78 
THE SWALLOW-TAILED HAWK. 
Adult Female. 
The female differs little from the male in colour, and is not much larger. 
Length 15 inches. 
Genus VIII.— NAUCLERUS, Vig. SWALLOW-TAILED HAWK. 
Bill short, wide at the base, much compressed toward the end ; upper^ 
mandible with the dorsal line decurved from the base, the sides slightly ' 
convex, the edges with a slight festoon, the tip narrow and acute ; lower 
mandible- with the angle very wide, the dorsal line straightish, the tip 
rounded and declinate. Nostrils round, with a central papilla. Head 
rather large, roundish, flattened ; neck short ; body compact. Feet short ; 
tarsus very short, thick, scaly all round ; toes scutellate above, scabrous 
beneath, with pointed papillae; claws rather long' curved, acuminate. 
Plumage blended, glossy. Wings extremely long, pointed, the third quill 
longest ; secondaries short. Tail extremely long, very deeply forked. 
THE SWALLOW-TAILED HAWK. 
Nauci.erus furcatus, Linn. 
PLATE XV m.— Male 
The flight of this elegant species of Hawk is singularly beautiful and 
protracted. It move’s through the air with such ease and grace, that it is 
impossible for any individual, who takes the least pleasure in observing the 
manners of birds, not to be delighted by the sight of it whilst on wing. 
Gliding along in easy flappings, it rises in wide circles to an immense height, 
inclining in various ways its deeply forked tail, to assist the direction of its 
course, dives with the rapidity of lightning, and, suddenly checking itself, 
reascends, soars away, and is soon out of sight. At other times a flock of 
these birds, amounting to fifteen or twenty individuals, is seen hovering 
around the trees. They dive in rapid succession amongst the branches, 
glancing along the trunks, and seizing in their course the insects and small 
lizards of which they are in quest. Their motions are astonishingly rapid, 
and the deep curves which they describe, their sudden doublings and crossings, 
