CLASS IT. AYES: ORDEE 1. RAPTOEES. 
THE FORK-TAILED KITE. 
CON, H. hidentatus is found in Guiana and Brazil; it is brown above and ashy-gray be- 
neath ; its bill is short, and the upper mandible has two notches or teeth ; the body is a foot in 
length. This bird lives in the borders of woods, feeding on birds, reptiles, and small quadrupeds. 
In its babits it is rather indolent, its flight being slow and never prolonged. The other species 
is the Two-toothed Falcok, H. diodon. 
Genus lER AX : lerax. — Under this genus the British Museum Catalogue gives the following : 
the Bengal Falcon, /. ccerulescens, which we have noticed at page 24 ; the Silky Falcon, /. 
sericeus, and the White-naped Falcon, /. eutolmus. 
Genus jSTAUCLERUS : Nauclerus. — This includes the Swallow-tailed Hawk or Fork-Tail, 
JSf. f'urcatus ; it is twenty-five inches long ; the wings and tail black ; neck and under parts white ; 
the tail-feathers, twelve in number, are deeply forked, the lateral ones excessively elongated. It 
feeds on snakes, lizards, and frogs; it devours also grasshoppers, locusts, and wasps, making at- 
tacks on the nests of the latter. It builds its nest of dry sticks on the top of a tall oak or pine 
near a stream ; the eggs are four to six, and of a grayish-white. The male and female sit altern- 
ately. They feed on the Aving, and often soar to an immense height, their evolutions in the air 
being peculiarly graceful. This species is common in the Southern and Southwestern States, and 
also in the AVestern States, as far north as AYisconsin. It is also occasionally, but very rarely, 
found in Europe. It is migratory in this country, arriving in large flocks in April, at the same 
time uttering a sharp, plaintive cry ; it departs in September. 
There are two other species of this genus, one African, the other South American ; the latter, 
Elanoides yetapa^ resernbles the fork-tail above described, and is perhaps only a variety of it. 
Genus ICTINIA : Ictinia, — This includes two species. The Mississippi Kite, /, Mississippi- 
ensis, is fourteen inches in length, and has a spread of wing of three feet. The head and neck are 
hoary white, the back blackish-ash, the under parts whitish-ash ; the rump and tail are black, the 
latter slightly forked. It is found in the Southern and" Southwestern States, where it maybe 
seen sailing in large circles in the air in company with turkey-buzzards. 
The Spotted-tailed Hobby, /. plumbea, is a South American species, differing from the pre- 
ceding, but has often been confounded with it. 
Genus MILVUS : Milvus. — This includes several species, the most prominent of which is the 
Common Kite oe Europe — the Milan Royal of the French ; Nibhio of the Italians ; Bother-Mi- 
lan of the Germans — M. regalis. In some parts of England it is called Puttoch. Its length is 
twenty-six inches ; its color above dark brown ; rufous-brown below ; the tail long and deeply 
forked. It sails gracefully in the air, now describing circles, and anon with outspread tail remain- 
ing stationary. It pounces on its prey, consisting of moles, mice, leverets, rabbits, uufledged 
birds, and the young of the gallinaceous tribe especially. It was formerly a great scourge to the 
poultry-yard. It will also eat frogs, snakes, and fish. The uest, made of sticks and lined with 
soft materials, is usually built on the fork of a tree in a thick wood. The eggs are two, sometimes 
