Genus VI.--Elanus, Sav.
The definitive website on wildbirds & nature
Birds of America
By John James Audubon, F. R. SS. L. & E.
VOLUME I.
GENUS VI.--ELANUS, Sav.
Bill short, small, very wide at the base, much compressed toward the end;
upper mandible with the dorsal line convex and declinate to the end of the cere,
then decurved, the sides slightly convex, the tip narrow and acute, the edges
with a distinct festoon, lower mandible with the angle very wide and long, the
dorsal line very short, and slightly convex, the tip obliquely truncate, and
narrow. Nostrils elliptical, rather large, about half-way between the cere and
ridge. Head rather large, broad, flattened above; neck short; body compact.
Legs rather short; tarsus very short, stout, roundish, feathered anteriorly for
half its length, the rest covered with small roundish scales; toes short, thick,
scaly, with a few terminal scutella; claws long, curved, conical, rounded
beneath, acute. Plumage very soft, and rather blended. Wings very long and
pointed, the second quill longest. Tail of moderate breadth, long, emarginate,
and rounded.
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