Part 9

This genus is easily distinguished from Elanus; the tarsi and toes being scutellate in this, and scaly in that; and the festoon on the upper mandible is much more prominent in Ictinia, while the nostrils, instead of being elliptical, are round, as in the Falcons.

17. 1. Ictinia plumbea, Gmel. Mississippi Ictinia.--Mississippi Kite.

Plate CXVII. Male and Female.

Head, secondary quills, and lower parts light ash-grey; back and wing coverts dark leaden-grey; primaries black, margined externally with deep red; tail bluish-black; scutella dark purplish-red.

Male, 14, 36. Female, 15.

From Texas, where it is abundant, to North Carolina; up the Mississippi to Natchez. Migratory.

Mississippi Kite, Falco Mississippiensis, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. iii. p. 80.

Falco plumbeus, Bonap. Syn. p. 90.

Mississippi Kite, Falco plumbeus, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. ii. p. 108, v. v. p. 374.

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 papillæ; claws rather long, curved, acuminate. Plumage blended, glossy. Wings extremely long, pointed, the third quill longest; secondaries short. Tail extremely long, very deeply forked.

18. 1. Nauclerus furcatus, Linn. Common Swallow-tailed Hawk.

Plate LXXII. Male.

Head, neck all round, and lower parts white; back, wings, and tail black, glossed with blue and purple; feet light blue, tinged with green; claws flesh-coloured.

Male, 22, 47. Female, 25, 51-1/2.

From Texas to North Carolina. Rather abundant. Up the Mississippi and Ohio to Louisville. Accidental in Pennsylvania. Migratory.

Swallow-tailed Hawk, Falco furcatus, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. vi. p. 70.

Falco furcatus, Bonap. Syn. p. 31.

Swallow-tailed Hawk, Falco furcatus, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. i. p. 368. v. v. p. 371.

GENUS IX. FALCO, Linn. FALCON.

Bill short, robust; its upper outline decurved from the base; cere short, bare; edge of upper mandible with a festoon and a prominent angular process. Nostrils round, with an internal ridge, ending in a central tubercle. Feet strong; tarsi moderate, reticulate; toes long, broadly scutellate, the anterior webbed at the base; claws long, well curved, very acute. Wings long, pointed; second quill longest, first and third nearly equal; outer toe abruptly cut out on the inner web. Tail rather long, nearly even.

19. 1. Falco Islandicus, Lath. Iceland or Jer Falcon--Gyr Falcon. Labrador Falcon.

Plate CCCLXVI. Adult Female. Plate CXCVI. Young Male and Female.

Tooth-like process of the bill generally obsolete in old, festoon slight in young birds; tail from three to four inches longer than the wings. Adult white, with slate-grey sagittate spots above, the bill pale blue, the cere and feet yellow. Younger birds light grey, the feathers white on the edges; the bill and cere light blue, the feet greyish-blue. Young brownish-grey above, the feathers margined and spotted with reddish-white, the lower parts yellowish-white, longitudinally streaked with dusky.

Male, 22-1/2, 49. Female, 23-1/2, 51-1/4.

Breeds in the extreme north, and in Labrador. In winter, migrates southward as far as Maine.

Falco Islandicus, Jer Falcon, Rich. & Swains. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 27.

Gyr Falcon, Falco Islandicus, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 51.