Genus — E L A N U S . 
Elanus Savigny, Descr. Egypt Hist. Nat., Vol. I., 
p. 69, 1809 . . . . . . . . , . . . T^pe E. cceruleus. 
Small Aquiline birds with short bills, long wings, long tails, and short 
almost feathered legs and small feet. 
The bill is short and sharply pointed with a large cere ; the nostrils are 
circular, and the bristles of the lores extend over but do not completely 
cover them ; the lower edges of the upper-mandible are sinuated but only 
slightly. The wing is long with the first 'primary long, only slightly shorter 
than the third and not much exceeded by the second which is longest. 
This wing formation is unique in the family Aquilidse, as far as Australian 
birds are concerned. 
The tail is long and square and about half the length of the wing. 
The feet are short and stout, feathered on the front two-thirds of 
their length but naked behind : the scaling consists entirely of reticulate 
scales. The toes are short. 
Superficially the birds of this genus are recognisable at sight by their 
coloration and size, but structurally the wing-formation just as definitely 
determines them, while osteologically they are just as distinctly marked. 
Thus, from the most casual observation, they correlate well with no other 
Aquiline bird, and osteological examination shows peculiarities also^ well 
marked. 
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