the old writers, and to Sir John Sebright as the best of the | among the water-fowl. Mr. Ord states that the ducks modern authors on the subject. (See Sir John's Observa- which are struck by it are lacerated from the neck to the tions on Hawking.) Nest. On high rocks. In Britain, Mr. Yarrell states that the Peregrine builds on various parts of the coast, more frequently in Scotland than in England. The eggs are from two to four in number, about two inches long by one inch and eight lines in breadth, mottled all over with pale reddish brown. Mr. Selby notices their eyrie at St. Abb's Head. It was from this locality that the late Mr. Baird of Newbyth usually obtained his cast of Hawks, for each of which he gave the persons who undertook the peril of climbing the rock one guinea. Other localities for the nest in Britain are the cliffs between Freshwater Gate and the lighthouse near the Needles. Devonshire and Cornwall, where it is called Cliff Hawk. Holyhead and the Great Orme's Head. (Yarrell.) Rocky coast of Caernarvonshire. (Pennant.) Rocky situations inland and marine in Ireland. (Thompson quoted by Yarrell.) Vale of Moffat in Dumfriesshire, the Bass Rock, and the isle of May, in the Forth. (Sir Wm. Jardine.) rump; it gives the blow in passing, and returns to pick up its bird. Port Famine, straits of Magalhaens. (Captain King.) New Holland. (Vigors and Horsfield.) Cape of Good Hope. (Dr. A. Smith.) Prince Bonaparte notes it as rare, and as seen only in winter near Rome, and as rare and casual near Philadelphia. Dr. Smith (South African Museum, No. 94) says that the bird so numbered, though it does not exhibit exactly the plumage of the Peregrine Hawk of Europe, yet approaches it so closely, that it might be considered as attempting too great a refinement to class it as a different species. Mr. Vigors observes that Cuvier has separated the Falco Islandicus of Latham from the rest of the true Falcons, under the generic title of Hierofalco, which he characterizes as possessing no tooth on the upper mandible, but a rounded prominence in the centre, and in which he observes that the wings considerably fall short of the tail in length. In this opinion Mr. Vigors does not acquiesce. He cites Localities.-All the mountainous countries of Europe, examples of the Jerfalcon in its different stages of growth, particularly on rocks; very rare in champaign countries; and in none did he perceive any material difference between never found in marshy districts; abundant in Germany its bill and that of the true Falcons. He adds that he feels and France; sufficiently common in England and Holland; much hesitation in advancing the above opinion, not merely rare in Switzerland. (Temminck.) Shetland Isles, where on account of the known accuracy of Cuvier, but on account it breeds; Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Lapland, and Green- of some facts that had then lately come to his knowledge. land. (Yarrell.) Uralian and Siberian mountains. (Pen- He mentions a specimen in the British Museum, in which nant.) Dr. Richardson, who describes an old male from the mandible accords exactly with Cuvier's description-'Il Melville Peninsula, lat. 68° N., says (Fauna Boreali-Ameri- n'a qu'un feston comme celui des ignobles. In several cana), The Peregrine being a rare bird in the wooded dis- specimens from the arctic regions, however, in the same tricts of the fur countries where the trading posts are esta- collection, he found the tooth. After referring to the blished, I did not procure a specimen on the late expedi- figures quoted by Cuvier, and their discrepancies, he intions; but I have frequently seen it whilst on the march quires whether it may not be possible that there are two across the Barren Grounds. Of the two specimens figured species. He cannot think that the character itself is variby Edwards, one was from Hudson's Bay and the other able, or that Cuvier would have adopted one which must was caught off the entrance of Hudson's Straits. Captain have been known to him as such, even from the plates. Parry likewise brought home several male and female In no specimen of a true falcon,' says Mr. Vigors, have I specimens from Melville Peninsula, some of which are pre-seen the slightest alteration of the tooth, except by accident.' served in the British Museum. It is a summer visitor of the northern parts of America, and frequents the coasts of Hudson's Bay and the Arctic Sea, with the Barren Grounds, but is very seldom seen in the interior. It preys habitually on the long-tailed ducks (Anas glacialis), which breed in great numbers in the Arctic regions, arriving in June and departing in September. Captain Parry observed it, in his second voyage, following flocks of the snowbunting on the coast of Greenland, near Cape Farewell. It frequents the shores of New Jersey and Pennsylvania in the winter, and is celebrated there for the havoc it makes Falco peregrinus Our limits will not permit us to do more than hint at the other species of Falco. F. chicquera, Himalaya Mountains (Gould), Deccan (Sykes), South Africa (Smith), seems to be the nearest in typical points to the Peregrine Falcon. The following Falcones, besides F. peregrinus and F. chicquera, are in the catalogue of the South African Museum; biarmicus, rupicolus, rupicoloides, subbuteo, and Swainsonii: F. tinnunculus, the Kestrel, inhabits Asia and Africa, as well as Europe, and is very abundant in the Dukhun (Deccan). (Sykes, Abbott.) 4th. Sub-family, Buteonina (Buzzards). Beak moderate, hooked from the base. Tail equal. The sub-family of the Buzzards agrees, in the opinion of Mr. Vigors, with the last in the length of the wings, and the bill being bent from the base, and differs from it by a weaker and somewhat more elongated bill, by the third or fourth quill-feather being longest, and more particularly by the absence of a tooth on the upper mandible. A gradation seems, however, as Mr. Vigors observes, to soften down these differences, and there is an approximation to the teeth of the falcons in the first genus of the sub-family. Ictinia (Vieillot). Beak short. Upper mandible subdentated, lower notched. Tarsi short and weak. Acrotarsia scutellated. Wings long. Third quill longest. the Mr. Vigors states that this genus is founded upon Milan Cresserele of M. Vieillot, and has a strong and short bill, the upper mandible of which is somewhat angularly festooned, and the under distinctly notched. The nares are rounded as in the Falcons; the tarsi are rather short and feathered below the knees, and the acrotarsia scutellated. The wings are of considerable length, extending far beyond the tail; a character which induced M. Vieillot and others to place the bird near the Kites. Its strong affinity however to the last sub-family, of which it possesses so many of the characteristics, inclines Mr. Vigors to assign it its present situation. In manners, he adds, it seems also to ap proach the falcons; and he remarks that if we consider the Missisippi Kite of Wilson to belong to the present group of Vieillot, of which Mr. Vigors has little doubt, we must at tribute to the bird before us, judging from the interesting description in the American Ornithology, much of those spirited and generous qualities which we admire in the typical groups of the family. Example, Ictinia plumbea. (Falco plumbeus of Latham.) Description.-Back and wings slate-blue; head and belly whitish, spotted with brown. Iris fine red. Habits. Said to fly to a great height, where it remains a long time poised or stationary, and cleaves the air with rapidity in order to seize the great insects which are its prey, independently of reptiles and birds. Locality, America. Head and foot of Ictinia plumbea. Circus (of Authors). Beak moderate. Nostrils sub-oval. Tarsi elongated. Acrotarsia scutellated. Toes generally short. Third quill longest. Sides of the head furnished with a circle of feathers, very like the capital disk of the owls. This genus, says Mr. Vigors, exhibits still a slight approximation to the last groups in the structure of the upper mandible, which has a rounded protuberance towards the middle, similar to that of the Hawks. They are distinguished from the rest of the buzzards by their elevated and slender tarsi, which are covered with feathers for some space below the knee, and of which the acrotarsia are scutellated. The nares are sub-oval and transverse on the cere, and the third quill-feathers are the longest. It includes, according to Mr. Vigors, the European species F. æruginosus of Aldrovandus, and F. pygargus of Linnæus, to which, he says, may be added, F. acoli and F. melanoleucos of Daudin, together with some newly described species. Example, Circus aeruginosus. Description. This is the Harpaye, Busard Harpaye, and Busard de Marais of the French; Falco castagnolo and Falco con la testa bianca (young birds), Falco albanella con il collare (old), of the Italians; Schwartz-brauner, Fisch-Geyer mit dem gelben Kopf, Brauner rohr Geyer, Brandweihe, Wasserweihe, and Sumpfweihe, of the Germans; Moor-Buzzard, Marsh-Harrier, Duck-Hawk, Harpy, and White-headed Harpy of the modern, and Bod y gwerni, of the antient British. Adult Male (third moult).-Beak bluish black, with a slight festoon on the cutting edge; cere and irides yellow; top of the head, cheeks, and nape of the neck, yellowish white, tinged with rufous and streaked with dark brown; back, wing-coverts, and tertials, dark reddish brown with lighter margins; primaries brownish black; secondaries and tail-feathers ash-grey. After the third moult.-Wing-coverts and tertials become in addition, partially or entirely ash-grey; wing primaries slate-grey; chin and throat nearly white; breast rufous, streaked longitudinally with dark brown; belly, thighs, and under tail-coverts reddish-brown, each feather streaked with dark brown; legs long, slender, and yellow; toes yellow; claws sharp and black. Second year.-Head, neck, chin, and throat dull yellow, with an occasional patch of the same colour on the carpus, or anterior point of the wing. (Bewick's figure.) Young of the year.-All the plumage chocolate brown; feathers tipped with lighter reddish brown; irides darker than in the adult; legs and feet as in old birds. Length from twenty-one to twenty-three inches, depending on the sex. (Yarrell.) Habits. Food. - Reproduction. The moor-buzzard, when in pursuit of game, flies low, and will, so to speak, beat a moor, or other piece of ground, with the regularity almost of a well-trained pointer. Young rabbits, small quadrupeds, birds, especially water-birds, reptiles, and even fish, are its prey. Sometimes it will sit on the look-out on a stone or low bush. Nest.-Generally on the ground, in a tuft of rushes, or coarse grass, or furze, and composed of rushes, or rank grass, and small sticks. Latham says that it will sometimes build its nest in the fork of a large tree, but that the instance is rare. Eggs, three or four, oval, rather pointed at one end, two inches and one line in length, one inch six lines in breadth (Yarrell). Locality.-Denmark, Norway, Sweden, south of Russia, Germany, France, Holland, Spain, Italy, Turkey. In all countries where there are marshes, very abundant in Holland; rare in the south, migratory in the autumn (Temminck); common in the marshes near Rome, but only young birds, and migratory (Bonaparte); Trebizond (Abbott), Ganges, between Calcutta and Benares, &c. (James Franklin). Europe, India, Africa (Gould). Smyrna (Strickland). The Moor Buzzard may be seen in most parts of England and Wales favourable to its habits. It occurs in Scotland and the Hebrides, and Mr. Thompson notes it as existing in several counties of Ireland from Cork to Antrim. Mr. Vigors observes that the sub-family of Buzzards is that which of all the Falconidae approaches nearest to the family of the owls (Strigida). In their dull and slothful habits, their heavy flight, and indeed their whole appearance, these contiguous groups evince, he remarks, a general resemblance indicating a corresponding inferiority in the qualities which distinguish the birds of prey. The soft and loose texture of the plumage of both presents a similar affinity, and he adds that Circus, in particular, furnishes us with a still further and more intimate point of resemblance. The feathers that cover the cheeks and ears form, as he says, a sort of rounded collar that rises on each side of the face; thus exhibiting a conformity to the disk, or circular erection of the face-feathers so conspicuous in the owls. Beak moderate. Lore covered with serrated feathers. Tarsi moderate, semi-plumed. Acrotarsia reticulated. Third quill longest. Mr. Vigors observes that Pernis is distinguished by the singular character of the lorum, that surrounds the eye, being covered with feathers, instead of being naked as in the other Falconidae, or furnished only with hairs. In other respects also, he states, the genus differs from that of Buteo which follows. Its acrotarsia are reticulated, and, like Circus, it has the third quill the longest. The nares are similar to those of Buteo. Falco apivorus of Linnæus, the Honey Buzzard, and a corresponding species from Java, F. ptilorhynchus of Temminck, form, he adds, the typical species of the genus. Example, Pernis apivorus. Description.-The Honey Buzzard is La Bondrée and Buse Bondrée of the French; Wespen-Busard of the Germans; Frosch-geyerl of Kramer; Slag-hok of the Fauna Suecica;' Muse-Haeg and Muse-Baage of Brunnich; and Bod y mel of the antient British. Old male.-Space between the eye and the beak covered with small serried feathers. Top of the head very pure ashy-blue; upper parts of the body brown, more or less ashy; secondaries barred alternately with blackish blue and grey blue; tail with three bands of blackish brown, at unequal distances; throat yellowish white with brown spots; neck and belly marked with triangular brown spots on a whitish ground; cere deep ash; interior of beak, iris and feet yellow. Length about two feet. Female and young.-Ashy-blue on the forehead only; front of the neck marked with great spots of bright brown; breast and belly yellowish red with deeper spots; under surface of the body often whitish with reddish brown spots. Young of the year.-Cere yellow; iris bright brown; head spotted with white and brown; under part of the body reddish white with great brown spots; feathers of the upper parts bordered with reddish. (Temminck.) 6 Habits-Food-Reproduction.-The Honey Buzzard feeds on field-mice, moles, mice, hamsters, birds, reptiles, wasps and other insects. (Temminck.) Examinations,' says Mr. Yarrel in his 'British Birds,' 'have usually proved the food to have been the larvae of bees and wasps, to obtain which the receptacles containing them are scratched out and broken up in the manner described by Sir William Jardine. In one instance, in the case of a Honey Buzzard kept in confinement, I was told that it killed and ate rats, as well as birds of considerable size, with great ease and good appetite.' The same author records that the stomach of a specimen killed in the north of Ireland and examined by Mr. Thompson of Belfast, contained a few of the larvæ and some fragments of perfect coleopterous insects; several whitish coloured hairy caterpillars; the pupa of a species of butterfly, and also of the six-spot hornet moth. Willughby says, In the stomach and guts of that we dissected we found a huge number of green caterpillars of that sort called Geometræ, many also of the common green caterpillars and others.' White's specimen had in its stomach limbs of frogs, and many grey snails without shells. Willughby says that it runs very swiftly like a hen. Vieillot states that it seldom flies, except from one tree to another, or from bush to bush, and then always low, and that it runs on the ground with great rapidity like the common fowls. Nest on a lofty tree in a wood or forest. White mentions one on a tall slender beech near the middle of Selborne Hanger. Willughby says, 'It builds its nest of small twigs, laying upon them wool, and upon the wool its eggs. We saw one that made use of an old Kite's nest to breed in, and that fed its young with the nympha of wasps; for in the nest we found the combs of wasps' nests, and in the stomachs of the young the limbs and fragments of Wasp-maggots. There were in the nest only two young ones, covered with white down spotted with black. Their feet were of a pale yellow, their bills between the nostrils and the head white. Their craws large, in which were Lizards, Frogs, &c. In the crop of one of them we found two Lizards entire, 1836. with their heads lying towards the bird s mouth, as if they sought to creep out.' The same author says that the eggs are cinereous, marked with darker spots. The egg mentioned by White was smaller and not so round as those of the common Buzzard, dotted at each end with small red spots, and surrounded in the middle with a broad blood-red zone. Pennant mentions two blotched over with two shades of red, somewhat darker than those of the Kestrel. The eggs of the Honey Buzzard,' writes Mr. Yarrell, are rare: I have only seen three or four specimens, one of which answered to the description given by White, the colouring matter being confined to a broad band round the middle. One specimen in my collection resembles those mentioned by Pennant, being mottled nearly all over with two shades of orange brown: long diameter 2 inches 1 line; transverse diameter 1 inch 9 lines.' Locality. Oriental (countries; very rare and accidental in Holland; more abundant in France in the Vosges and in the south, a bird of passage (Temminck). Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Russia, Germany, France, Italy and the south of Europe generally (Yarrell and authors by him quoted). Skins received from India (Gould). In Britain the bird has been obtained in Suffolk, Norfolk, and along the eastern coast as far north as Northumberland, and in several western counties, including Dorsetshire, Devonshire, and Worcestershire. Rare in Cumberland, accordding to Dr. Heysham, who had only met with one specimen, and was told that it bred in the woods at Lowther. Mr. Thompson mentions one killed in the North of Ireland, and Mr. Macgillivray two as having occurred in Scotland. Buffon and others, Belon among the rest, say that it gets very fat in winter and is then good eating. Head and foot of Pernis aviporus. Buteo (of Authors). Their tarsi are either Beak moderate, rather weak. Nostrils somewhat rounded. Tarsi short. Acrotarsia scutellated. Fourth quill longest. Mr. Vigors remarks that the true Buzzards are known by their comparatively feeble bill, their short tarsi, and scutellated acrotarsia. Their nares are round and their fourth quill-feather the longest. plumed to the toes or half-way covered with feathers. Of those whose tarsi are completely feathered, F. lagopus of Linnæus is the type, according to Mr. Vigors, and F. deser torum of Daudin appears to appertain to it; of those birds whose tarsi are but half plumed he gives Buteo vulgaris, the Common Buzzard, as an example, and remarks that the genus is very numerous in species, and that the form is very generally to be observed over the globe. Description.-Buteo vulgaris is the Falco Buteo of LinAddress to the members of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club; September, glaucopis of Merrem; La Buse of the French; Falco botnæus Buteo of Gesner; Falco variegatus of Gmelin; F taone and Pojana of the Italians; Mause Falk and Wald Geyer of the Germans; Quidfogel of the 'Fauna Suecica; Oerne Falk of Brunnich; and Bod teircaill of the antient British. The whole length of the Common Buzzard is from 20 to 22 inches, depending on the sex,-the females, as in the Falconidae generally, being the largest. From the habit of seeking food late in the evening, observed in this species, and also in the Rough-legged Buzzard, and in the softer and more downy texture of the feathers, as compared with the plumage of the true Falcons, the Buzzards are considered as indicating an approach to the Owls. The beak is bluish black, darkest in colour towards the point; the cere yellow, the irides generally yellow; but, as the Common Buzzard and indeed all the Buzzards are subject to considerable variation in the colour of their plumage, the irides are observed to vary also, presenting some reference to the prevailing tone of the colour of the feathers. The upper part of the head, occiput, and cheeks, pale brown, streaked longitudinally with darker brown; the whole of the back, wing-coverts, upper tail-coverts and upper surface of the tail feathers dark clove-brown, the latter barred with lighter brown, the feathers of the former-named parts having lighter-coloured edges; the wing primaries brownish black; the chin and throat almost white; front of the neck, breast, under wing-coverts, belly, and thighs grayish white, barred transversely with dark wood-brown; legs and toes yellow; the claws black.' (Yarrell.) Varieties.-Falco albidus, Gmel. Falco versicolor, Gmel. Weisslicher Busard, Borkh. Deut. Orn. (Temminck.) Habits-Food-Reproduction.-The flight of the Buzzard is slow, and it generally remains perched on some tree in the wooded districts patiently waiting for its prey, viz. small quadrupeds, birds, and reptiles, and even earth-worms and insects. It may be seen sometimes soaring in circles, but not often, and does not pursue its game but pounces at it when on the ground. Its nature is slothful and cowardly, but its philoprogenitiveness appears to be great. The cock buzzard will hatch and bring up the young if the hen is killed (Ray), and, among other instances, Mr. Yarrell records one of a female buzzard kept in the garden of the Chequers Inn, at Uxbridge, which showing an inclination a few years back to make a nest and sit, was supplied with materials and two hen's eggs, which she hatched and afterwards reared the chicks. Since that time she has hatched and brought up a brood of chickens every year. Once they put down chicks just hatched to her to save her the labour of sitting, but she killed them all. Her family, says Mr. Yarrell, in June, 1831, consisted of nine; the original number were ten, but one had been lost. When flesh was given her she was very assiduous in tearing and offering it as food for her nurslings, and appeared uneasy if, after taking small portions from her, they turned away to pick up grain. (British Birds,' where there is an elegant vignette of the bird and her foster family.) Indeed the young remain with the old birds some little time after they quit the nest, contrary to the usage of other birds of prey, which generally drive away their young as soon as they can fly. Nest.-In Scotland, where the bird is said to be bolder, on rocks or on the edges-of steep scars or beds of torrents. (Macgillivray.) In England, the buzzard builds (or sometimes takes to a nest) in the fork of a tree in a wood. The eggs are generally three, sometimes four, short oval, two inches three lines in length by one inch ten lines in breadth, of a soiled white, slightly spotted with pale brown. (Yarrell.) Locality. Common in all the wooded countries of Europe; very abundant in Holland. (Temminck.) It is wellknown, says Mr. Yarrell, over the wooded parts of the Continent of Europe, south of Russia, and inhabits Spain and Italy, passing over the Mediterranean to North Africa: but Trebizond, Smyrna, and Madeira appear to be its limits to the southward. Prince Bonaparte notes it as very common near Rome. In several parts of Ireland it is common (Thompson); not very plentiful in Scotland, nor does it appear in the lists of the birds of Orkney and Shetland, by the Rev. Mr. Low and Mr. Dunn, though it occurs in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Russia. Mr. Gould, in noticing the Trebizond birds presented to the Zool. Soc. by Mr. Keith Abbott, among which it was, observes that it was not previously observed in Asia, although there is a nearly allied species in the Himalaya mountains, and that it had not then been noticed in Africa. (Zool. Proc. 1834.) In England, though lately more rare, it is still far from un common. P. C., No. 618. Dr. Richardson ('Fauna Boreali-Americana') states that the Common Buzzard arrives in the fur countries in the middle of April, very soon afterwards begins to build its nest, and, having reared its young, departs about the end of September. It haunts the low alluvial points of land which stretch out under the high banks of a river, and may be observed for a long time motionless on the bough of a tree watching for some small quadruped, bird, or reptile to pass within its reach. As soon as it espies its prey, it glides silently into the air, and, sweeping easily but rapidly down, seizes it in its claws. When disturbed, it makes a short circuit, and soon settles on another perch. One of Dr. Richardson's specimens had two middle-sized toads in its crop. It builds its nest, according to the Doctor, on a tree, of short sticks, lining it with deer's hair. The eggs are, he says, from three to five in number, and he remarks that it was seen by the expedition as far north as the 57th parallel, and that it most probably has a still higher range. He gives a description of two; one a male, shot on the 17th June, at the nest, which contained three eggs, on the plains of the Saskatchewan; and another, a female, killed at the nest also, near Carlton, May 22. Elanus. (Savigny.) Beak moderate, weak, compressed. Tursi short, semiplumed. Acrotarsia reticulated. Claws, with the excep tion of the middle one, rounded internally. Second quill longest. First and second quills strongly notched internally. Example, Elanus melanopterus. Black-winged SwallowHawk. Description.-This is the Fulco melanopterus of Daudin; E. cæsius of Savigny; and Le Blac of Le Vaillant. Size of a Sparrow-Hawk. Plumage soft and silky, tail a little forked. Above ash-coloured, quills blackish, beak and VOL. X.-2 B shoulders black. Below white. Feet yellow. Habits.-The bird is said to live principally upon insects which it captures on the wing. Locality-Common in Africa from Egypt to the Cape. There is a specimen in the South African Museum. Savigny speaks of it as being in great abundance in Syria, Egypt, and Barbary. Cranch (Tuckey's expedition) saw great numbers at the mouth of the Congo, and some were sent home from thence. Lesson says that it occurs in New Holland. It is noticed among the birds collected by Major James Franklin on the banks of the Ganges, and in the mountain-chain of Upper Hindostan. Tarsi reticulated. Tail principally white. | large prairies of the Attacapas and Oppellausas it is extremely common. In the states of Louisiana and Mississippi, where these birds are abundant, they arrive in large companies in the beginning of April, and are heard uttering a sharp plaintive note. At this period I generally remarked that they came from the westward, and have counted upwards of a hundred in the space of an hour, passing over me in a direct easterly course. At that season and in the beginning of September, when they all retire from the United States, they are easily approached when they have alighted, being then apparently fatigued, and busily engaged in preparing themselves for continuing their journey, by dressing and oiling their feathers. At all other times, however, it is extremely difficult to get near them, as they are generally on wing through the day, and at night rest on the higher pines and cypresses, bordering the river bluffs, the lakes, or the swamps of that district of country. They always feed on the wing. In calm and warm weather they 50ar to an immense height, pursuing the large insects called Musquito Hawks, and performing the most singular evolutions that can be conceived, using their tail with an elegance of motion peculiar to themselves. Their principal food however is large grasshoppers, grass-caterpillars, small suakes, lizards, and frogs. They sweep close over the fields, sometimes seeming to alight for a moment to secure a snake, and holding it fast by the neck, carry it off and devour it in the air. When searching for grasshoppers and caterpil lars, it is not difficult to approach them under cover of a fence or tree. When one is then killed and falls to the ground, the whole flock come over the dead bird, as if intent upon carrying it off. An excellent opportunity is thus afforded of shooting as many as may be wanted, and I have killed several of these hawks in this manner, firing as fast as I could load my gun. The Swallow-tailed Hawk pairs immediately after its arrival in the southern states; and as its courtships take place on the wing, its motions are then more beautiful than ever. The nest is usually placed on the top branches of the tallest oak or pine tree, situated on the margin of a stream or pond. It resembles that of a carrion crow externally, being formed of dry sticks, intermixed with Spanish moss, and is lined with coarse grasses and a few feathers. The eggs are from four to six, of a greenish white colour, with a few irregular blotches of dark brown at the larger end. The male and female sit alternately, the one feeding the other. The young are at first covered with buff-coloured down. Their next covering exhibits the pure white and black of the old birds, but without any of the glossy purplish tints of the latter. The tail, which at first is but slightly forked, becomes more so in a few weeks, and at the approach of autumn exhibits little differ Elanus melanopterus. Nauclerus. (Vigors.) Beak rather short, weak, compressed. Nostrils sub-oval, placed in the cere, which is furnished with bristles in an oblique direction. Wings long; second or third quill longest. Tail long, very much forked. Feet short, weak. Acrotarsia feathered below the knee to the middle. Claws not cylindrical. Body slender, elegant. Mr. Vigors observes that Nauclerus is distinguished from the true Milvus by the greater development of the character of the forked tail; by the relative proportion of the wingfeathers, the fourth being the longest in Milvus; and by the reticulation of the acrotarsia, those of Milvus being covered with even scales or scutellated. He divides the genus into two sections. 1st. With the second quill longest. Example, Nauclerus Riocourii. 2nd. With the third quill longest. Example, Nauclerus Furcatus. Swallow-tailed Hawk. Falco furcatus, Linn. Beak bluish Description.-Whole length 20 inches. black, cere lighter blue, irides dark; head, neck, breast, belly, under surface of the wings, sides of the body, thighs, and under tail-coverts pure white; back, wing primaries, secondaries, upper tail-coverts and tail-feathers black, with a purplish metallic lustre; tertials black on the outer webs but patched with pure white on the inner; tail very deeply forked; legs and toes greenish blue; claus faded orange. (Yarrell.) Habits-Food-Reproduction-Locality.-We select Mr. Audubon's account of the habits and locality of this graceful bird:-'A solitary individual of this species has once or twice been seen in Pennsylvania. Farther to the eastward the Swallow-tailed Hawk has never, I believe, been observed. Travelling southward along the Atlantic coast, we find it in Virginia, although in very small numbers. Beyond that state it becomes more abundant. Near the falls of the Ohio a pair had a nest, and reared four young ones in 1820. In the lower parts of Kentucky it begins to become aore numerous; but in the states farther to the south, and cularly in parts near the sea, it is abundant. In the Naucierus furcatus. |