208 
ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS. 
H. destructor. P. C. 14. maculosa. Vieil. O. A 3. bis. 
(Tfe. 185.) occipitalis. Ois. d’Af. pi. 2. 
Guianensis. Daudin. ornatus. Ib. 26. 
urubitinga. PI. Col. 55. albescens. Ib. 3. 
Gypogebanus, Illiger. Secretary, Legs remarkably 
long, and formed for walking. Bill shorter than the 
head, large, strong, hooked, curved nearly from its 
base, which is covered with a cere. Nostrils rather 
removed from the base of the bill, lateral ; the aperture 
piercing the cere, diagonal, oblong, and open. Feet 
very long, slender. Thighs feathered. Tarsus long, more 
slender at the base than at the upper part. Toes short ; 
the anterior united at their base by a membrane ; hind 
toe articulated at the tarsus. Wings long ; the five 
first quills the longest, and nearly equal. Shoulders 
armed with an obtuse spine. — {Temminck, Mali.) 
G. serpciitarius. Ois. d’Af. 25. South Afiica. 
Circa'etus, Vieillot. Bill robust, rather straight at its 
base ; convex above, compressed on the sides : cutting 
margin of the upper mandible nearly straight, the ti]) 
hooked; under mandible straight, the tip obtuse. 
Nostrils oval, transverse. Tarsi naked, thick, and 
lengthened, covered with reticulated scales. Toes 
rather short ; the hinder and the lateral toes nearly 
equal. Claws rather short, nearly of equal length, and 
but slightly curved; the anterior and the posterior 
the strongest. W ings long ; the third quill the longest. 
{Vieil.) The rank of this form seems to be sub- 
generic to the last : M. Vieillot intimates two species. 
C. citiercus. Vieil. GaK pi. 12. 
SijBFAM. CYMINDINiE. Kites. 
Form slender. Bill rather shorty the cutting margin 
sinuatedj but neither toothed nor festooned i the tip very 
acute, and considerably hooked and lengthened. Feet, 
(typically) weak, very short; the tarsus not much longer 
than the hind toe and its claw ; soles broail, destitute of 
pads ; lateral toes equal. Brings long ; the third and 
fourth quill longest. Inhabits chiefly America. 
