FALCONINJE. PANDION. 
43 
wide, the dorsal line convex, the tip obliquely truncate and 
rounded. Mouth rather wide ; tongue short, emarginate and 
finely papillate at the base, concave above, rounded ; oeso- 
phagus very wide, with a large crop ; proventriculus wide ; 
stomach large, round, with the muscular coat thin ; intestine 
extremely long and slender, forming very numerous convo- 
lutions ; coeca very short ; cloaca very large and globular. 
Nostrils oblong, oblique. Eyes of moderate size, without 
projecting superciliary ridge. Aperture of ear rather small, 
and roundish. Head ovate, of moderate size ; neck of mode- 
rate length ; body compact. Feet very robust ; tibiae long 
and muscular ; tarsi very short, thick, covered all round with 
imbricated scales, of which the posterior are pointed ; toes 
thick, strong, free ; the fourth versatile and longer than the 
second, all with a few broad scutella at the end, the scales 
on the sides, and especially on the lower surface, rising into 
a conical central point, some of them on the inner side of 
the outer toe being so prominent as to resemble short spines ; 
claws long, rather slender, well curved, rounded above and 
beneath, with the sides flattened, and the tip very acute ; 
those of the hind and outer toes largest. Plumage compact ; 
the feathers on the head and neck tapering, on the body 
broad and rounded ; on the tibia short, slender, and rather 
soft, without the outer elongated tuft seen in the Eagles, 
Buzzards, and most other genera. Wings extremely long, 
comparatively narrow, rounded, with the first quill longer 
than the fifth, the third longest. Tail rather long, a little 
rounded, shorter than the folded wings. 
This genus is easily distinguished by the extreme elonga- 
tion of the intestine, the convexity of the claws beneath, 
the want of a tuft of feathers on the outer side of the tibia, 
the conical form of the scales on the lower surface and sides 
of the toes, and the great length of the wings. The Ospreys 
feed chiefly on fish, which they seize as they approach the 
surface. 
6. Pandion Haliaetus. Fishing Osprey. 
Adult with the bill bluish-black, the cere light blue, the 
feet pale greyish-blue ; the plumage above deep umber-brown, 
the upper part of the head and neck white, the middle of the 
