first wing feathers 

 of the Owls ; their inner margins, however, approach to those of the latter genus, in being 

 thinner and more detached than those of the other Buzzards or Harriers described in this 

 work. The tail is moderately rounded. The scapularies are rather long, and the belly is 

 clothed with unusually thick and long plumage : the under tail coverts are particularly downy. 

 The outer thigh feathers reach nearly to the feet. The tarsi are thickly clothed with short 

 feathers, which project over the roots of the toes. The toes are short and strong. The middle 

 one is the third of an inch longer than the others ; the remaining three differ little from each 

 other in length, but the hind one is the most robust and has the longest claw. The basal 

 halves of the toes are covered with small irregularly hexagonal scales ; the outer halves are 

 covered by shield-shaped transverse scales — five on the middle toe, four on the lateral ones, 

 and three on the hind one. The claws are black, not much curved, sharp, and grooved 

 beneath : the outer edge of the middle one is sharp. 



Dimensions. 



Inches. Lines. Inches. Lines. 



Length from the tip of the bill to the end of Length of the bill measured along its ridge 1 2 



the tail ..... 23 6 „ of the bill from the angle of the mouth 1 1 



„ of the tail .... 9 6 „ of the tarsus .... 2 7 



„ of the longest quill feather 15 6 „ of the middle toe ... 1 3 



