14 



ON A SPECIES 



At the gape it has great breadth which rapidly diminishes towards 

 the hook ; but still the lateral compression is no where more than slight, 

 so that the sides of the bill have throughout a considerable convexity. The 

 inner margins of the bill are entire. The lower mandible is rounded 

 beneath, and slightly and obliquely truncated at its tip. 



The cere is large. The fore angle of the eye is the focus of a set of 

 hairs which thence diverge, chiefly forwards, covering the cere as far as 

 the nostrils exclusively. The rest of the cere is naked. 



There are a few hairs under the lower mandible : none at the gape. 

 The nostrils are placed very forward in the cere. They are cleft trans- 

 versely and near to the perpendicular : in shape, like the outer margin 

 of the human ear, which form I suppose to be that styled lunation by 



Zoologists. 



The eyes have a strong brow, from under the shade of which they 

 glance terrifically. 



The tarsi are short, very strong, and feathered to the toes. The toes 

 are of moderate length, unequal, stout, reticulated, with two or three large 

 scales at the roots of the talons. The talons are exceedingly strong, 

 large, much hooked, moderately acute, flat within, and unequal, the hind 

 one, and internal fore one being much larger than the central fore one, and 

 still more so than the external fore one. 



The wings are long, reaching within three inches of the end of a tail 

 that is upwards of a foot long. The great quills are strongly emarginated 

 within — fourth quill longest. The tail is moderate, even, consisting of 

 twelve nearly equal feathers. The feathers of the head and neck are 



