Page:Ornithological biography, or an account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America, vol 2.djvu/148

112 ignorant of the danger to which it had been exposed, while it seemed to look down upon me quite unconcerned. When wounded, it comes to the ground with great force, and seldom attempts to escape, choosing rather to defend itself, which it does to the last, by throwing itself on its back, erecting the feathers of its head, screaming loudly in the manner of the Pigeon Hawk, disgorging the contents of its stomach, stretching out its talons, and biting or clenching with great vigour. It is extremely mus- cular, the flesh tough and rigid.

These birds at times search for food so far from the spot where their nest has been placed, that I have on several occasions been obliged to follow their course over the woods, as if in search of a wild bee's hive, be- fore I could discover it. There is scarcely any perceptible difiference be- tween the sexes as to size, and in colour they are precisely similar, only the female has less of the ferruginous colour on her primaries than the male. The stomach is thin, rugous, and of a deep orange colour.

Falco tlumbeus, Gmel. Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 2^2.— Lath. Index Ornitli. vol. i. p. 49. Ch. Bonaparte, Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 90 — Nuttall, Manual, vol. i. p. 92.

Mississippi Kite, Falco Mississippiensis, Wils. Amer. Ornith. vol. iii. p. 80. fig. 1. Male.

Adult Male. Plate CXVII. Fig. 1.

Bill short, as broad as deep at the base, the sides convex, the dorsal outline convex from the base ; upper mandible cerate, the edges sharp, with an obtuse lobe towards the curvate, the tip trigonal, deflected, very acute ; lower mandible inflected at the edges, rounded at the end. Nos- trils round, lateral, basal, with a central papilla. Head rather large, the general form robust. Legs of moderate length, strong; tarsus stout, covered anteriorly with scutella, rounded behind ; toes scutellate above, scaly on the sides, scabrous and tuberculate beneath ; middle and outer toe connected at the base by a small membrane ; claws roundish, curved, very acute.

Plumage compact, imbricated ; feathers of the head narrow, pointed, and rather loose ; tibial feathers elongated. Wings long and pointed, the third quill longest. Tail long, straight, retuse.

Bill black, as are the cere, lore, and a narrow band round the eye. Iris blood-red. Feet purplish, the scutella deep red ; claws black. The