A History of North American Birds; Land Birds; Vol. 3 of 3Baird, Spencer Fullerton
Science
A History of North American Birds; Land Birds; Vol. 3 of 3
Baird, Spencer Fullerton
Birds -- North America
10. =Antenor.= Form heavy, the wings and tail moderately long,
and feet very robust; bill rather elongated, the commissural
lobe prominent, and the base of the culmen somewhat depressed.
Fourth quill longest; outer five with inner webs cut. Lores
naked, and almost destitute of bristles.
11. =Onychotes.= Outstretched feet reaching beyond end of tail;
tibial plumes short, close, not reaching below the joint. Wing
short, rounded, very concave beneath, the fourth quill longest;
outer five with inner webs sinuated. Tail short, but little
more than half the wing, slightly rounded. Claws very long, and
extremely acute.
12. =Asturina.= Bill and feet as in _Antenor_; lores densely
bristled; wing short, rounded, concave beneath, the third to
fourth quills longest; outer four with their inner webs cut.
13. =Buteo.= Form of _Antenor_, but primaries longer and more
pointed, the fourth usually longest, and the outer three or
four with inner webs cut. Bill and feet as in _Asturina_. Tail
moderate, or rather short, nearly even, or slightly rounded.
¶¶ Front of the tarsus densely feathered down to the base of the
toes.
14. =Archibuteo.= Feathering of the tarsus interrupted behind by
a bare strip along the full length; middle toe less than half as
long as the tarsus. Nostril broadly oval, obliquely horizontal;
bill weak, the upper outline of the cere much ascending basally.
Feathers of the nape normal, blended. Third to fourth quills
longest; outer four or five with inner webs cut.
15. =Aquila.= Feathering of the tarsus uninterrupted behind;
middle toe more than half as long as the tarsus. Nostril
narrowly oval, obliquely vertical; bill strong, the upper
outline of the cere nearly parallel with the lower. Feathers of
the nape lanceolate, distinct. Fourth quill longest; five to six
with inner webs cut.
** No trace of membrane between outer and middle toes.
16. =Haliætus.= Tarsus feathered in front one third, or more, of
the way down; the naked portion with an imperfectly continuous
frontal, and less well defined posterior, series of transverse
plates, and covered elsewhere with roundish granular scales.
Feathers of the neck, all round, lanceolate, distinct. Bill very
large, the chord of the culmen more than twice as long as the
cere on top; nostril oval, obliquely vertical. Third to fifth
quills longest; outer six with inner webs cut. Tail rounded or
cuneate, sometimes consisting of fourteen feathers.
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