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, 511/2.
From Texas to North Carolina. Rather abundant. Up the Mississippi and Ohio to Louisville. Accidental in Pennsylvania. Migratory.