France, and Italy. It has been observed in Egypt in winter,
and several localities in Africa north of the equator have
been quoted as producing this bird.
The specimen from which the figure and the following
description were taken measured twenty-six inches in length.
The beak is horn colour, cere and irides yellow; the feathers
of the head and neck greyish white, streaked along the shaft
with ash brown; the feathers of the back and wing-coverts
dark brown in the centre, broadly edged with rufous; the
inner web of some of the tertials edged with white ; the primaries
nearly black : upper tail-coverts rufous ; tail-feathers
reddish brown, the outer webs of one uniform colour, the
inner webs barred with dark brown; the outer tail-feather on
each side the darkest in colour; the tail deeply forked : the
chin and throat, like the top of the head, greyish white,
streaked with dusky ; the breast, belly, and thighs, rufous
brown, each feather with a central longitudinal streak of dark
brown: the under surface of the wings, near the body, rufous,
with dark brown feathers edged with red brown towards the
outer part of the wing ; under tail-coverts plain rufous white;
under surface of the tail-feathers greyish white, with the dark
bars of the upper surface showing through: the tarsi and
toes yellow ; the claws black.
The females of this species are rather larger than the males;
but there is no very observable difference in the plumage :
females have the head more inclined to grey, with a more
decided red colour on the under surface of the body.
RAPTORES. FALCONIDAE.
TH E SWALLOW-TAILED K IT E .
Elanus furcatus, Swallow-tailed, Kite, F lem. Brit. An. p. 52.
ff ,, „,, Elanus, S elby, Brit. Ornith. vol. i. p. 77.
Milvus ,,„ „ ,,Kite, J enyns, Brit. Vert. p. 86.
Nauclerus G ould, Birds of Europe, pt. xxii.
N auclerus. Generic Characters.—“ Bill small, weak, considerably hooked,
with a small and nearly obsolete festoon in the middle. Orbits and sides of
the head thinly provided with feathers. Wings very long; the first and
second quill internally emarginate towards the tip. Tail very long and deeply
forked. Tarsi very short, not longer than the hind toe and claw ; plumed half
way in front, the remaining portion covered with angulated scales. Toes short;
the two lateral almost equal, the hinder nearly equal to the inner. Claws
grooved beneath.”
Two specimens of this elegant bird having been taken in
this country, it is entitled to a place in this work; and I have
followed Mr. Vigors, * Mr. Swainson,*f* and Mr. Gould, j
* Zoological Journal, vol. ii. p. 386.
t Natural History and Classification of Birds, vol. ii. p. 210.
t Birds of Europe, pt. xxii.