A History of North American Birds; Land Birds; Vol. 3 of 3 (part 3 of 5)

A History of North American Birds; Land Birds; Vol. 3 of 3 (part 3 of 5)

SP. CHAR. Adult male (10,764, Washington, D. C., December). Head, neck, breast, and upper parts light cinereous, palest anteriorly where it is uninterruptedly continuous; occiput somewhat darker, with a transverse series of longitudinal dashes of white, somewhat tinged with reddish. Back, scapulars, and terminal third of secondaries, with a dusky wash, the latter fading at tips; five outer primaries nearly black, somewhat hoary on outer webs beyond their emargination; lesser wing-coverts faintly mottled with paler, or with obsolete dusky spots. Upper tail-coverts immaculate pure white. Tail bluish-cinereous, mottled with white toward base; crossed near the end with a distinct band of black, and with about five narrower, very obscurely indicated ones anterior to this; tip beyond the subterminal zone fading terminally into whitish. Whole under side of wing (except terminal third or more of primaries) pure white; immaculate, excepting a few scattered transverse dusky spots on larger coverts. Rest of under parts pure white everywhere, with rather sparse transverse cordate spots of rufous. Wing, 14.00; tail, 9.20; tarsus, 2.80; middle toe, 1.30. Third and fourth quills equal, and longest; second intermediate between fifth and sixth; first 5.81 inches shorter than longest.

Another specimen differs as follows: The fine cinereous above is replaced by a darker and more brownish shade of the same, the head and breast much tinged with rusty. Tail much darker, the last black band twice as broad and near the tip; other bands more numerous (seven instead of five), and although still very obscure on middle feathers are better defined than in the one described; inner webs of tail-feathers (especially the outer ones) tinged with cream-color; white of lower parts tinged with rufous; the deep rufous transverse bars on the breast and sides broader, larger, and more numerous than in No. 16,764; abdomen and tibiæ with numerous smaller cordate spots of rufous; lower tail-coverts with large cordate spots of the same, and a deep stain of paler rufous; lining of wings more variegated. Wing, 14.10; tail, 9.00; tarsus, 2.90; middle toe, 1.30.

Adult female (16,758, Hudson’s Bay Territory; Captain Blakiston). Umber-brown above; feathers of the head and neck edged laterally with pale rufous; lores, and superciliary and suborbital stripes dull yellowish-white, leaving a dusky stripe between them, running back from the posterior angle of the eye. Lesser wing-coverts spattered with pale rufous, this irregularly bordering and indenting the feathers; feathers of the rump bordered with dull ferruginous. Tail deep umber, faintly fading at the tip, and crossed by six or seven very regular, sharply defined, but obscure, bands of blackish; the alternating light bars become paler and more rufous toward the edge of the tail, the lateral feathers being almost wholly pale cream-color or ochraceous, darker terminally; this tint is more or less prevalent on the inner webs of nearly all the feathers. Ear-coverts dull dark rufous, obsoletely streaked with dark brown; the feathers of the facial disk are fine pale cream-color, each with a middle stripe of dark brown; throat and chin immaculate dirty-white, like the supraorbital and suborbital stripes. Beneath dull white, with numerous broad longitudinal stripes of umber-brown; these broadest on the breast, growing gradually smaller posteriorly. Under surface of primaries dull white, crossed at wide intervals with dark-brown irregular bars, of which there are five (besides the terminal dark space) on the longest quill.

Juv. (♀, 15,585, Bridger’s Pass, Rocky Mountains, August; W. S. Wood). Upper parts very dark rich clove-brown, approaching sepia-black; feathers of the head bordered with deep ferruginous, and lesser wing-coverts much spotted with the same, the edges of the feathers being broadly of this color; secondaries and inner primaries fading terminally into whitish; upper tail-coverts tinged with delicate cream-color (immaculate). Tail with four very broad bands of black, the intervening spaces being dark umber on the two middle feathers, on the others fine cinnamon-ochre; the tip also (broadly) of this color. Ear-coverts uniform rich dark snuff-brown, feathers of a satiny texture; feathers of facial disk the same centrally, edged with fine deep rufous. Entire lower parts deep reddish-ochraceous or fulvous-rufous, growing gradually paler posteriorly; immaculate, with the exception of a few faint longitudinal stripes on the breast and sides. Under side of wing as in the last, but much tinged with rufous.

HAB. Entire continent of North America, south to Panama; Cuba, and Bahamas.

Localities: Oaxaca (SCL. 1859, 390); Orizaba (SCL. 1857, 211); Guatemala, winter (SCL. Ibis, I, 221); Cuba (CAB. Journ. II, lxxxiii; GUNDLACH, Repert. 1865, 222, winter); City of Mexico (SCL. 1864, 178); E. Texas (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 328, resident); W. Arizona (COUES); Bahamas (BRYANT, Pr. Bost. Soc. 1867, 65); Costa Rica (LAWR. IX, 134).

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

National Museum, 53; Museum Comp. Zoöl., 24; Boston Society, 8; Philadelphia Academy, 10; Cab. of G. N. Lawrence, 5; R. Ridgway, 6. Total, 106.

Measurements.

+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ |Sex.| Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. |Middle Toe.|Specimens.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♂ |12.90–13.85| 9.90–9.80| .60–.65|2.85–2.90| 1.20–0.00| 34 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♀ |13.00–16.00| 8.80–10.50| .70–.75|2.85–3.25| 1.22–1.55| 32 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+

HABITS. The Marsh Hawk is one of the most widely distributed birds of North America, breeding from the fur regions around Hudson’s Bay to Texas, and from Nova Scotia to Oregon and California. It is abundant everywhere, excepting in the southeastern portion of the United States. Sir John Richardson speaks of it as so common on the plains of the Saskatchewan that seldom less than five or six are in sight at a time (in latitude 55°). Mr. Townsend found it on the plains of the Columbia River and on the prairies bordering on the Missouri. The Vincennes Exploring Expedition obtained specimens in Oregon. Dr. Gambel and Dr. Heermann found it abundant in California. Dr. Suckley’s party obtained specimens in Minnesota; Captain Beckwith’s, in Utah; Captain Pope, Lieutenant Whipple, and Dr. Henry, in New Mexico; and Lieutenant Couch, in Tamaulipas, Mexico. Dr. Woodhouse met with it abundantly from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean, throughout the summer, showing conclusively that it breeds in those different sections of country. De la Sagra, Lembeye, and Dr. Gundlach, all give it as a bird of Cuba, but not as breeding there.

Dall records it as very rare on the Yukon, and an occasional summer visitor only at St. Michael’s, where an individual was killed as late as November. Donald Gunn states that it makes its appearance in the fur countries about the opening of the rivers, and departs about the beginning of November. It preys upon small birds and mice, is very slow on the wing, flies very low, and in a manner very different from all other kinds of Hawks.

In Nova Scotia it is very abundant, and is very destructive of young game. Mr. Downes regards it as an indiscriminating feeder upon fish, snakes, and even worms. He took two green snakes from the stomach of one of them.

Mr. Dresser found them abundant throughout the whole country east of the Rio Nueces at all seasons of the year. They were more abundant in full blue plumage than elsewhere. Near San Antonio he met with them on the prairies, where they feed on the small green lizards which abound there, and which they are very expert in catching. Dr. Coues mentions them as very abundant in Arizona. Dr. Kennerly met with them on both sides of the Rio Grande wherever there was a marsh of any extent. Flying near the surface, just above the weeds and canes, they round their untiring circles hour after hour, darting after small birds as they rise from cover. Pressed by hunger, they will attack even wild Ducks. Dr. Kennerly also observed them equally abundant in the same localities in New Mexico. Dr. Newberry mentions finding this Hawk abundant beyond all parallel on the plains of Upper Pitt River. He saw several hundred in a single day’s march.

In Washington Territory both Dr. Suckley and Dr. Cooper found this Hawk abundant throughout the open districts, and especially so in winter. Dr. Cooper found it no less common in California, and among several hundreds saw but two birds in the blue plumage. Near Fort Laramie he found it no less common, but there, at least one half were in the blue plumage. From this he infers that the older birds seek the far interior in preference to the seaboard.

Mr. Allen mentions it as common in winter about the savannas in Florida, and Mr. Salvin states that it is a migratory species in Guatemala. It occurred in the Pacific Coast Region, and examples were also received from Vera Paz.

In evidence of the nomadic character of the Marsh Hawk it may be mentioned that specimens asserted to be of this species are in the Leyden Museum that were received from the Philippines and from Kamtschatka.

In Wilson’s time this Hawk was quite numerous in the marshes of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, where it swept over the low grounds, sailing near the earth, in search of a kind of mouse very common in such situations, and was there very generally known as the Mouse Hawk. It is also said to be very serviceable in the Southern rice-fields in interrupting the devastations made by the swarms of Bobolinks. As it sails low and swiftly over the fields, it keeps the flocks in perpetual fluctuation, and greatly interrupts their depredations. Wilson states that one Marsh Hawk was considered by the planters equal to several negroes for alarming the Rice-birds. Audubon, however, controverts this statement, and quotes Dr. Bachman to the effect that no Marsh Hawks are seen in the rice-fields until after the Bobolinks are gone. Dr. Coues, on the other hand, gives this Hawk as resident throughout the year in South Carolina.

According to Audubon, the Marsh Hawk rarely pursues birds on the wing, nor does it often carry its prey to any distance before it alights and devours it. While engaged in feeding, it may be readily approached, surprised, and shot. When wounded, it endeavors to make off by long leaps; and when overtaken, it throws itself on the back and fights furiously. In winter its notes while on the wing are sharp, and are said to resemble the syllables pee-pee-pee. The love-notes are similar to those of the columbarius.

Mr. Audubon has found this Hawk nesting not only in lowlands near the sea-shore, but also in the barrens of Kentucky and on the cleared table-lands of the Alleghanies, and once in the high covered pine-barrens of Florida.

After having paired, the Marsh Hawks invariably keep together, and labor conjointly in the construction of the nest, in sitting upon the eggs, and in feeding the young. Their nests are variously constructed as to materials, usually chiefly of hay somewhat clumsily wrought together into the form of a nest, but never very nicely interwoven; occasionally, in more northern localities, they are lined with feathers, in some cases with pine-needles and small twigs.

Richardson states that all the nests of this Hawk observed by him were built on the ground by the side of small lakes, of moss, grass, feathers, and hair, and contained from three to five eggs, of a bluish-white color, and unspotted. The latter measured 1.75 inches in length, and were an inch across where widest. The position and manner of constructing the nest correspond with my own experience, but the size of the eggs does not. The nests have been invariably on the ground, near water, built of dry grass, and lined with softer materials.

Mr. Audubon gives a very minute account of a nest which he found on Galveston Island, Texas. It was about a hundred yards from a pond, on a ridge just raised above the marsh, and was made of dry grass; the internal diameter was eight, and the external twelve inches, with the depth of two and a half. No feathers were found. This absence of a warm lining in Texas really proves nothing. A warm lining may be required in latitude 65° north, and the same necessity not found in one of 29°. A nest observed in Concord, Mass., by Dr. H. R Storer, was on the edge of a pond, and was warmly lined with feathers and fine grasses. Many other instances might be named.

The eggs found in the Galveston nest were four in number, smooth, considerably rounded or broadly elliptical, bluish-white, 1.75 inches in length, and 1.25 in breadth. Another nest, found under a low bush on the Alleghanies, was constructed in a similar manner, but was more bulky; the bed being four inches above the earth, and the egg slightly sprinkled with small marks of pale reddish-brown.

The prevalent impression that the eggs of this Hawk are generally unspotted, so far as I am aware, is not correct. All that I have ever seen, except the eggs above referred to from Texas, and a few others, have been more or less marked with light-brown blotches. These markings are not always very distinct, but, as far as my present experience goes, they are to be found, if carefully sought. In 1856 I received from Dr. Dixon, of Damariscotta, a nest with six eggs of a Hawk of this species. The female had been shot as she flew from the nest. With a single exception, all the eggs were very distinctly blotched and spotted. In shape they were of a rather oblong-oval, rounded at both ends, the smaller end well defined. They varied in length from 2.00 to 1.87 inches, and in breadth from 1.44 to 1.38 inches. Their ground-color was a dirty bluish-white, which in one was nearly unspotted, the markings so faint as to be hardly perceptible, and only upon a close inspection. In all the others, spots and blotches of a light shade of purplish-brown occured, in a greater or less degree, over their entire surface. In two, the blotches were large and well marked; in the others, less strongly traced, but quite distinct.

The nest was found in a tract of low land, covered with clumps of sedge, on one of which it had been constructed. It is described as about the size of a peck basket, circular, and composed entirely of small dry sticks, “finished off or topped out with small bunches of pine boughs.” There was very little depth to the nest, or not enough to cover the eggs from view in taking a sight across it. “No feathers were found in or about it. It was simply made of small dry sticks, about six inches thick, with about one inch of pine boughs for finishing off the nest.” The eggs were found about the 20th of May. They contained young at least two weeks advanced, showing that the bird began to lay in the latter part of April, and to sit upon her eggs early in the following month.

It will be thus seen that the eggs of this Hawk vary greatly in size and shape, and in the presence or absence of marking, varying in length from 1.75 to 2.00 inches, and in breadth from 1.25 to 1.50, and in shape from an almost globular egg to an elongated oval. Some are wholly spotless, and others are very strongly and generally blotched with well-defined purplish-brown.

This Hawk was found breeding in the Humboldt Valley by Mr. C. S. M‘Carthy, on the Yellowstone by Mr. Hayden, at Fort Benton by Lieutenant Mullan, at Fort Resolution by Mr. Kennicott, at Fort Rae and at Fort Simpson by Mr. Ross, at La Pierre House by Lockhart, and on the Lower Anderson by Mr. MacFarlane.

GENUS NISUS, CUVIER.

Accipiter, BRISS. 1760. (Type, Falco nisus, LINN.) Nisus, CUV. 1799. (Same type.) Astur, LACÉP. 1801. (Type, Falco palumbarius, LINN.) Dædalion, SAVIG. 1809. (Same type.) Dædalium, AGASS. (Same type.) Sparvius, VIEILL. 1816. (Same type.) Jerax, LEACH, 1816. (Same type.) Aster, SWAINS. 1837. (Same type.) Micronisus, GRAY, 1840. (Type, Falco gabar, DAUD.) Phabotypus, GLOG. 1842. (Same type.) Hieraspiza, 1844, Jeraspiza, 1851, and Teraspiza, 1867, KAUP. (Type, Falco tinus, LATHAM.) Hieracospiza, AGAS. (Same type.) Nisastur, BLAS. 1844. (Same type.) Urospiza, 1845, Urospizia, 1848, and Uraspiza, 1867, KAUP. (Type, Sparvius cirrhocephalus, VIEILL.) Leucospiza, KAUP, 1851. (Type, Falco novæ-hollandiæ, GMEL.) Cooperastur, BONAP. 1854. (Type, Accipiter cooperi, BONAP.) Erythrospiza, KAUP, 1867. (Type, A. trinotatus TEMM.? not of BONAP. 1830!)

GEN. CHAR. Form slender, the tail long, the wings short and rounded, the feet slender, the head small, and bill rather weak. Bill nearly as high through the base as the length of the chord of the culmen, its upper outline greatly ascending basally; commissure with a prominent festoon. Superciliary shield very prominent. Nostril broadly ovate, obliquely horizontal. Tarsus longer than the middle toe, the frontal and posterior series of regular transverse scutellæ very distinct, and continuous, sometimes fused into a continuous plate (as in the Turdinæ!). Outer toe longer than the inner; claws strongly curved, very acute. Wing short, much rounded, very concave beneath; third to fifth quills longest; first usually shortest, never longer than the sixth; outer three to five with inner webs cut (usually sinuated). Tail long, nearly equal to wing, usually rounded, sometimes even, more rarely graduated (Astur macrourus) or emarginated (some species of subgenus Nisus).

Subgenera.

Less than one third of the upper portion of the tarsus feathered in front, the feathering widely separated behind; frontal transverse scutellæ of the tarsus and toes uninterrupted in the neighborhood of the digito-tarsal joint, but continuous from knees to claws. Tarsal scutellæ sometimes fused into a continuous plate …

Nisus.

More than one third (about one half) of the upper portion of the tarsus feathered in front, the feathering scarcely separated behind; frontal transverse scutellæ of the tarsus and toes interrupted in the region of the digito-tarsal joint, where replaced by irregular small scales. Tarsal scutellæ never fused …

Astur.

The species of this genus are exceedingly numerous, about fifty-seven being the number of nominal “species” recognized at the present date. Among so many species, there is, of course, a great range of variation in the details of form, so that many generic and subgeneric names have been proposed and adopted to cover the several groups of species which agree in certain peculiarities of external structure. That too many genera and subgenera have been recognized is my final conclusion, after critically examining and comparing forty of the fifty-seven species of Gray’s catalogue (Hand List of Birds, I, 1869, pp. 29–35). The variation of almost every character ranges between great extremes; but when all the species are compared, it is found that, taking each character separately, they do not all correspond, and cross and re-cross each other in the series in such a manner that it is almost impossible to arrange the species into well-defined groups. From this genus I exclude Lophospiza, Kaup (type, L. trivirgatus); Asturina, Vieill. (type, A. nitida); Rupornis, Kaup (type, R. magnirostris); Buteola, Dubus (= Buteo, type, B. brachyura, Vieill.); included by Gray under Astur, as subgenera, and Tachyspiza, Kaup (type, T. soloensis); and Scelospiza, Kaup (type, S. francesii); which are given by Gray as subgenera of Micronisus, Gray (type, Accipiter gabar), the species of the typical subgenus of which, as arranged in Gray’s Hand List, I refer to Nisus. All these excluded names I consider as representing distinct genera.

The species of this genus are noted for their very predatory disposition, exceeding the Falcons in their daring, and in the quickness of their assault upon their prey, which consists chiefly of small birds.

SUBGENUS NISUS, CUVIER.

Accipiter, BRISSON, 1760.[81] Nisus, CUVIER, 1799. (Type, Falco nisus, LINN.; A. fringillarius (RAY), KAUP.) Jerax, LEACH, 1816. (Same type.) Cooperastur, BONAP. 1854. (Type, Accipiter cooperi, BONAP.) Hieraspiza, 1844, Jeraspiza, 1851, and Teraspiza, 1867, KAUP. (Type, Falco tinus, LATH.) Hieracospiza, AGASS. (Same type.) Urospiza, 1845, Urospizia, 1848, and Uraspiza, 1867, KAUP. (Type, Sparvius cirrhocephalus, VIEILL.) Erythrospiza, KAUP, 1867. (Type, A. trinotatus (TEMM.?)) Micronisus, GRAY, 1840. (Type, Falco gabar, DAUD.) Nisastur, BLAS. 1844. (Same type.)

The species of this subgenus are generally of small size and slender form; but with a graceful and apparently delicate structure they combine remarkable strength and unsurpassed daring. They differ from the species of Astur mainly in less robust organization. The species are very numerous, and most plentiful within the tropical regions. The Old World possesses about thirty, and America about fifteen, nominal species. Several South American species are intimately related to the two North American ones, and may prove to be only climatic races of the same species; thus, erythrocnemis, Gray (Hand List, p. 32, No. 305) may be the intertropical form of fuscus, and chilensis, Ph. and Landb. (Hand List, No. 314), that of cooperi. But the material at my command is too meagre to decide this.

In consequence of the insufficient material for working up the South American species, I shall omit them all from the following synopsis of the North American species and races.[82]

Species and Races.

COMMON CHARACTERS. Adult. Above bluish slate-color; the tail with obscure bands of darker, and narrowly tipped with white. Beneath transversely barred with white and pinkish-rufous; the anal region and crissum immaculate white. Young. Above grayish umber-brown, the feathers bordered more or less distinctly with rusty; scapulars with large white spots, mostly concealed; tail-bands more distinct than in the adult. Beneath white, longitudinally striped with dusky-brown.

1. =N. fuscus.= Middle toe shorter than the bare portion of the tarsus, in front; tarsal scutellæ fused into a continuous plate in the adult male. Tail nearly even. Top of head concolor with the back; tail merely fading into whitish at the tip. Concealed white spots of the scapulars very large and conspicuous. Wing, 6.45–8.80; tail, 5.70–8.20; culmen, .40–.60; tarsus, 1.85–2.25; middle toe, 1.10–1.55. Hab. Whole of North America and Mexico.

2. =N. cooperi.= Middle toe longer than the bare portion of the tarsus, in front; tarsal scutellæ never fused. Tail much rounded. Top of the head much darker than the back; tail distinctly tipped with white; concealed white spots of the scapulars very small, or obsolete. Wing, 8.50–11.00; tail, 7.50–10.50; culmen, .60–.80; tarsus, 2.10–2.75; middle toe, 1.30–1.85. Hab. Whole of North America and Mexico.

Adult. Rufous markings beneath, in form of detached bars, not exceeding the white ones in width; dark slate of the pileum and nape abruptly contrasted with the bluish-plumbeous of the back; upper tail-coverts narrowly tipped with white; scapulars with concealed spots of white. Young. White beneath pure; tibiæ with narrow longitudinal spots of brown. Wing, 9.00–11.00; tail, 8.00–9.80; culmen, .65–.80; tarsus, 2.45–2.75; middle toe, 1.55–1.85. Hab. Eastern region of North America; Eastern Mexico …

var. cooperi.

Adult. Rufous markings beneath, in form of broader bars, connected along the shaft, almost uniform on the breast; black of the pileum and nape fading gradually into the dusky plumbeous of the back; upper tail-coverts not tipped with white, and scapulars without concealed spots of the same. Young. White beneath strongly tinged with ochraceous; tibiæ with broad transverse spots of brown. Wing, 8.50–10.60; tail, 7.50–10.50; culmen, .60–.75; tarsus, 2.10–2.75; middle toe, 1.30–1.75. Hab. Western region of North America; Western Mexico …

var. mexicanus.

Nisus fuscus (GMEL.) KAUP.

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK.

Falco fuscus, GMEL. Syst. Nat. p. 283, 1789.—LATH. Ind. Orn. p. 43, 1790; Syn. I, 98, 1781; Gen. Hist. I, 283, 1821.—MILL. Cim. Phys. pl. xviii, 1796.—DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, 86, 1800.—SHAW, Zoöl. VII, 161, 1809.—AUD. B. Am. pl. ccclxxiii, 1821; Orn. Biog. IV. 522, 1831.—BREW. (WILS.) Am. Orn. 685, 1852.—PEAB. B. Mass. III, 78, 1841.—THOMP. Nat. Hist. Verm. p. 61, 1842.—NUTT. Man. 87, 1833. Accipiter fuscus, BONAP. Eur. & N. Am. B. p. 5, 1838; Consp. Av. 32, 1850.—GRAY, List B. Brit. Mus. 38, 1844; Gen. B. fol. sp. 4, 1844.—CASS. B. Cal. & Tex. 95, 1854; Proc. Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil. 1855, 279; Birds N. Am. 1858, 18.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 108, 1855.—WOODH. Sitgr. Exp. Zuñi & Colorad. p. 61, 1853.—COOPER & SUCKLEY, P. R. R. Rep’t, VII, ii, 146, 1860.—HEERM. Williamson’s Rep. 33.—NEWB. Williamson’s Rep. 74.—COUES, Pr. Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil. Jan. 1866, p. 7.—BLAKIST. Ibis, III, 1861, 317 (fresh eggs).—GRAY, Hand List, I, 32, 1869. Astur fuscus, DE KAY, N. Y. Zoöl. II, 17, pl. ii, fig. 2 (juv. ♂), 1844.—GIRAUD, B. Long Isl’d, p. 19, 1844. Nisus fuscus, KAUP, Monog. Falc. Cont. Orn. 1850, p. 64. Falco dubius, GMEL. Syst. Nat. 1789, p. 281.—LATH. Ind. Orn. p. 43, 1790; Syn. Supp. I, 37, 1802; Gen. Hist. I, 279, 1821.—DAUD. Tr. Orn. 1800, II, 122. _Falco velox_, WILS. Am. Orn. pl. xlv, f. 1, 1808.—BONAP. An. Lyc. N. Y. II, 29, 1433; Isis, 1832, p. 1137. Accipiter velox, BEECH. Voy. Zoöl. p. 15. Astur velox, JAMES. (WILS.) Am. Orn. I, 68, 1831. _Falco pennsylvanicus_, WILS. Am. Orn. pl. xlvi, fig. 1, 1808.—LATH. Gen. Hist. I, 280, 1820.—TEMM. Pl. Col. 67. Accipiter pennsylvanicus, VIG. Zoöl. Journ. I, 338.—STEPH. Zoöl. XIII, ii, 32, 1815.—RICH. Faun. Bor.-Am. II, 44, 1831.—JARD. (WILS.) Am. Orn. II, pp. 210, 215, 1832.—SWAINS. Classif. B. II, 215, 1837. Astur pennsylvanicus, LESS. Man. Orn. I, 92.—James. (Wils.) Am. Orn. I, 70, 1831. _Nisus pennsylvanicus_, CUV. Règ. An. (ed. 2), I, 334, 1829.—LESS. Tr. Orn. p. 59, 1831. Falco columbarius, var., SHAW. Zoöl. VII, 189, 1809. Accipiter ardosiacus, VIEILL. Enc. Méth. III, 1274, 1823. _Accipiter fringilloides_ (not of VIGORS!), JARD. (WILS.) Am. Orn. II, 215, 1832. ? Nisus pacificus, LESSON, Man. et d’Oiseaux, 1847, 177 (Acapulco to California. Square tail). Accipiter fuscus, BREWER, Oölogy, 1857, 18, pl. III, f. 23, 29; pl. V, f. 54.

SP. CHAR. Adult male (11,990, District of Columbia; A. J. Falls). Above deep plumbeous, this covering head above, nape, back, scapulars, wings, rump, and upper tail-coverts; uniform throughout, scarcely perceptibly darker anteriorly. Primaries and tail somewhat lighter and more brownish; the latter crossed by four sharply defined bands of brownish-black, the last of which is subterminal, and broader than the rest, the first concealed by the upper coverts; tip passing very narrowly (or scarcely perceptibly) into whitish terminally. Occipital feathers snowy-white beneath the surface; entirely concealed, however. Scapulars, also, with concealed very large roundish spots of pure white. Under side of primaries pale slate, becoming white toward bases, crossed by quadrate spots of blackish, of which there are seven (besides the terminal dark space) on the longest. Lores, cheeks, ear-coverts, chin, throat, and lower parts in general, pure white; chin, throat, and cheeks with fine, rather sparse, blackish shaft-streaks; ear-coverts with a pale rufous wash. Jugulum, breast, abdomen, sides, flanks, and tibiæ with numerous transverse broad bars of delicate vinaceous-rufous, the bars medially somewhat transversely cordate, and rather narrower than the white bars; laterally, the pinkish-rufous prevails, the bars being connected broadly along the shafts; tibiæ with rufous bars much exceeding the white ones in width; the whole maculate region with the shaft of each feather finely blackish. Anal region scarcely varied; lower tail-coverts immaculate, pure white. Lining of the wing white, with rather sparse cordate, or cuneate, small blackish spots; axillars barred about equally with pinkish-rufous and white. Wing, 6.60; tail, 5.70; tarsus, 1.78; middle toe, 1.20. Fifth quill longest; fourth but little shorter; third equal to sixth; second slightly shorter than seventh. Tail perfectly square.

Adult female (19,116, Powder River; Captain W. F. Raynolds, U. S. A.). Scarcely different from the male. Above rather paler slaty; the darker shaft-streaks rather more distinct than in the male, although they are not conspicuous. Beneath with the rufous bars rather broader, the dark shaft-streaks less distinct; tibiæ about equally barred with pinkish-rufous and white. Wing, 7.70; tail, 6.90; tarsus, 2.10; middle toe, 1.40. Fourth and fifth quills equal and longest; third equal to sixth; second equal to seventh; first three inches shorter than longest.

Young male (41,890, Philadelphia; J. Krider.) Above umber-brown; feathers of the head above edged laterally with dull light ferruginous; those of the back, rump, the upper tail-coverts, scapulars, and wing-coverts bordered with the same; scapulars and rump showing large, partially exposed, roundish spots of pure white. Tail as in adult. Sides of the head and neck strongly streaked, a broad lighter supraoral stripe apparent. Beneath white, with a slight ochraceous tinge; cheeks, throat, and jugulum with fine narrow streaks of dusky-brown; breast, sides, and abdomen with broader longitudinal stripes of clear umber (less slaty than the back), each with a darker shaft-line; on the flanks the stripes are more oval; tibiæ more dingy, markings fainter and somewhat transverse; anal region and lower tail-coverts immaculate white.

Young female (12,023, Fort Tejon, California; J. Xantus). Similar in general appearance to the young male. Markings beneath broader, and slightly sagittate in form, becoming more transverse on the flanks; paler and more reddish than in the young male; tibiæ with brownish-rufous prevailing, this in form of broad transverse spots.

HAB. Entire continent of North America, south to Panama; Bahamas (but not West Indies, where replaced by A. fringilloides, Vig.).

Localities: Oaxaca (SCL. 1858, 295); Central America (SCL. Ibis, I, 218); Bahamas (BRYANT, Pr. Bost. Soc. VII, 1859); City of Mexico (SCL. 1864, 178); Texas, San Antonio (DRESSER, Ibis, 1866, 324); Western Arizona (COUES); Mosquito Coast (SCL. & SALV. 1867, 280); Costa Rica (LAWR. IX, 134).

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

National Museum, 51; Philadelphia Academy, 14; New York Museum, 7; Boston Society, 5; Museum, Cambridge, 9; Cab. G. N. Lawrence, 1; Coll. R. Ridgway, 4; Museum W. S. Brewer, 1. Total, 92.

Measurements.

+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ |Sex.| Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. |Middle Toe.|Specimens.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♂ | 6.45–7.00| 5.70–5.90| .40–.00|1.85–1.95| 1.10–1.20| 30 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♀ | 7.50–8.80| 6.90–8.20| .50–.60|2.20–2.25| 1.45–1.55| 40 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+

Specimens from different regions vary but little in size. The largest are 4,198, ♀, San Francisco, Cal., winter, 16,957, ♀, Hudson’s Bay Territory, and 55,016, ♀, Mazatlan, Mexico, in which the wing ranges from 8.40 to 8.50, the tail 7.00. The smallest females are 45,826, Sitka, Alaska, and 11,791, Simiahmoo, W. T., in which the wing measures about 7.80. A female (32,499) from Orizaba, Mexico, one (8,513) from Fort Yuma, Cal., and one (17,210) from San Nicholas, Lower California, have the wing 8.00, which is about the average. The largest males are 54,336, Nulato, Alaska, 58,137, Kodiak, Alaska, 27,067, Yukon, mouth of Porcupine, and 55,017, Mazatlan, Mexico, in which the wing measures 7.00, the tail 5.60. The smallest males are 5,990, Orange, N. J., 8,514, Shoalwater Bay, W. T., 21,338, Siskiyou Co., Cal., 37,428, Orizaba, Mexico, and 5,584, Bridger’s Pass, Utah; in this series the wing measures 6.50–6.70, the tail 5.40–5.60. A specimen from Costa Rica measures: wing 6.70, tail 5.35. Thus the variation in size will be seen to be an individual difference, rather than characteristic of any region. Some immature specimens from the northwest coast of North America (as 45,828, ♂, Sitka, Rus. Am., 5,845, ♂, Fort Steilacoom, W. T., 11,791, Simiahmoo, Puget Sound, and 8,514, Shoalwater Bay, W. T.) are much darker than others, the brown above inclining to blackish-sepia; no other differences, however, are observable. An adult from the Yukon (54,337, ♀) has the rufous bars beneath remarkably faint, although well defined; another (19,384, ♀, Fort Resolution), in immature plumage, has the longitudinal markings beneath so faint that they are scarcely discernible, and the plumage generally has a very worn and faded appearance. A male in fine plumage (10,759, Fort Bridger, Utah) has the delicate reddish-rufous beneath so extended as to prevail, and with scarcely any variegation on the sides and tibiæ; the bars on the tail, also, are quite obsolete.

HABITS. This species is one of the most common Hawks of North America, and its geographical range covers the entire continent, from Hudson’s Bay to Mexico. Sir John Richardson mentions its having been met with as far to the north as latitude 51°. Drs. Gambel and Heermann, and others, speak of it as abundant throughout California. Audubon found it very plentiful as far north as the southern shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It has been obtained in New Mexico by Mr. McCall, in Mexico by Mr. Pease, in Washington Territory by Dr. Cooper and Dr. Suckley, in Alaska by Mr. Dall, at Fort Resolution by Mr. Kennicott, at Fort Simpson by Mr. B. R. Ross, etc. Messrs. Sclater and Salvin give it as a rare visitant of Guatemala. It has been ascertained to breed in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Wisconsin, California, and Pennsylvania, and it probably does so not only in the intervening States and Territories, but also in all, not excepting the most southern, Florida, where its nest was found by Mr. Wurdemann.

Dr. Woodhouse, who frequently observed this bird skimming over the prairies while in search of its prey, states that its flight is so peculiar that there is no difficulty in recognizing it, when taken in connection with its form, short wings, and long tail, being very swift and irregular in its movements, first high in the air, then close to the ground, suddenly disappearing among the grass when it has seized the object of which it was in pursuit.

Mr. Dresser met with this Hawk in Texas, but nowhere south or west of San Antonio, where it remains through the breeding-season, nesting in the dense cedar-thickets.

Mr. Audubon regarded it as the very miniature of the Goshawk, in its irregular, swift, vigorous, varied, and yet often undecided, manner of flight, and on occasion greatly protracted. When in search of its prey, it is said to pass over the country, now at a moderate height, now close over the land, and with a surprising swiftness. It advances by sudden dashes, and pounces upon the object of its pursuit so suddenly as to render hopeless any attempt to escape. It has frequently been known to seize and kill a bird so large that it was unable to carry it, and had to drop to the ground with it. In one instance Mr. Audubon saw it strike a Brown Thrush, which it had darted into a thicket of briers to seize, emerging at the opposite side. As Mr. Audubon ran up, the Hawk attempted twice to rise with its prey, but was unable to carry it off, and relinquished it. The Thrush was quite dead, and had evidently been killed instantly.

Mr. Downes, of Halifax, who speaks of this Hawk as common in Nova Scotia, breeding all over that province, adds that it does not molest the poultry-yards, being too weak to attack large prey. But this is not universally the case. They are frequently destructive both to dove-cots and to the younger inhabitants of the poultry-yard. Mr. Nuttall narrates that in the thinly settled parts of Alabama and Georgia it seemed to abound, and was very destructive to young chickens, a single one having been known to come regularly every day until it had carried off twenty or thirty. He was eyewitness to one of its acts of robbery, where, at noonday and in the near presence of the farmer, the Hawk descended and carried off one of the chickens. In another instance the same writer mentions that one of these Hawks, descending with blind eagerness upon its prey, broke through the glass of the greenhouse at the Cambridge Botanic Garden, fearlessly passed through a second glass partition, and was only brought up by a third, when it was caught, though very little injured.

At times this Hawk is seen to fly high, in a desultory manner, with quick but irregular movements of the wings, now moving in short and unequal circles, pausing to examine the objects below, and then again descending rapidly and following a course only a few feet from the ground, carefully examining each patch of small bushes in search of small birds.

Besides the smaller birds, young chickens, and pigeons, this Hawk has been known to occasionally feed on small reptiles and insects, as also upon the smaller quadrupeds.

Mr. Audubon speaks of having met with three nests of this species, and all in different situations. One was in a hole in a rock on the banks of the Ohio River; another was in the hollow of a broken branch, near Louisville, Ky., and the third in the forks of a low oak, near Henderson, Ky. In the first case, the nest was slight, and simply constructed of a few sticks and some grasses, carelessly interwoven, and about two feet from the entrance of the hole. In the second instance there was no nest whatever, but in the third the birds were engaged in the construction of an elaborate nest. The number of the eggs was four in one instance, and five in another. He describes them as almost equally rounded at both ends; their ground-color white, with a livid tinge, but scarcely discernible amid the numerous markings and blotches of reddish-chocolate with which they were irregularly covered. In a nest which was large and elaborately constructed of sticks, and contained five eggs, found by Dr. H. R. Storer in Concord, Mass., there was a single egg which nearly corresponds with this description. It is, however, the only one among many specimens that at all agrees with it. This specimen is a little more than usually elongate, and its ground-color, which is a purplish-white, is nearly concealed by its blotches of various shades of sepia-brown. In every other instance the egg is very nearly spherical, the ground-color white, and beautifully marked with large confluent blotches of sepia, varying in depth from quite a light to a very dark shade. In one, these confluent markings form a broad belt around the centre of the egg. In others, they are chiefly distributed about the larger end. The contrast between the white ground and the dark confluent dashes of brown is very striking. Except in size, the eggs of this bird bear a marked resemblance to those of the Sparrow Hawk of Europe. In a few instances, the brown markings have an intermixture of red and purple. The egg measures 1.35 by 1.15 inches.

In nearly every instance the nest of this Hawk has been constructed in trees. It is usually large in proportion to the size of the bird, and its materials are somewhat elaborately put together; it is composed chiefly of large sticks and twigs, and the whole platform is covered with a thin lining of dry leaves, mosses, grass, etc. Mr. John Krider, of Philadelphia, found a nest in New Jersey, in the vicinity of that city, which was built on the edge of a high rock.

Mr. Robert Kennicott met with the nest of this species at Fort Resolution. It was composed entirely of small dry spruce twigs, with the exception of a half-dozen small flat bits of the scaly outer bark of the spruce, laid in the bottom, and forming a sort of lining. No feathers or other softer materials were used. The nest was shallow and broad. The base was about eighteen inches in diameter, and was about eight feet from the ground. It was in a small spruce in a thick wood and on high ground. When disturbed, the female flew off a short distance; but on Mr. Kennicott’s hiding himself returned and flew near the nest, continually uttering a harsh rapid note. Near the nest were marks indicating the place where the male passed the nights perched on a dry stick near the ground.

Mr. B. R. Ross observed these birds nesting thickly along the cliffs of the Upper Slave River. They were more rare northward of Fort Simpson than F. columbarius.

Mr. William Street, of Easthampton, informs me that he has found this Hawk nesting on Mount Tom, where he has known of six of their nests in one season. In the spring of 1872 he found three nests, on the 24th and 25th of May. They contained two eggs each. One of these, on the 27th contained three eggs, of which he took one; on the 3d of June two more eggs had been laid. Two of these were taken, after which the birds deserted the nest and resorted to an old squirrel’s nest, where they had four more eggs, depositing one every third day. They arrive at Mount Tom about the 1st of May. Their nests are made entirely of sticks, larger on the outside, and smaller within. They usually build in a hemlock-tree, selecting a thick clump. They are very noisy when they are at work building their nest, and often betray their presence by their cries. The younger the pair the more noisy they are. This Hawk appears to live nearly altogether on small birds. Mr. Street mentions having found ten or twelve skeletons in a single nest of this species.

Nisus cooperi (BONAP.).

=Var. cooperi=, BONAP.

COOPER’S HAWK.

Falco cooperi, BONAP. Am. Orn. pl. x, fig. 1, 1825; Ann. Lyc. N. Y. II, 433; Isis, 1832, 1137.—JAMES. (WILS.) Am. Orn. IV, 1831, 3.—PEAB. B. Mass. III, 78. Accipiter cooperi, GRAY, List B. Brit. Mus. 38, 1844; Gen. B. fol. sp. 6.—CASS. Birds Cal. & Tex. p. 96, 1854; Birds N. Am. 1858, 16.—SCLAT. Pr. Z. S. 1859, 389 (difference from A. pileatus, MAX.).—HEERM. P. R. R. Rep’t, VII, 31, 1857.—COOP. & SUCKL. P. R. R. Rep’t, XII, ii, 145, 1860.—COUES, Prod. Orn. Ariz. p. 7, 1866.—DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 323 (Texas).—BLAKIST. Ibis, III, 1861, 317.—SCL. & SALV. Ex. Orn. I, 1869, 170.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 32, 1869. Astur cooperi, JARD. (WILS.) Am. Orn. III, 363, 1832.—BONAP. List, p. 5; Rev. Zool. 1850, 489; Consp. Av. 31.—DE KAY, Zoöl. N. Y. II, 18, pl. iv, p. 5.—NEWB. P. R. R. Rep’t, VI, iv, 74, 1857.—MAX. Cab. Journ. VI, 1858, 13. Falco stanleyi, AUD. B. Am. pls. xxxvi, cxli; Orn. Biog. I, 186. Accipiter pileatus (not of MAX.!), STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 109, 1855. Accipiter cooperi, BREWER, Oölogy, 1857, 20, pl. v, f. 55.

SP. CHAR. Adult male (No. 10,086). Forehead, crown, and occiput blackish-plumbeous; the latter snowy-white beneath the surface; rest of upper parts slaty-plumbeous, the nape abruptly lighter than the occiput; feathers of the nape, back, scapulars, and rump with darker shaft-lines; scapulars with concealed cordate and circular spots of white; upper tail-coverts sharply tipped with white. Tail more brownish than the rump, sharply tipped with pure white, and crossed with three broad, sharply defined bands of black, the first of which is concealed, the last much broadest; that portion of the shaft between the two exposed black bands white. Lores grayish; cheeks and throat white, with fine, hair-like shaft-streaks of blackish; ear-coverts and sides of neck more ashy, and more faintly streaked. Ground-color beneath pure white; but with detached transverse bars of rich vinaceous-rufous, crossing the jugulum, breast, sides, flanks, abdomen, and tibiæ; the white bars everywhere (except on sides of the breast) rather exceeding the rufous in width; all the feathers (except tibial plumes) with distinct black shaft-lines; lower tail-coverts immaculate, pure white. Lining of the wing white, with numerous cordate spots of rufous; coverts with transverse blackish bars; under side of primaries silvery-white, purest basally (tips dusky), crossed with quadrate bars of dusky, of which there are six (the first only indicated) upon the longest quill (fourth). Wing, 9.20; tail, 7.80; tarsus, 2.35; middle toe, 1.60. Fourth quill longest; third shorter than fifth; second intermediate between sixth and seventh; first, 2.80 shorter than longest; graduation of tail, 1.00.

Adult female (26,588, Washington, D. C.; Elliott Coues). Similar to the male. Forehead tinged with brownish; upper plumage much less bluish. Neck and ear-coverts uniformly rufous, with black shaft-streaks, there being no ashy wash as in the male. Tail decidedly less bluish than in the male, crossed with four bands, three of which are exposed. The rufous bars beneath less vinaceous than in the male, but of about the same amount, rather predominating on the tibiæ. Wing, 10.70; tail, 9.00; tarsus, 2.45; middle toe, 1.80. Fourth and fifth quills longest and equal; third longer than sixth; second intermediate between sixth and seventh; first three inches shorter than longest.

Young male (55,498, Fort Macon, N. C., February; Dr. Coues). Above grayish-umber; feathers of forehead, crown, and nape faintly edged laterally with pale rusty; occiput unvaried blackish, feathers white beneath the surface. Wing-coverts, scapulars, and interscapulars narrowly bordered with pale yellowish-umber; rump and upper tail-coverts bordered with rusty. Tail paler umber than the back, narrowly tipped with white, and crossed by four bands of brownish-black, the first of which is only partially concealed. Scapulars and upper tail-coverts showing much concealed white, in form of roundish spots, on both webs. Beneath clear white, without any yellowish tinge; throat with a medial and lateral series of clear dark-brown streaks; jugulum, breast, sides, flanks, and abdomen with numerous stripes of clear sepia, each showing a darker shaft-streak; tibiæ with longitudinal streaks of paler and more rusty brown; lower tail-coverts immaculate.

Young female (6,876 “Sacramento Valley, Cal.”; Dr. Heermann—probably from Pennsylvania). Similar to young male; more varied, however. The black middle streaks of feathers of head above narrower, causing more conspicuous streaks; white spots of scapular region considerably exposed; longitudinal stripe beneath narrower and more sparse.

HAB. North America in general, but rare in the western division; Eastern Mexico. Not found in West Indies, where replaced by A. gundlachi, LAWR.

Localities: Southeastern Texas (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 323, breeds); Arizona (Coues, Prod. 1866, 43); Costa Rica (LAWR. IX, 134).

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

National Museum, 12; Philadelphia Academy, 16; New York Museum, 3; Boston Society, 2; Cambridge Museum, 1; Cab. G. N. Lawrence, 7; Coll. R. Ridgway, 4; Museum, W. S. Brewer, 1. Total, 46.

Measurements.

+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ |Sex.| Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. |Middle Toe.|Specimens.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♂ | 9.00–9.30| 8.00–8.50| .65–.00|2.45–2.65| 1.55–1.60| 7 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♀ |10.20–11.00| 9.00–9.80| .75–.80|2.60–2.75| 1.65–1.85| 12 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+

Var. mexicanus, SWAINSON.

MEXICAN BLUE-BACKED HAWK.

Accipiter mexicanus, SWAINS. F. Bor.-Am. II, 1831, 45.—JARD. (ed. WILS.) Am. Orn. II, 1832, 215.—BONAP. Consp. 32 (under _A. fuscus_).—CASS. B. Cal. & Tex. 96.—IB. P. A. N. S. 1855, 279; Birds N. Am. 1858, 17.—COOP. & SUCKL. P. R. R. Rep’t, VII, ii, 1860, 146.—COUES, P. A. N. S. Philad. 1866, 18.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 1869, 33.

Adult male (12,024, Fort Tejon, Cal.; J. Xantus). Forehead, crown, and occiput plumbeous-black, feathers of the latter with basal two-thirds snowy-white, partially exposed. Upper plumage deep plumbeous, darkest anteriorly, the back being scarcely lighter than the nape; rump fine bluish-plumbeous. No concealed white on the upper parts. Tail brownish-plumbeous, narrowly tipped with pure white, and with four sharply defined broad bands of black,—the first of which is faintest, and concealed by the coverts, the last broadest; shafts of tail-feathers deep brown throughout. Primaries and secondaries much darker than the tail, more bluish; less so, however, than the scapulars. Lores whitish, quite in contrast with the black of the forehead; cheeks and ear-coverts dark ashy, slightly washed with reddish, and with obscure darker streaks; chin and throat white, with sparse hair-like shaft-streaks of black. Breast, abdomen, sides, flanks, and tibiæ fine vinaceous-rufous; feathers (except on tibiæ) with fine hair-like shaft-streaks of black (much narrower than in cooperi); breast, abdomen, sides, and flanks with pairs of transverse ovoid white spots, not touching the shaft; on the abdomen the white and rufous bars are of about equal width; on the tibiæ the rufous is deepest, and exceeds the white; anal region barred with rufous, more faintly than the abdomen; lower tail-coverts snowy-white. Sides of the neck deep reddish-ashy, this washing the whole side of the breast. Lining of the wing reddish-white, with numerous crowded, cordate, somewhat blended spots of rufous; larger coverts transversely spotted with blackish; under side of primaries silvery-white (blackish for about the terminal inch), crossed with quadrate spots of blackish, of which there are about seven on the longest quill (fourth); the basal ones are, however, so much broken, that the number varies in different individuals.

Young male (Fort Tejon, California). Forehead, crown, occiput, and nape deep rusty-rufous; feathers with broad longitudinal streaks of pure black. Rest of upper parts deep umber, darkest on the back; feathers of back and rump, the upper tail-coverts, scapulars, and wing-coverts, broadly bordered with rusty; scapulars with concealed white spots. Tail ashy-umber, tipped (more broadly than in adult) with ashy-white, crossed by four broad bands of brownish-black; the last (or subterminal) of which is broadest, the first concealed by the coverts. Secondaries and primaries similar in color to the tail, but darker; the first showing five obsolete darker bands, and tipped (rather broadly) with pale cinnamon-rufous. Ear-coverts and cheeks fulvous-white, thickly streaked with dark brown. Lower parts white, washed with ochraceous on jugulum and breast; each feather with a central longitudinal lanceolate stripe of clear umber, the shaft of each black; these streaks are very narrow on the throat, broadest on the breast and flanks. Tibiæ with transversely ovate spots, and transverse bars of reddish-umber; lower tail-coverts with narrow shaft-streaks of darker brown. Lining of wing with cordate and ovate spots of dark brown.

Young female (42,136, Orizaba, Mexico; M. Botteri). Similar to the young male; feathers of back, etc., less broadly margined with rusty. Ochraceous wash on lower parts more decided; stripes beneath broader and less lanceolate; on the sides broadly ovate, and on the flanks in form of broad transverse bars; tibiæ more thickly spotted transversely; lower tail-coverts immaculate. Wing, 9.00; tail, 7.80; tarsus, 2.25; middle toe, 2.50. Fourth quill longest; third shorter than fifth; second intermediate between sixth and seventh; first, 2.90 shorter than longest. Graduation of tail, .90.

HAB. Western region of North America; Mexico.

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

National Museum, 22; Boston Society, 2; Museum, Cambridge, 2; Cab. G. N. Lawrence, 2; Philadelphia Academy, 2; Coll. R. Ridgway, 2. Total, 32.

Measurements.

+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ |Sex.| Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. |Middle Toe.|Specimens.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♂ | 8.50–9.85| 7.50–9.20| .60–.70|2.10–2.75| 1.30–1.65| 24 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♀ |10.20–10.60| 9.30–10.50| .70–.75|2.65–2.75| 1.65–1.75| 4 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+

HABITS. This common Hawk appears to have a very general distribution over the United States, from South Carolina to New Brunswick, on the Atlantic; from Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, in the interior, to the Saskatchewan, and from Southern California to Washington Territory, on the Pacific. Mr. Boardman mentions it as found near Calais, but rare. Mr. Verrill cites it as occurring in Western Maine, but not common. I have received its eggs from South Carolina, where it is resident throughout the year. Mr. Dresser met with it not uncommon near San Antonio, and found it breeding on the Altascosa and Medina Rivers. Dr. Coues says it is generally distributed throughout the Territory of Arizona. Dr. Newberry found it common about San Francisco, and extending north of the Columbia River. Mr. A. Schott obtained a specimen on the Colorado River in Southern California, and Dr. Gambel and Dr. A. L. Heermann speak of it as common throughout that State, while Dr. Cooper and Dr. Suckley mention it as frequent both in Oregon and in Washington Territory. A single specimen was taken by Mr. Salvin in Guatemala. Dr. Cooper states that this Hawk is often killed about the farm-yards of Washington Territory, where it seizes on chickens before the very eyes of the owner, darting down like lightning, and disappearing again before he can see what has caused the disturbance. It is said to be a constant resident, and to breed within the Territory.

Mr. Audubon describes the flight of this Hawk as rapid, protracted, and even, and as performed at a short distance from the ground, or over the forest. It is said to move along in a silent gliding manner, and with a swiftness even superior to that of the Wild Pigeon, rarely deviating from a straight course except to seize its prey, and seldom mounting in the air in circles. It is very bold and daring, Mr. Audubon having known one to attack and kill a cock much larger and heavier than itself. It frequently attacks and kills the common Ruffed Grouse. It breeds in especial abundance in the Middle States, and particularly along the banks of the Potomac River. I have received reliable information of its nesting in Vermont, Massachusetts, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina, and probably nearly all of the States. Mr. Gosse did not meet with it in Jamaica.

Mr. Audubon states that he found its nest usually placed in the forks of the branch of an oak-tree, towards its extremity. In general appearance it resembles that of the common Crow, being composed externally of numerous crooked sticks, and having a slight lining of grasses and a few feathers. The eggs he describes as three or four in number, almost globular, large for the size of the bird, of a dull white color, granulated and rough to the touch.

Dr. Hoy, in a communication to the Boston Natural History Society, mentions finding four nests of this Hawk in a single season, and his careful observations of the habits of the parent birds enabled him to ascertain that in each instance the birds began to sit constantly upon their nest as soon as a single egg had been deposited, and that, as a consequence, the eggs having been deposited at varying intervals, each one was found in a different stage of incubation from the other. In not a single instance did he visit a nest without finding the parent bird occupying it.

These nests were all composed of sticks, rudely lined with strips of bark and a few bunches of Usnea barbata. The nests were quite shallow and small for a Hawk. Most of the eggs were sparingly sprinkled with umber-brown. One set of these eggs was blotched with bluish-green, which soon faded out. While the nests were being molested, the parent Hawk would fly from tree to tree, uttering, in rapid succession, quick-quick-quick-quick.

Dr. Hoy states that the male of this species, during the nesting-season, may frequently be seen flying high in the air, sporting, vaulting, and turning somersaults on the wing, which habit has given to it the name of Tumbler-Hawk. No Hawk is harder to shoot, and none commits greater havoc among barn-yard fowls than this species. He has seen one strike a large hen while she was flying wildly for safety, and kill her on the spot, though it was obliged to abandon the game, as it proved too heavy to carry off.

I have specimens of its eggs from South Carolina, obtained by the young sons of Rev. M. A. Curtis, of Society Hill. Mr. Curtis, Sen., furnished me with the following description of its nest: “The nest of the Cooper’s Hawk was built in the triple fork of a tall black gum (Nyssa multiflora), near the top of the tree, which stood in a swamp. It was formed of a layer of small sticks, ⅓ to ½ inch in diameter. Its external diameter varied from 1½ to 2 feet. This layer was ⅞ of an inch in thickness, with only a slight depression in the centre, hardly enough to keep the eggs from rolling out. A few thin pieces of pine bark formed the bed for the eggs.”

Another nest, obtained in Randolph, Vt., by Charles S. Paine, Esq., is thus described by him: “The nest was built of hemlock twigs, and lined with small, thin pieces of hemlock bark, such as hang loosely on the tree. The Hawk, when the nest was approached, did not whistle, as some others of that family do, but uttered a cry of ge! ge! ge! ge! This was repeated several times, with great rapidity, by both male and female.”

The average size of the eggs of this bird is 1.56 by 1.94 inches. The color is usually a uniform dull white, but is occasionally tinged with as light bluish shade. They are nearly spherical, though not more so than the eggs of several species, and are equal at either end. Their surface is slightly granulated. The number of the eggs varies from three to four, though occasionally there are five in a nest.

The maximum length of the egg of this species is 2.00 inches, the minimum 1.85; the maximum breadth 1.60, the minimum 1.50 inches. In occasional instances I have known the eggs of this species more or less distinctly marked, especially about the larger end, with blotches of a light yellowish-brown. Those most distinctly marked in this manner were taken and identified by Mr. Paine.

A nest of this Hawk, found by Dr. J. W. Velie, was built on a poplar-tree, about forty feet from the ground, and was composed of sticks and lined with moss and leaves. There was a small cleared space of three or four rods in extent, in the middle of which the tree stood, and about a quarter of a mile from the main channel of the Mississippi River, on Rock Island.

The Cooper Hawk was found on Mount Tom by Mr. William Street, nesting for the most part in pine or hemlock trees, usually choosing one in a thick clump. They begin to lay about the first of May, usually depositing four eggs. They are very shy, and it is almost impossible to get within shot of them, even when they have young. They rarely molest the poultry-yard, but seem to live chiefly on small birds and animals. They leave their nest at once whenever it is approached, and will not return until the intruder has gone.

The var. mexicanus, originally described by Mr. Swainson from Mexican specimens obtained near Real del Monte, has been ascertained to cross our boundaries, and is found in all the territory between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific, as far north as Washington Territory. Dr. Cooper has never met with this Hawk, but supposes its general habits, and especially those regulating its migrations, closely resemble those of A. cooperi, to which the bird itself, in all but size, is so similar. Dr. Coues speaks of it as a common resident species in Arizona. He states that he has seen young birds of this species, reared by the hand from the nest, become so thoroughly domesticated as to come to their master on being whistled for, and perch on his shoulder, or follow him when shooting small birds for their food. They were allowed their entire liberty. Their ordinary note was a shrill and harsh scream. A low, plaintive, lisping whistle was indicative of hunger.

Dr. Suckley, who met with this bird on Puget Sound, where a specimen was shot on a salt marsh, states that, while soaring about, it resembled in its motions the common Marsh Hawk, or Hen Harrier (Circus hudsonius).

SUBGENUS ASTUR, LACEPEDE.

Astur, LACÉP. 1800. (Type, Falco palumbarius, LINN.) Dædalion, SAVIG. 1809. Dædalium, AGASS. Sparvius, VIEILL. 1816. Aster, SWAINS. 1837. Leucospiza, KAUP, 1844. (Type, Falco novæ-hollandiæ, GMEL.)

The characters of this subgenus have been sufficiently indicated on page 221, so that it is unnecessary to repeat them here. The species of Astur are far less numerous than those of Nisus, only about six, including geographical races, being known. They are found in nearly all parts of the world, except tropical America, the Sandwich Islands, and the East Indies.

Species and Races.

=A. palumbarius.= Wing, 12.00–14.50; tail, 9.50–12.75; culmen, .80–1.00; tarsus, 2.70–3.15; middle toe, 1.70–2.20. Fourth quill longest; first shortest. Adult. Above, continuously uniform slate-color, or brown; the tail with several more or less distinct broad bands of darker, and narrowly tipped with white. Beneath white, with transverse lines or bars of the same color as the upper surface. Top of the head blackish; a streaked whitish superciliary stripe. Young. Above much variegated with brown and pale ochraceous; bands on the tail more sharply defined. Beneath pale ochraceous, with longitudinal stripes of dark brown.

Adult. Above umber-brown, without conspicuously darker shaft-streaks; top of the head dull dusky. Markings on the lower parts in the form of sharply defined, broad, detached, crescentic bars, and of an umber tint; throat barred. Tail with five broad, well-defined bands of blackish. Wing, 12.25–14.25; tail, 9.40–11.10; culmen, .80–.95; tarsus, 2.80–3.15; middle toe, 1.80–2.20. Hab. Northern portions of the Old World …

var. palumbarius.[83]

Adult. Above bluish slate-color, with conspicuous darker shaft-streaks; top of the head deep black; markings on the lower parts in the form of irregularly defined, narrow, zigzag bars, or fine lines, of a bluish-slaty tint; throat not barred. Tail with only about four indistinct bands of blackish. Wing, 12.00–14.70; tail, 9.50–12.75; culmen, .80–1.00; tarsus, 2.70–3.20; middle toe, 1.70–2.00. Hab. Northern portions of North America …

var. atricapillus.

Astur palumbarius, var. atricapillus (WILS.).

AMERICAN GOSHAWK.

Falco atricapillus, WILS. Am. Orn. 1808, pl. lii, f. 3.—BONAP. Nouv. Giorn. Pisa, XXV, pt. ii, p. 55. Astur atricapillus, BONAP. Os. Cuv. Règ. An. p. 33.—IB. List, 1838, 5; Consp. 31.—WILS. Am. Orn. II, 284.—KAUP, Monog. Falc. Jardine’s Contr. Orn. 1850, 66.—DE KAY, Zoöl. N. Y. II, 19, pl. ii, fig. 4 (ad.), f. 5 (♂ juv.).—NUTT. Man. 85.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 118.—NEWB. P. R. Rep. VI, iv, 74.—COOP. & SUCK. P. R. Rep. XII, ii, 144.—LORD, Pr. R. A. I. IV, 1860, 110.—BLAKISTON, Ibis, III, 1861, 316.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 1869, 29.—BREWER, Oölogy, 1857, 17. Falco palumbarius, SAB. Frankl. Exp. 670.—BONAP. Ann. N. Y. Lyc. II, 28.—AUD. Edinb. J. Nat. Geog. Sc. III, 145.—IB. B. Am. pl. cxli; Orn. Biog. II, 241.—GIRAUD, B. Long Isl’d, 18.—PEAB. B. Mass. III, 77. Astur palumbarius, SW. & RICH. F. B. A. II, pl. xxvi.—JAMES. WILS. Am. Orn. I, 63.—AUD. Syn. B. Am. 18.—BREWER, WILS. Am. Orn. 685, pl. i, fig. 5.—GRAY, List B. Brit. Mus. 63.

SP. CHAR. Adult male (44,940, Boston, Mass.; E. A. Samuels). Above continuous bluish-slate, shafts of the feather inconspicuously black; tail darker and less bluish, tipped with white (about .25 of an inch wide) and crossed by five broad, faintly defined bars of blackish, these most distinct on inner webs (the first concealed by the upper coverts, the second partially so; the last, or subterminal one, which is about twice as broad as the rest, measuring about one inch in width). Primaries darker than the tail (but not approaching black). Forehead, crown, occiput, and ear-coverts pure plumbeous-black; feathers snowy-white beneath the surface, much exposed on the occiput; a broad conspicuous supraoral stripe originating above the posterior angle of the eye, running back over the ear-coverts to the occiput, pure white, with fine streaks of black; lores and cheeks grayish-white. Lower parts white; the whole surface (except throat and lower tail-coverts) covered with numerous narrow transverse bars of slate; on the breast these are much broken and irregular, forming fine transverse zigzags; posteriorly they are more regular, and about .10 of an inch wide, the white a very little more. Chin, throat, and cheeks without transverse bars, but with very sharp shaft-lines of black; breast, sides, and abdomen, a medial longitudinal broad streak of slate on each feather, the shaft black; on the tibiæ, where the transverse bars are narrower and more regular, the shaft-streaks are also finer; anal region finely barred; lower tail-coverts immaculate pure white. Lining of the wing barred more coarsely and irregularly than the breast; under surface of primaries with white prevailing, this growing more silvery toward the ends; longest (fourth) with six oblique transverse patches of slate, the outlines of which are much broken. Wing-formula, 4, 5, 3–6–2; 1=10. Wing, 13.00; tail, 9.50; tarsus, 3.70, naked portion, 1.35; middle toe, 2.00; inner, 1.21; outer, 1.37; posterior, 1.00.

No. 8,508 (Fort Steilacoom, Puget Sound, Washington Territory; Dr. Suckley. Var. striatulus, Ridgway). Similar to No. 44,940, but the upper surface more bluish, the shafts of the feathers more conspicuously black; the dorsal feathers nearly black around their borders. Tail-bands nearly obsolete. Lower parts with the ground-color fine bluish-ash, sprinkled transversely with innumerable zigzag dots of white, these gradually increasing in width posteriorly, where they take the form of irregular transverse bars; crissum sparsely and coarsely sprinkled with slaty. Each feather of the lower parts with a very sharply defined narrow shaft-stripe of deep black, these contrasting conspicuously with the bluish, finely marked ground-color. Under surface of primaries uniform slaty to their bases, the usual white spots being almost obsolete. Wing-formula, 4–5, 3–6–2–7–8–9, 1. Wing, 12.50; tail, 9.10; tarsus, 2.60, the naked portion, 1.40; middle toe, 1.75.

Adult female (12,239, Brooklyn, N. Y.; J. Ackhurst). Almost precisely similar to the male. Slate above less bluish; bands on tail more distinct, five dark ones (about .75 of an inch in width) across the brownish-slate; obscure light bands indicated on outer webs of primaries, corresponding with those on inner webs; lores more grayish than in male; bars beneath more regular; longitudinal streaks blacker and more sharply defined. Wing, 14.25; tail, 11.25; tarsus, 1.60–1.20; middle toe, 1.95; inner, 1.40; outer, 1.45; posterior, 1.30.

No. 59,892, (Colorado; F. V. Hayden, var. striatulus, Ridgway). Similar to male No. 8,508, described above, but differing as follows: interscapulars uniform with the rest of the upper surface; tail-bands appreciable, much broader than in ♀, No. 12,239, the subterminal one being 1.61, the rest 1.10, wide, instead of 1.10 and .70. The longest upper tail-coverts with narrow white tips; white spots on inner webs of primaries more distinct. Black shaft-streaks on lower surface broader and more conspicuous. Wing-formula, 4, 3, 5–6–2–7, 1=10. Wing, 14.70; tail, 11.50; tarsus, 2.50; the naked portion, 1.10; middle toe, 2.00.

Young male (second year, No. 26,920, Nova Scotia, June; W. G. Winton). Plumage very much variegated. Head above, nape, and anterior portion of the back, ochraceous-white, each feather with a central stripe of brownish-black, these becoming more tear-shaped on the nape. Scapulars, back, wing-coverts, rump, and upper tail-coverts umber-brown; the feathers with lighter edges, and with large, more or less concealed spots of white,—these are largest on the scapulars, where they occupy the basal and middle thirds of the feathers, a band of brown narrower than the subterminal one separating the two areas; upper tail-coverts similarly marked, but white edges broader, forming conspicuous terminal crescentic bars. Tail cinereous-umber, with five conspicuous bands of blackish-brown, the last of which is subterminal, and broader than the rest; tip of tail like the pale bands; the bands are most sharply defined on the inner webs, being followed along the edges by the white of the edge, which, frequently extending along the margin of the black, crosses to the shaft, and is sometimes even apparent on the outer web; the lateral feather has the inner web almost entirely white, this, however, more or less finely mottled with grayish, the mottling becoming more dense toward the end of the feather; the bands also cross more obliquely than on the middle feathers. Secondaries grayish-brown, with five indistinct, but quite apparent, dark bands; primaries marked as in the adult, but are much lighter. Beneath pure white, all the feathers, including lower tail-coverts, with sharp, central, longitudinal streaks of clear dark-brown, the shafts of the feathers black; on the sides and tibiæ these streaks are expanded into a more acuminate, elliptical form; the crissum only is immaculate, although the throat is only very sparsely streaked; on the ear-coverts the streaks are very fine and numerous, but uniformly distributed.

No. 18,404 (west of Fort Benton, on the Missouri, May 16, 1864; Captain Jas. A. Mullan, var. striatulus). Similar to No. 26,920, but colors much darker. Upper parts with dark brown prevailing, the pale borders to the feathers very narrow, and the basal very restricted and concealed; upper tail-coverts deep ashy-umber, tipped narrowly with white, and with large subterminal, transversely cordate, and other anterior bars of dusky. Tail ashy-brown, much darker than in No. 26,920, with five broad, sharply defined bands of blackish, without any distinct light bordering bar. White of the lower parts entirely destitute of any yellowish tinge, the stripes much broader than in No. 26,920, and deep brownish-black, the shafts not perceptibly darker; tibiæ with transverse bars of dusky; lower tail-coverts with transverse spots of the same. Wing, 12.25; tail, 9.70.

Young female (second year, No. 26,921, Nova Scotia; W. G. Winton). Head above, nape, rump, and upper tail-coverts, with a deep ochraceous tinge; the characters of markings, however, as in the male. Bands on the tail more sharply defined, the narrow white bar separating the black from the grayish bands more continuous and conspicuous; lateral feathers more mottled; grayish tip of tail passing terminally into white. Beneath with a faint ochraceous wash, this most apparent on the lining of the wings and tibiæ; streaks as in the male, but rather more numerous, the throat being thickly streaked.

No. 11,740 (Puget Sound, October 26, 1858; Dr. C. B. Kennerly. Var. striatulus). Similar to No. 18,404, but more uniformly blackish above; tip of tail more distinctly whitish; stripes beneath broader and deeper black, becoming broader and more tear-shaped posteriorly, some of the markings on the flanks being cordate, or even transverse. Wing-formula, 4, 5, 3–6, 2–7–8–9–10=1. Wing, 13.00; tail, 10.80; tarsus, 2.80; middle toe, 1.80.

Young female (first year, No. 49,662, Calais, Me.; G. A. Boardman). Differs from the female in the second year (No. 26,921) as follows: On the wings and upper tail-coverts the yellowish-white spots are less concealed, or, in fact, this forms the ground-color; secondary coverts ochraceous-white, with two very distant transverse spots of dark brown, rather narrower than the white spaces; tips of feathers broadly white; secondaries grayish-brown, tipped with white, more mottled with the same toward bases, and crossed by five bands of dark brown, the first two of which are concealed by the coverts, the last quite a distance from the end of the feathers; upper tail-coverts white, mottled on inner webs with brown, each with two transverse broad bars, and a subterminal cordate spot of dark brown, the last not touching the edge of the feather, and the anterior bars both concealed by the overlaying feather. Tail grayish-brown, tipped with white, and with six bands of blackish-brown; these bordered with white as in the older stage. Markings beneath as in the older stage, but those on the sides more cordate. Wing-formula, 4, 5, 3–6–7–2–8–9, 1, 10. Wing, 14.00; tail, 11.50.

In regard to the form indicated in the above descriptions as “var. striatulus, Ridgway,” I am as yet undecided whether to recognize it as a geographical race, or to merely consider the two adult plumages as representing different ages of the same form. Certain it is that there is a decided difference in the young plumage, between the birds of this species from the eastern portion of North America and those from the western regions; these differences consisting in the very much darker colors of the western individuals, as shown by the above descriptions. My first impression in regard to the adult dress, after making the first critical examination of the series at my command, was, that the coarsely mottled specimens were confined to the east, and that those finely mottled beneath were peculiar to the west; and this view I am not yet prepared to yield. I have never seen an adult bird from any western locality which agrees with the eastern ones described above; all partake of the same characters as those described, in being finely and faintly mottled beneath, with sharp black shaft-streaks, producing the effect of a nearly uniform bluish ground, the black streaks in conspicuous contrast, the tail-bands nearly obsolete, etc. But occasional, not to say frequent, individuals obtained in the eastern States, which agree in these respects with the western style, rather disfavor the view that these differences are regional, unless we consider that these troublesome individuals, being, of course, winter migrants, have strayed eastward from the countries where they were bred. The Colorado female described above exhibits a rather suspicious feature in having a single feather, on the lower parts, which is coarsely barred, as in the eastern style, while all the rest are finely waved and marbled as in the western. If this would suggest that the differences supposed to be climatic or geographical are in reality only dependent on age, it would also indicate that the finely mottled individuals are the older ones.

If future investigations should substantiate this suggestion as to the existence of an eastern and a western race of Goshawk in North America, they would be distinguished by the following characters:—

Var. =atricapillus=. Adult. Markings of the lower surface coarse and ragged; feathers of the pectoral region with broad medial longitudinal streaks of the same slaty tint as the transverse bars, and with only the shafts black. Tail-bands distinct. Young. Pale ochraceous markings prevailing in extent over the darker (clear grayish-umber) spotting. Stripes beneath narrow, clear brownish; those on the flanks linear. Wing, 12.25–14.25; tail, 10.00–12.75; culmen, .80–1.00; tarsus, 2.90–3.15; middle toe, 1.70–1.95. Hab. Eastern region of North America.

Var. =striatulus=. Adult. Markings of the lower parts fine and delicate, and so dense as to present the appearance of a nearly uniform bluish-ashy surface; feathers of the pectoral region without the medial stripes of slaty, but with broad shaft-streaks of deep black, contrasting very conspicuously with the finely mottled general surface. Tail-bands obsolete. Young. Darker (brownish-black) markings prevailing in extent over the lighter (nearly clear white) ones. Stripes beneath broad, brownish-black; those on the flanks cordate and transverse. Wing, 12.00–13.60; tail, 9.50–12.20; culmen, .85–1.00; tarsus, 2.70–3.15; middle toe, 1.70–.185. Hab. Western region of North America.

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

Var. atricapillus.

National Museum, 8; Philadelphia Academy, 7; New York Museum, 3; Boston Society, 2; G. N. Lawrence, 4; W. S. Brewer, 2; Museum, Cambridge, 2; R. Ridgway, 2. Total, 30.

Measurements.

+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ |Sex.| Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. |Middle Toe.|Specimens.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♂ |12.25–13.00|10.00–10.50| .80–.85|2.90–3.05| 1.70–1.80| 5 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♀ |14.00–14.25|11.50–12.75| .90–1.00|2.90–3.15| 1.80–1.95| 7 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+

Var. striatulus.

National Museum, 9; R. Ridgway, 1; Museum, Cambridge, 1 (Massachusetts!). Total, 11.

Measurements.

+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ |Sex.| Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. |Middle Toe.|Specimens.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♂ |12.00–13.25| 9.50–10.00| .85–.90|2.70–3.00| 1.70–1.80| 8 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♀ |13.50–13.60|11.80–12.20| .90–1.00|3.00–3.15| 1.85–0.00| 2 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+

HABITS. The dreaded Blue Hen Hawk, as our Goshawk is usually called in New England, is a bird of somewhat irregular occurrence south of the 44th parallel. It occurs in the vicinity of Boston from November to March, but is never very common. In other parts of the State it is at times not uncommon at this season. It is common throughout Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Northern Maine, and may undoubtedly be found breeding in the northern portions of New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. In the summer of 1872, Mr. George Baxter, of Danville, Vt., procured a nest containing three young birds, which were sent to the New York Central Park. Mr. Downes speaks of it as “far too common” in the vicinity of Halifax, where it is very destructive to Ducks, Pigeons, and poultry. Mr. Boardman gives it as common near Calais, where it breeds, and where he has taken its eggs. Mr. Verrill mentions it as resident in Western Maine, where it is one of the most common Hawks. Mr. Allen found it usually rare near Springfield, but remarkably common during the winter of 1859–60. He afterwards mentions that since then, and for the last ten winters, he has known them to be quite common during several seasons. Mr. C. J. Maynard is confident that this species occasionally breed in Massachusetts. He once observed a pair at a locality in Weston, until the latter part of May. It was found breeding in Iowa by Mr. S. N. Marston. Mr. Victor Brooke records in the Ibis, 1870, p. 538, the occurrence, in Ireland, of an example of this species. It was shot in the Galtee Mountains, in February, 1870. The bird was a mature female, with the ovary somewhat enlarged. The stomach contained the remains of a rabbit.

On the Pacific coast it is comparatively rare in California, though much more abundant farther north, in Oregon and in Washington Territory. Dr. Cooper noticed several in the dense spruce forests of Washington Territory, and regarded it as a special frequenter of dark woods, where other Hawks are rarely seen. Dr. Suckley also obtained several specimens of this bird both at Fort Dalles and at Fort Steilacoom.

Sir John Richardson met with this Hawk and procured several specimens in the Arctic regions, and Captain Blakiston also met with it in the valley of the Saskatchewan. He states that it ranges throughout the interior from Hudson’s Bay to the Rocky Mountains and Mackenzie River. He found it breeding on the Saskatchewan, and one of his specimens was shot on its nest. The Goshawk was obtained at Sitka by Bischoff; and a pair was taken by Mr. Dall, April 24, 1867, within a few miles of Nulato Fort, on the Yukon River. The nest was on a large poplar, thirty feet above the ground, and made of small sticks. No eggs had been laid, but several nearly mature were found in the ovary of the female. The nest was on a small island in a thick grove of poplars, a situation which this species seemed to prefer. Mr. Dall adds that this was the most common Hawk in the valley of the Yukon, where it feeds largely on the White Ptarmigan (Lagopus albus), tearing off the skin and feathers, and eating only the flesh. Mr. Dall received skins from the Kuskoquim River, where it was said to be a resident species.

Dr. Suckley speaks of this Hawk as bold, swift, and strong, never hesitating to sweep into a poultry-yard, catch up a chicken, and make off with it almost in a breath. Its manner of seizing its prey was by a horizontal approach for a short distance, elevated but a few feet from the ground, a sudden downward sweep, and then, without stopping its flight, making its way to a neighboring tree with the struggling victim securely fastened in its talons. For strength, intrepidity, and fury, Dr. Suckley adds, it cannot be surpassed. It seems to display great cunning, seizing very opportune moments for its attacks. In one instance it was several days before he was able to have one of these birds killed, although men were constantly on the watch for it. So adroit was it in seizing opportunities to make its attacks, that it regularly visited the poultry-yard three times a day, and yet always contrived to escape unmolested. He found these birds much more plentiful during some months than at other times, and attributed it to their breeding in the retired recesses of the mountains, remaining there until their young were well able to fly, and then all descending to the open plains, where they obtain a more abundant supply of food.

Mr. Audubon states that in Maine the Goshawk was said to prey upon hares, the Canada and Ruffed Grouse, and upon Wild Ducks. They were so daring as to come to the very door of the farm-house, and carry off their prey with such rapidity as to baffle all endeavors to shoot them. Mr. Audubon found this Hawk preying upon the Wild Ducks in Canoe Creek, near Henderson, Ky., during a severe winter; as the banks were steep and high, he had them at a disadvantage, and secured a large number of them. They caught the Mallards with great ease, and, after killing them, tore off the feathers with great deliberation and neatness, eating only the flesh of the breast.

The flight of this bird he describes as both rapid and protracted, sweeping along with such speed as to enable it to seize its prey with only a slight deviation from its course, and making great use of its long tail in regulating both the direction and the rapidity of its course. It generally flies high, with a constant beat of the wings, rarely moving in large circles in the manner of other Hawks. It is described as a restless bird, vigilant and industrious, and seldom alighting except to devour its prey. When perching, it keeps itself more upright than most other Hawks.

Audubon narrates that he once observed one of these birds give chase to a large flock of the Purple Grakles, then crossing the Ohio River. The Hawk came upon them with the swiftness of an arrow; the Blackbirds, in their fright, rushing together in a compact mass. On overtaking them, it seized first one, and then another and another, giving each a death-squeeze, and then dropping it into the water. In this manner it procured five before the poor birds could reach the shelter of a wood; and then, giving up the chase, swept over the waters, picking up the fruits of its industry, and carrying each bird singly to the shore.

Mr. Audubon, who observed these Hawks in the Great Pine Forest of Pennsylvania, and on the banks of the Niagara River, near the Falls, describes a nest as placed on the branches of a tree, and near the trunk. It was of great size, and resembled that of a Crow in the manner of its construction, but was much flatter. It was made of withered twigs and coarse grass, with a lining of fibrous strips of plants resembling hemp. Another, found by Mr. Audubon in the month of April, contained three eggs ready to be hatched. In another the number was four.

Mr. Dall states that the eggs are usually four in number, of a greenish-white color, and were usually all laid by the first of May. An egg of this bird, obtained by Mr. Dall at Nulato, April 27, 1858, measures 2.28 inches in length and 1.90 in breadth. It is of a rounded-oval shape, and is of a uniform dead-white color, with hardly a tinge of green. Another, obtained by Mr. Charles Pease near the head-waters of the Unalakleet River, measures 2.32 by 1.80 inches, and the ground-color is more distinctly greenish-white. A few small spots of a bronze-brown are scattered in isolated marking irregularly over the egg. Lieutenant Bendire writes that he has found the eggs of this Hawk in Montana; that their number in a set is usually two, and an unspotted white.

GENUS ASTURINA, VIEILLOT.

Asturina, VIEILL. 1816. (Type, Falco nitidus, LATHAM.)

GEN. CHAR. Somewhat similar to Astur, but of much heavier and more robust build; tarsi longer and stouter, tail shorter and less rounded, wings longer, etc. Bill more elongated than in Astur, the cere longer, and the festoon on the commissure more developed; nostril oval, horizontal. Wings rather short, but less concave beneath than in Astur; third to fourth quill longest; first shorter than eighth or ninth; four outer quills with their inner webs sinuated. Tail considerably shorter than the wing, slightly emarginated, the lateral pair of feathers longest. Feet large and robust, when outstretched reaching almost to the end of the tail; tarsi very robust compared to the toes, about one and a half times as long as the middle toe, the frontal and posterior rows of transverse scutellæ very distinct and regular; outer toe longer than inner; claws strong, well curved, but not very acute. Sexes alike in color; old and young plumages very different.

This genus is peculiar to tropical America, and contains but a single species, the A. nitida, with its two climatic races, nitida of South America and plagiata of Middle America. The species of Rupornis, Kaup (R. magnirostris and R. leucorrhoa), have been associated with the species of the present genus, but they are very distinct. The genera (or, more properly, subgenera) most nearly related to Asturina are Leucoptrinis, Kaup, of tropical America, and Kaupifalco, Bonap., of Western Africa. The former differs mainly in more or less rounded, instead of emarginated, tail, and in having the old and young plumages similar; the latter in having the posterior face of the tarsus without a well-defined row of transverse scutellæ.

Species and Races.

=A. nitida.= Wing, 9.80–11.50; tail, 6.70–8.00; culmen, .80–1.00; tarsus, 2.50–2.90; middle toe, 1.40–1.75. Adult. Above clear ash, paler on the head and darker on the rump; the general surface with more or less appreciable transverse bars, or indications of bars, of a paler shade, and with darker shafts. Upper tail-coverts immaculate white. Tail deep black, fading into pale grayish-brown at the end, narrowly tipped with white, and crossed by two to three white bands. Lower parts, including the tibiæ, axillars, and throat, regularly barred with deep ash and white, the two colors about equal in extent; chin and crissum immaculate white. Young. Above blackish-brown, variegated with pinkish-ochraceous. Tail umber, tipped with pinkish-brown or dull whitish, and crossed by six to seven narrow bands of black. Beneath white, sometimes tinged with ochraceous; the breast, abdomen, and sides with longitudinal tear-shaped spots of black.

Adult. Upper surface distinctly barred, the lighter bars predominating; the top of the head as distinctly barred as the lower parts. Young. Tibiæ immaculate white or pale ochraceous. Culmen, .80–.90. Hab. South America, from S. E. Brazil and W. Ecuador, to Panama …

var. nitida.[84]

Adult. Upper surface only obsoletely barred, or almost uniform; the top of the head without any bars. Young. Tibiæ transversely barred with dusky. Culmen, .75–.80. Hab. Middle America, north to the southern border of the United States; straying northward in the Mississippi Valley, to Southern Illinois …

var. plagiata.

Asturina nitida, var. plagiata (SCHLEG.).

MEXICAN HAWK.

Asturina nitida, CASS. Birds N. Am. 1858, 35.—SCL. & SALV. Ibis, 1859, 217.—SALV. Ibis, 1861, 68.—SCL. P. Z. S. 1857, pp. 201, 227; 1859, pp. 368, 389; 1864, 178.—LAWR. Ann. N. Y. Lyc. IX, 133.—OWEN, Ibis, III, 1868 (egg white). Asturina cinerea, CASS. P. A. N. S. 1855, 283 (not of VIEILL.!). Asturina plagiata, SCHLEG. Mus. Pays-Bas. Asturinæ, p. 1.—SCL. & SALV. P. Z. S. 1868, 173; 1869, 130.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 30, 1869.—RIDGW. Am. Nat. VI, July, 1872, 430; VII, April, 1873, 203; (Southern Illinois, August).

SP. CHAR. Adult male (51,343, Mazatlan, Mexico; Ferd. Bischoff. “Length, 16.00; extent, 38.00”). Above deep, rather dark cinereous, becoming paler and finer on the head above, where the feathers have the shafts (finely) black; wings with obsolete lighter bars; rump almost black. Upper tail-coverts immaculate pure white. Tail pure black, tipped with pale grayish-brown (this passing terminally into white); about 1½ inches from the tip is a continuous band of white, half an inch in width; and a little over an inch anterior to this is another narrower and less perfect one. Primaries approaching black at ends; the tips broadly edged with dull white, as also the ends of secondaries. Head uniform fine delicate ashy, becoming white on chin and throat, and approaching the same on the forehead; shafts of feathers on head above, and neck, black; neck with obsolete paler transverse bars, these most distinct on jugulum; the breast, abdomen, sides, flanks, axillars, and tibiæ are regularly barred transversely with cinereous and pure white, the bars of each about equal, the white, however, gradually increasing, and the ashy bars narrowing posteriorly, the tibiæ being finely barred; lower tail-coverts immaculate pure white. Lining of the wing white, with very sparse, faint, transverse zigzag bars next the axillars and on larger coverts; under surface of primaries white anterior to their emargination, beyond which they are more silvery, leaving about an inch of the terminal portion black, the end of each, however, ashy; outer two quills crossed by narrow bars of ashy, the rest with indications of the same, near the shaft. Fourth quill longest; third scarcely shorter; second shorter than fifth; first intermediate between eighth and ninth. Wing, 10.50; tail, 7.00; tarsus, 2.60; middle toe, 1.50.

Adult female (34,002, Mazatlan, June; Colonel Grayson). Cinereous above darker, the fasciæ of the wings hardly observable; front and throat scarcely whitish; rump almost pure black; second tail-band much broken and restricted. Ashy prevailing on the jugulum; ashy bars beneath rather broader. Wings, 11.00; tail, 7.50; tarsus, 2.80; middle toe, 1.70.

Young male (35,060, Rio de Coahuyana, W. Mexico, October; J. Xantus). Above, from bill to upper tail-coverts, dark bistre-brown, almost black; feathers of the head and neck edged laterally with pinkish-ochraceous, or sulphuret of manganese color; scapulars with nearly whole outer webs of this color, they being blackish only along edges and at ends; middle wing-coverts spotted with the same. Secondaries and primaries faintly tipped with whitish; secondaries with indications of darker bands, and outer webs of primaries with still more obscure ones; upper tail-coverts white, with sagittate specks of black, one or two on each. Tail umber-brown (considerably lighter than the wings), tipped with pinkish-ash (this passing terminally into dull white), and crossed with six or seven bands of black (these becoming gradually, but very considerably, narrower toward the base). Beneath white, with vinaceous tinge (this deepest laterally); breast, abdomen, and sides with large tear-shaped or cuneate spots of black; tibiæ with numerous transverse bars of the same.

Young female. Similar to last, but the brown lighter, and more approaching umber.

HAB. Middle America (from coast to coast), from Costa Rica and Guatemala to southern border of United States. Arizona, breeding (BENDIRE). Southern Illinois (Richland Co.) June (RIDGWAY).

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

National Museum, 13; Philadelphia Academy, 3; Boston Society, 5; Cab. G. N. Lawrence, 1; R. Ridgway, 2. Total, 24.

Measurements.

+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ |Sex.| Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. |Middle Toe.|Specimens.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♂ | 9.80–11.50| 7.20–7.80| .85–.95|2.50–2.70| 1.55–1.70| 7 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♀ | 9.50–11.30| 6.70–8.00| .80–1.00|2.75–2.70| 1.40–1.75| 4 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ⚪? |10.00–11.70| 6.80–8.00| .90–.95|2.65–2.80| 1.50–1.65| 4 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+

HABITS. This is a Mexican and Central American Hawk, which occasionally crosses the borders of the United States, having been seen by Mr. Ridgway in Southern Illinois, and found breeding, by Captain Bendire, in Arizona, near Tucson. It has been found in the State of New Leon, one of the most northern provinces of Mexico, by Lieutenant Couch, who has, however, supplied no notes as to any peculiarities in its habits. It was said to breed in the tops of lofty trees, and to have eggs of a greenish-white, resembling those of Astur atricapillus. In Central America it is said by Salvin to be abundant in the hot country on both coast regions of the Republic of Guatemala, but it is not found in the temperate regions. Its food consists of lizards, and its flesh is in consequence very rank.

Mr. Robert Ridgway has met with this Hawk as far to the north as Southern Illinois. It was seen and twice shot at on the 19th of August, 1871, on Fox Prairie, in Richland County. Mr. Ridgway came across it while hunting Swallow-tail and Mississippi Kites. The bird, while being annoyed by these Hawks, was well seen, and there cannot be the slightest doubt as to its identity.

Mr. Robert Owen found this Hawk, known in Guatemala by the local name of Gavilan, a common name for the whole race of birds of prey, breeding at San Geronimo, April 3, 1860. The nests are usually found in the high trees which are scattered over the plain, and not unfrequently within a few yards of the Indian ranchos. Two eggs seemed to be the complement laid by one bird. These eggs are described by Mr. Owen as all white, without any natural coloring. The inner coating of the shell is sea-green, seeming to confirm the apparently close connection between the genera of Astur and Asturina.

Mr. G. C. Taylor met what he presumed to be this Hawk in great abundance at Comayagua, Honduras, in January. He saw a pair making their nest on the top of a lofty cotton-tree.

Captain Bendire found this species not uncommon and breeding in the vicinity of Tucson, in Arizona. He found two nests, one of which was taken June 6, the other a few days later. They were very slightly built of sticks and strips of bark, and placed in low trees on the banks of Reledo Creek. The nest contained two eggs. These are of a rounded oval shape, are quite tapering at one end and rounded at the other. They are of a uniform bluish-white color and unspotted, and measure 2.00 inches in length by 1.60 inches in breadth.

GENUS ANTENOR, RIDGWAY.

Antenor, RIDGWAY. (Type, Falco harrisi, AUD.) Craxirex, AUTHORS, not of GOULD.[85]

GEN. CHAR. Similar to Asturina, but form heavier, the bill and wings more elongated, the tail slightly rounded, and the lores almost naked. Bill very much as in Asturina, but more elongated, the top of the cere longer in proportion to the culmen, and the commissural lobe more anterior; the upper and lower outlines more nearly parallel. Nostril oval, horizontal, with an exposed cartilaginous tubercle. Lores nearly naked, with scant bristles. Wing long (much as in Buteo); the fourth or fifth quill longest, and the first shorter than the eighth to the tenth; outer four with inner webs sinuated. Tail long, more than two thirds the wing; even or slightly rounded. Feet robust, when outstretched reaching nearly to the end of the tail; tarsus nearly twice the length of the middle, very robust, the frontal and posterior rows of scutellæ very distinct; outer toe longer than the inner; claws strong, well curved, and acute. Sexes alike; young and old plumages very different.

This genus includes a single species, the P. unicinctus, with its two climatic races, unicinctus of South America and harrisi of Middle America. It is most nearly related to the genus Urubitinga, of tropical America, the species of which are sluggish and almost Caracara-like in their habits, though they are hardly more so than our own Buteones. The genus Craxirex of Gould having been founded upon Buteo galapagoensis, a species strictly congeneric with B. borealis, it is necessary that a new generic name should be instituted for the present species, since it so well merits separation to that rank. I accordingly propose the name given at the head of this chapter.

Species and Races.

=P. unicinctus.= Wing, 11.65–14.60; tail, 9.00–11.00; culmen, .82–1.10; tarsus, 2.78–3.75; middle toe, 1.52–2.00. Adult. General color brownish-black or blackish-brown, uniform, or slightly variegated by light spotting; the lesser wing-coverts and tibiæ deep rufous, or chestnut. Tail black; the end and base white, as are also the tail-coverts. Young. Plumage greatly variegated. Above blackish-brown, the feathers edged with rusty; head and neck streaked with pale ochraceous. Lower parts pale ochraceous or yellowish-white, the breast and abdomen with longitudinal ovoid spots of blackish; tibiæ with transverse bars of dark rusty; lower tail-coverts with black shaft-streaks. Lesser wing-covert region only washed with rufous. Tail grayish-brown, whitish at the tip, and crossed by narrow bands of dusky.

Adult with the blackish much broken up by lighter spotting. Wing, 11.65–14.60; tail, 9.00–10.50; culmen, .82–1.02; tarsus, 2.78–3.40; middle toe, 1.52–1.85. Hab. South America …

var. unicinctus.[86]

Adult with the blackish continuous and uniform. Wing, 12.35–14.50; tail, 9.80–11.00; culmen, .90–1.10; tarsus, 3.15–3.75; middle toe, 1.65–2.00. Hab. Middle America, north into southern border of United States …

var. harrisi.

Parabuteo unicinctus, var. harrisi (RIDGWAY).

HARRIS’S BUZZARD.

Falco harrisi, AUD. B. Am. pl. cccxcii, 1831.—IB. Orn. Biog. V, 30. Buteo harrisi, AUD. Synop. 1839, 5.—BONAP. List, 3.—DE KAY, Zoöl. N. Y. II, 11.—Craxirex unicinctus, var. harrisi, RIDGWAY, P. A. N. S. Philad. Dec. 1870, p. 142. Buteo unicinctus, var. harrisi, COUES, Key, 1872, 215. “Craxirex unicinctus, TEMM.” CASS. Birds N. Am. 1858, 46.—DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 329 (Texas).—COUES, P. A. N. S. 1866, 13 (Arizona).

SP. CHAR. Adult male (17,230, Cape St. Lucas, Lower California; J. Xantus). General plumage uniform sooty-black, purest on the tail, somewhat tinged with chestnut on the rump. Lesser wing-coverts and lateral half of each web of middle coverts, also the tibiæ, rich deep chestnut, perfectly uniform. Upper and lower tail-coverts, and broad basal and terminal zones of tail, pure white, the anterior band concealed (except on outer feathers) by the upper coverts, and about twice the width of the last, which is about 1 inch wide. Tail-coverts with a few irregular narrow shaft-streaks of blackish. Lining of wing deep chestnut, like the shoulders; each greater covert with a black shaft-streak; primaries beneath plain black. Wing, 14.50; tail, 10.00; tarsus, 3.25; middle toe, 2.00. Fourth and fifth quills longest and equal; third considerably shorter; second intermediate between sixth and seventh; first 3.40 shorter than longest.

Adult female (42,559, Iztlan, Mexico; Colonel Grayson). Generally similar to the male; the black, however, less pure and more brownish, the chestnut more extended, the whole rump being of this color, the last feathers merely being blackish in the middle. White of tail-coverts without blackish streaks. Wing, 14.60; tail, 10.30; tarsus, 3.25; middle toe, 1.95.

Immature male (second year, 50,763, Tepic, Mexico; Colonel Grayson). Upper parts similar to adult, but less uniform; the nape and back with feathers edged with rusty; sides of head and neck very much streaked. Breast and abdomen light ochraceous, with large longitudinal oval spots of black; tibiæ light ochraceous, with rather distant transverse bars of dark rusty-brown; lower tail-coverts ochraceous-white, with black shaft-lines. Rufous on the wings more extended and more broken; none on the rump. Terminal band of tail narrower and less sharply defined than in adult; inner webs of primaries with basal two-thirds white, irregularly mottled with dusky. “Iris chestnut-brown; cere, chin, and space round the eyes yellow.”

Immature female (second year, 15,260, Fort Buchanan, New Mexico; Dr. Irwin). Black spots beneath larger and more irregularly defined; tibiæ strongly barred with dark rufous; posterior edge of basal band of tail much broken.

HAB. Middle, or northern tropical, America, from the Isthmus of Panama northward into the southern United States; Mississippi (AUDUBON); Texas (Mus. S. I.; DRESSER); Arizona (COUES).

Localities: Guatemala (SCL. Ibis, I, 216).

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

National Museum, 13; Philadelphia Academy, 3; Cab. G. N. Lawrence, 2; Coll. R. Ridgway, 1. Total, 19.

Measurements.

+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ |Sex.| Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. |Middle Toe.|Specimens.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♂ |12.35–13.75| 9.80–10.20| .90–.95|3.15–3.20| 1.65–1.70| 8 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♀ |14.25–14.50|10.80–11.00|1.08–1.10|3.40–3.75| 1.90–2.00| 6 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+

HABITS. This Hawk has a very limited range within the United States, and Mr. Audubon, who was the first to meet with it there, obtained only a single specimen from Louisiana. Supposing it to be an undescribed species, he named it in honor of his friend, Mr. Edward Harris.

This species is occasionally found in the lower portions of the States of Mississippi and Louisiana, but becomes much more abundant in the southwestern sections of the latter State, and in Texas is common, especially about the mouth of the Rio Grande. In one variety or the other it is frequently met with throughout Mexico, and Central America, and is also said to be an occasional visitant of Cuba and Jamaica.

Mr. Dresser found this Hawk common throughout Texas to the Colorado River, beyond which he noticed but few. It was the only Hawk he noticed at Matamoras in the summer. He describes it as a heavy, sluggish bird, seldom seen on the wing, and subsisting, so far as he could see, entirely on carrion. All along the road from Brownsville to San Antonio, he noticed it either perched on some tree by the roadside, or busy, in company with Vultures and Caracaras, regaling on some offensive carrion. He found it breeding in the neighborhood of San Antonio, Medina, and Altascosa Rivers, having eggs in the month of May. A nest found on the 4th of May, near the Medina River, was built of sticks, very slightly lined, and was placed in a low hackberry-tree. The eggs were four in number, and described as white, with a faint bluish tinge, very sparingly spotted and blotched with red.

Other writers also agree in representing this Hawk as heavy and sluggish in habit, and as frequenting streams of water, and its food as consisting chiefly of the reptiles and smaller animals which frequent the banks of rivers and creeks. It builds its nests on low trees, in the immediate vicinity of its hunting-ground, and often over the water, constructing them of coarse flags and water-plants. The nests are usually not very large for the birds, are flattened or with very slight depressions, and the materials are very loosely put together. The eggs are from three to five in number, usually white and unspotted, occasionally with more or less of a yellowish or tawny tinge. In some instances they are faintly marked with light dashes or stains of a yellowish-brown, and, more rarely, are also marked with small blotches of sepia-brown, and with smaller dottings of purplish-drab. Their average measurement is, length 2.13, breadth 1.69 inches.

Our knowledge of the eggs of these Hawks is derived from the collection of the late Dr. Berlandier, of Matamoras, in the Province of Tamaulipas, Mexico. In the cabinet of that gentleman were several varieties, now in the possession of the Smithsonian Institution, and presented to it by Lieutenant Couch.

GENUS ONYCHOTES, RIDGWAY.

Onychotes, RIDGWAY, P. A. N. S. Philad. Dec. 1870, 142. (Type, O. gruberi, nov. sp.)

GEN. CHAR. Bill short, the tip remarkably short and obtuse, and only gradually bent; cere on top about equal to the culmen, very broad basally in its transverse diameter, and ascending, in its lateral outline, on a line with the culmen; commissure only faintly lobed. Nostril nearly circular, with a conspicuous (but not central or bony) tubercle; cere densely bristled below the nostril, almost to its anterior edge; orbital region finely bristled. Tarsus very long and slender, nearly twice the length of the middle toe; toes moderate, the outer one decidedly longer than the inner; claws very long, strong, and sharp, and curved in about one quarter the circumference of a circle. Tibial feathers short and close, the plumes scarcely reaching below the joint. Feathers of the forehead, gular region, sides, and tibiæ, with white filamentous attachments to the end of the shafts. Wing very short, much rounded, and very concave beneath; fourth quill longest; first shorter than ninth; four primaries emarginated, and one sinuated, on inner webs; five sinuated on outer webs. Tail about two thirds as long as wing, rounded. Outstretched feet reaching beyond end of tail.

This genus has no very near relatives among the American Falconidæ, nor, indeed, among those of other portions of the world. It is, perhaps, most closely related to the genus Rupornis, of South America, from which, however, it is very distinct. It is represented by a single species, the type of which, supposed to have come from California, still remains unique.

The elongated legs, reaching considerably beyond the rather short tail, the close thigh-plumes, the long and extremely acute claws (somewhat like those of Rostrhamus), with the short, rounded, and very concave wing, are its most striking peculiarities. Besides these distinguishing features, the short, thick bill, very deep through the base, and the filamentous attachments to the shafts of the feathers of certain parts of the body, are also very characteristic. The latter feature may possibly be a mark of immaturity, but I have seen nothing like it in other Raptores, and it seems to be more analogous to the nuptial ornaments seen in the Cormorants (Phalocrocoracidæ).

Species.

=O. gruberi.= Wing, 10.10; tail, 6.50; culmen, about .80; tarsus, 2.70; middle toe, 1.45; posterior claw, 1.00, its digit .80. Immature (?). Uniform grayish-umber, tinged with dull rufous on the neck; lining of the wing and tibiæ dull grayish-cinnamon. Primaries inclining to black, and showing just discernible, obscure hoary bars on their basal half. Tail brownish-gray, with a hoary cast nearer the shaft (not paler at the tip), and crossed with nine or ten narrow bars of dusky, these becoming hardly distinguishable basally and terminally. Inner webs of the primaries plain white anterior to their emargination. Head laterally and beneath obsoletely streaked with whitish. Hab. “California.”

Onychotes gruberi, RIDGWAY.

GRUBER’S HAWK.

Onychotes gruberi, RIDGWAY, Pr. Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil. Dec. 1870, p. 149.

SP. CHAR. Immature? (41,703, “California”; F. Gruber). Outstretched feet reaching beyond tail. General plumage dull dark-bistre, with a grayish-umber cast in some lights, darkest on the head above and back; the posterior lower parts paler and more reddish; throat and neck much tinged with pale rusty (this obsoletely bordering the feathers, which here have fine whitish filaments attached to the shafts); primaries uniform black. Tail like the rump, but with a more hoary tinge (not paler at the tip), and crossed with seven or eight very narrow obscure bars of darker, the last of which is distant an inch or more from the end. Lining of wing dark bistre, much tinged with rusty, this prevalent toward the edge; under surface of primaries white anterior to their emargination, beyond which they are ashy, approaching black at ends; ashy portion with distant, very obsolete, dusky bars, but the cheeks and throat streaked obsoletely with this color. No distinct white anywhere about the head or neck. Wing, 10.00; tail, 5.80; tarsus, 2.70; middle toe, 1.40; inner, .90; outer, 1.10; posterior, .80; hind claw, 1.00 (chord); inner claw, .91; on front of tarsus, twelve exposed large transverse scutellæ; only 1.70 of the tarsus exposed.

The type of this species still remains unique. It was sent to the Smithsonian Institution by Mr. Gruber, who labelled it as having been obtained in California. Nothing is known of its habits.

GENUS BUTEO, CUVIER.

Buteo, CUV. 1799. (Type, Falco buteo, LINN. = Buteo vulgaris, BECHSTEIN.) Craxirex, GOULD, 1838. (Type, Buteo galapagoensis, GOULD.) Pæcilopternis, KAUP, 1847. (Type, Falco borealis, GM.) Tachytriorchis, KAUP, 1844. (Type, Falco pterocles, TEMM.)

GEN. CHAR. Form robust and heavy, the wings long, and rather pointed, the tail moderate and rounded, the bill and feet strong. Bill intermediate between that of Astur and that of Parabuteo. Wing long and rather pointed, the third to fifth quill longest, the first shorter than eighth; three to four with inner webs emarginated. Tail moderate, slightly rounded.

The species of this genus are very numerous, especially within the tropics, and are found all over the world, except in Australia. About thirty nominal species are known, of which about fifteen distinct species, not including geographical races, belong to America. A single species, B. solitarius (Pandion solitarius, Peale), (Gray’s Hand List, I, 15, No. 136,) belongs to the Sandwich Islands. The genus seems to be wanting in the Australian and East Indian regions.

The following species and races belong to the North American fauna.

Species and Races.

=A.= Three outer primaries with their inner webs cut or emarginated.

1. =B. pennsylvanicus.= Wing, 9.85–11.40; tail, 6.30–8.00; culmen, .70–.80; tarsus, 2.15–2.80; middle toe, 1.20–1.40. Third to fourth quill longest; first shorter than seventh. Adult. Tail dull black, paler at the tip, crossed by two to four bands of dilute umber, or brownish-white, varying in width, but the last always broadest. Upper tail-coverts tipped and barred with white. Lower parts dull rufous-brown, nearly unbroken on the breast, but posteriorly much variegated with roundish transverse spots of white, forming broad transverse bars, interrupted by the dusky shaft. Upper parts dark umber, darker on the back. Young. Tail dull grayish-umber, growing darker terminally, narrowly tipped with whitish, and crossed by about six narrow and indistinct bands of dusky; these gradually becoming obsolete basally, the last much broader. Lower parts white, or light ochraceous, with longitudinal spots of dark brown or blackish on the sides of the breast and abdomen, and roundish or transversely cordate ones on the sides, flanks, and tibiæ. A conspicuous “mustache” on the cheeks, from the rictus down. Upper parts much as in the adult. Hab. Eastern North America, and Middle America, south to Bogota and Caraccas.

2. =B. swainsoni.= Wing, 12.00–17.00; tail, 6.50–9.00; culmen, .80–.95; tarsus, 2.95–2.70; middle toe, 1.50–1.70. Third to fourth (usually third) quills longest; first usually longer than seventh. Adult. Tail dark grayish-brown, sometimes with a hoary cast, crossed by five to seven, or more, narrow bands of dusky, usually very obscure, and becoming obsolete basally. Colors of other portions extremely variable; the upper parts, however, continuous, unvariegated, dark brown, or blackish; the lower parts sometimes also entirely dusky, except the tail-coverts, which are always (?) barred with white. Normal plumage. A dark area covering the jugulum and breast, dull rufous in the ♂, and dark grayish-brown in the ♀. Other lower parts whitish, sometimes pure, and nearly immaculate, but usually more or less tinged with ochraceous and rufous, and transversely barred with various shades of brown. Young. Tail hoary brownish-gray, crossed by numerous, very indistinct, narrow bands of darker, and faintly tipped with whitish. Ground-color of the head, neck, and lower parts, light ochraceous, or cream-color (sometimes nearly white), the anterior upper parts with large longitudinally ovate spots of black; these assuming the form of streaks on the head and neck. Sides of the breast with an aggregation of larger spots of the same, and sides with sparser hastate or deltoid spots. Upper parts purplish-black, more or less variegated with ochraceous; the relative proportion of the two colors varying with the individual.

Wing, 14.40–17.00; tail, 8.00–9.50; culmen, .80–.95; tarsus, 2.30–2.70; middle toe, 1.50–1.70. Weight 1½–3½ lbs. Hab. Western Province of North America, from the Mississippi Valley, and the region of the Great Lakes (Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, to Arkansas, also Canada and Massachusetts) to the Pacific …

var. swainsoni.

Wing, 12.00–15.30; tail, 6.50–9.00; culmen, .85–.90; tarsus, 1.95–2.60; middle toe, 1.50–1.60. Colors similar, but the young paler than that of var. swainsoni. Adult unknown. Hab. Middle and South America, and southern border of the western United States, from New Mexico to Buenos Ayres (two specimens, Costa Rica, and Buenos Ayres, Mus. S. I.) …

var. oxypterus.

=B.= Four outer primaries with their inner webs cut.

a. Form light, the legs slender; tail of adult without a subterminal band of black more distinct than the others.

3. =B. zonocercus.= Wing, 15.50–17.40; tail, 8.50–10.75; culmen, .90; tarsus, 2.50–2.80; middle toe, 1.60–1.85. Entirely deep black, with more or less concealed pure white spotting. Adult. Tail carbonaceous-black, with three very broad zones, of pure white on inner webs and ash on the outer webs. Young. Tail dark brown, the inner webs more or less, sometimes entirely, white, crossed by numerous oblique bands of black. Hab. Mexico (chiefly western?) and adjacent southwestern portions of the United States (Arizona, COUES; Southern California, San Diego, COOPER).

4. =B. lineatus.= Wing, 11.25–14.25; tail, 8.00–10.00; culmen, .75–.90; tarsus, 2.70–3.25; middle toe, 1.30–1.50. Fourth to fifth quill longest; first shorter than seventh. Outer webs of the primaries with quadrate spots of whitish; lesser wing-coverts dark rufous; lower parts rufous more or less barred with whitish, or whitish spotted longitudinally with dusky. Adult. Head, neck, lesser wing-coverts, and lower parts deep rufous, the lower parts more or less barred posteriorly with whitish. Primaries and tail black; the former with quadrate spots of pure white on the outer webs, and the latter crossed by six narrow bands of pure white, and tipped with the same. Young. Head, neck, and lower parts whitish, usually more or less tinged with ochraceous, and with longitudinal markings of dusky. Primaries and tail dusky; the former mostly ochraceous anterior to the sinuation of their outer webs, the latter crossed by numerous narrow bands of pale grayish-brown, these becoming paler and more ochraceous toward the base. Lesser wing-coverts more or less tinged with dark rufous.

Adult. Lower parts light rufous barred with white. Young. White prevailing on the lower parts. Hab. Eastern Province of the United States …

var. lineatus.

Adult. Lower parts deep dark rufous, almost free from bars, except posteriorly. Young. Dark spotting on the lower parts predominating. Hab. Pacific Province, and southern Western Province, of the United States …

var. elegans.

b. Form robust and heavy, the tarsus stout; tail of the adult with a subterminal band of black broader than the other.

5. =B. borealis.= Wing, 13.25–17.75; tail, 8.50–11.30; culmen, .90–1.15; tarsus, 2.70–3.40; middle toe, 1.60–1.95. Weight, 2½ to 4 lbs. Third to fifth quill longest; first shorter than seventh and shorter than tenth. Colors extremely variable, ranging from entirely pure white beneath, through various shades of ochraceous and rusty, and greater or less amount of darker spots and bars, to an entirely uniform brownish-black. Adult. Tail deep rufous, generally paler at the tip; with or without black bars. Young. Tail grayish-brown, crossed by nine or ten bands of black, much narrower than the gray ones. Lower parts always with white predominating.

Tibiæ and lower tail-coverts without transverse bars, at any age. Lower parts with white always predominating. Tail never with more than one bar of black.

Feathers of the head and neck edged laterally with rufous; scapulars and wing-coverts much variegated with whitish; upper tail-coverts white, barred with rufous. Throat with blended streaks of blackish, this usually predominating; tibiæ and lower tail-coverts plain yellowish-white. Hab. Eastern Province of North America, to the Missouri plains …

var. borealis.

Similar, but colors much paler, the lower parts entirely pure white, with little or no spotting on the abdomen. Tail usually destitute of the black subterminal band. Hab. Plains, from Texas to Minnesota …

var. krideri.

Similar to the last, but lower parts strongly tinged with rufous on the tibiæ, and upper parts much darker. Tail always destitute of the subterminal black band. Young not distinguishable from that of var. calurus. Hab. Cape St. Lucas …

var. lucasanus.

Whole head, neck (except the throat), and upper parts, continuously uniform unvariegated brownish-black; that of the neck meeting narrowly across the lower part of the throat, leaving the whole throat almost immaculate white. Posterior lower parts fine, deep pinkish-ochraceous; tibiæ deep reddish-ochraceous; upper tail-coverts plain rufous. Hab. Central America (from Tres Marias, Western Mexico, to Costa Rica and Veragua) …

var. costaricensis.

Tibiæ and lower tail-coverts always with distinct transverse bars. Tail often with more or less complete transverse bars of black to the base. Lower parts with an excess of ochraceous and darker markings, frequently wholly blackish.

Varying, from individuals distinguishable from the darker examples of var. borealis only by the presence of bars on the tibiæ and crissum, through others with various degrees of rufous tinge and dusky spotting and barring beneath, to a perfectly melanistic condition, in which the bird is almost uniformly black, and the tail with continuous, regular bars of black to the base. Hab. Western Province of North America, from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific …

var. calurus.

6. =B. harlani.= Wing, 15.00–16.20; tail, 8.80–10.50; culmen, 1.00; tarsus, 2.75–2.90; middle toe, 1.50–1.70. Lateral toes nearly equal; tibial plumes much developed, reaching below the bases of the toes. Entirely brownish-black (except the tail), the concealed bases of the feathers snowy-white. Adult. Tail confusedly mottled with dusky and white, upon a grayish ground; sometimes more or less tinged with rufous. Young. Tail grayish-brown, with nine very regular, sharply defined bands of brownish-black, about equal in width to the gray ones. Lower parts wholly dusky. Hab. Southwestern United States, east of the Rocky Mountains, from Kansas to Texas.

7. =B. cooperi.= Wing, 15.75; tail, 9.10; culmen, 1.10; tarsus, 3.25; middle toe, 1.70. Adult. Head, neck, and beneath, pure white, the head above and nape streaked with dusky; lining of the wing white, with a large black patch. Above nearly uniform dusky, the primaries plumbeous. Tail longitudinally mottled with light rufous, cinereous, and dusky; the former prevailing. Hab. Santa Clara County, California.

Buteo pennsylvanicus (WILS.).

BROAD-WINGED HAWK.

Falco pennsylvanicus, WILS. Am. Orn. VI, 92, pl. liv, f. 1, 1812.—LATH. Gen. Hist. I, 263, 1821.—AUD. B. Am. pl. xci, 1831; Orn. Biog. I, 461, 1831.—BONAP. Ann. Lyc. N. Y. II, 29, 434; Isis, p. 1137, 1832.—NUTT. Man. I, 105, 1833.—TEMM. Pl. Col. 67, 1836. Buteo pennsylvanicus, BONAP. Ois. Cuv. Règ. An. p. 35, 1830; Eur. & N. Am. B. p. 3, 1838; Consp. Av. p. 19, 1850.—AUD. Syn. p. 7, 1839.—BREW. (WILS). Am. Orn. Syn. p. 648, 1852.—GRAY, Gen. sp. 8, 1844; List B. Brit. Mus. p. 16, 1844.—CASS. B. Cal. & Tex. Syn. p. 100, 1854.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 32, 1855.—DE KAY, Zoöl. N. Y. II, 11, pl. v, fig. 11, 1844.—CASS. Birds N. Am. 29, 1858.—GRAY, Hand List, B. 7, 1869.—DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 325 (Texas). Astur pennsylvanicus, CUV. Règ. An. (ed. 2), I, 332, 1829.—JAMES. (WILS.) Orn. I, 65. Falco latissimus, WILS. Am. Orn. (last ed.) VI, 92, pl. liv, f. 1, 1812. A. ? latissimus, JARD. (WILS.) Am. Orn. II, 294. _Falco wilsoni_, BONAP. Obs. Wils. Nouv. Journ. Ac. Sc. N. Y. III, 348. Pœcilopternis wilsoni, KAUP, Mon. Fal. Cont. Orn. p. 75, 1850. Sparvius platypterus, VIEILL. Enc. Méth. III, 1273 (quot. Wils. pl. liv, fig. 1), 1823.

SP. CHAR. Adult. Upper surface dark umber-brown, the feathers gradually paler toward edges; on the back, the feathers more uniformly dusky, causing a prevalent blackish appearance. Rump and upper tail-coverts blackish vandyke-brown; the latter tipped with pure white, and with a concealed bar of same, about the middle of each feather. Tail dull black, with an obscure terminal band of dull brown, this fading terminally into whitish; across the middle of the tail a broad band of dull light umber (in some individuals approaching dull white) about ¾ of an inch in width; about as far anterior to the main band as this is from the tip is another much narrower and more obscure band of the same color, crossing just beyond the ends of the coverts, or concealed by them. Primaries uniform brownish-black, fading on terminal edge into pale brown. Head above, and broad but inconspicuous “mustache,” running from beneath the lore downward across the cheek, dull black; the crown posteriorly, with the occiput and nape, having the dull black much broken, caused by the lateral streaks of dull rufous on all the feathers; this dull rufous tint prevails on the rest of the head and neck, as well as the breast, leaving the lores and chin and lateral portion of frontlet alone whitish; throat streaked with blackish. Beneath dull brownish-rufous; that of the breast almost unvaried; medially, however, are roundish spots of white on opposite webs, but these are not confluent; posteriorly these spots become gradually more numerous and more transverse, forming on the flanks transverse bands, almost continuous; on the tibiæ the white prevails, the rufous bars being more distant, and connected only by a brown shaft-line; lower tail-coverts less numerous, transverse spots of dull rufous. Lining of the wing ochraceous-white, with sparse, rather small, irregularly deltoid spots of dull rufous; under surface of the primaries unvaried white, as far as their emargination, beyond which they are black. Fourth quill longest; third a little shorter; second intermediate between fifth and sixth; first about equal to the ninth. Female (extremes 30,969, Brookline, Mass., and 30,895, Mirador, Mexico; the latter the larger.) Wing, 11.00–11.30; tail, 6.80–7.10; tarsus, 2.30; middle toe, 1.30. Male (32,309, Moose Factory, Hudson’s Bay Territory). Wing, 10.50; tail, 6.30; tarsus, 2.30; middle toe, 1.20.

Young male, second year? (39,106, Remedios, Cuba, June; N. H. Bishop). Upper parts similar to adult, but a reddish tint appreciably washing the edges of the interscapulars and (less noticeably so) the scapulars. Bands on tail nearly as in adult; but very near the base is a fourth, very narrow and faintly defined, pale band, while the bases of all the feathers are much mottled with white. Dull rufous of the breast not continuous, but in the form of large longitudinal broad spots, occupying the greater middle portion of each feather; abdomen, sides, and tibiæ with smaller and more cordate spots of dull rufous; the lower tail-coverts immaculate; the decided ochraceous tinge beneath, deepest posteriorly.

Young, first year (11,984, Washington, D. C.). The blackish above is much variegated, being broken by the narrow rusty borders to interscapulars, rump, and lesser wing-coverts; the broader and more ochraceous borders to scapulars and greater wing-coverts, and partially concealed whitish spotting on the former. Upper tail-coverts white, with broad bars of blackish-brown; secondaries and primaries edged terminally with whitish. Tail dull umber-brown, growing darker terminally; narrowly tipped with white, and crossed with six obscure, narrow bands of dusky, the (concealed) bases of all the feathers white. Superciliary region, cheeks, chin, throat, and entire lower parts, delicate pale ochraceous, or whitish cream-color; a conspicuous “mustache,” a medial longitudinal series of streaks on the throat, with large longitudinal ovate spots on sides of breast, cordate spots on sides and flanks, and sagittate spots on tibiæ, clear blackish-brown. The ochraceous deepest on the abdomen and crissum. Wing beneath as in adult.

A very young bird, scarcely fledged (33,598, Milltown, Me.; G. A. Boardman), differs from the last in a much more continuous black shade above, the deeper ochraceous beneath, and larger, as well as more numerous, blackish spots beneath.

In the adult plumage of this species, the principal variation is in the continuity or distinctness of the anterior light band on the tail, and the extent and depth of shade of the brown beneath. The first feature is characteristic of most specimens, only one (55,980, ♂, Costa Rica) being without it; it is broadest and most conspicuous, as well as less concealed by the coverts, in the females, and this appears to be the principal sexual difference. The dull brownish-rufous of the under parts is most prevalent in a specimen from Mirador, Mexico (30,895, ♀ ? September; Dr. Sartorius), in which specimen the breast is almost continuously of this color, and the lower tail-coverts are strongly barred (or transversely spotted) with the same; the ground-color beneath is also more ochraceous than in any other individual. In the Costa-Rican specimen (the one lacking the anterior tail-band), the brown beneath is quite different from that of the others, being of a much more ashy shade; the lower tail-coverts are also immaculate. The brown markings beneath are most sparse in 20,389, from Coban, Vera Paz (January; O. Salvin); in this, also, the tail-bands are very distinct, and almost white.

A young bird from Costa Rica (30,412; Dr. Frantzius) is exactly similar to No. 27,048, from Fort Garry, Selkirk Settlement.

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

National Museum, 18; Philadelphia Academy, 6; Boston Society, 3; New York Museum, 2 (Caraccas); Museum, Cambridge, 2; Cab. G. N. Lawrence, 5; Coll. R. Ridgway, 2. Total, 38.

Measurements.

+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ |Sex.| Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. |Middle Toe.|Specimens.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♂ | 9.85–10.70| 6.50–7.00| .70–.00|2.15–2.80| 1.20–1.38| 11 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♀ |11.00–11.40| 7.00–8.00| .70–.78|2.20–2.70| 1.30–1.40| 14 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+

HAB. Eastern North America southward along Gulf coast through Louisiana, into Mexico and Central America; Cuba, Ecuador, Upper Amazon, Caraccas (N. Y. Museum).

Localities: Ecuador, winter (SCL. 1858, 451); Orizaba (SCL. 1857, 211); Upper Amazon (SCL. 1857, 261); Cuba (CAB. Journ. II, lxxxii; GUNDLACH, Rept. 1865, 223; resident); Panama (LAWR. VII, 1861, 288); S. E. Texas (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 325; breeds); Costa Rica (LAWR. IX, 133).

HABITS. The Broad-winged Hawk appears to be distributed over eastern North America, somewhat irregularly, as far north as the British Provinces, and as far west at least as the Mississippi. It has been found in Florida by Mr. Wurdemann, where it was said to be not uncommon. It is a resident in Cuba, where it breeds; but it has not been taken in Jamaica. It has also been detected in Guatemala by Mr. Skinner. Audubon states that he never met with it in Louisiana, but Mr. Dresser found it not uncommon from the Nueces eastward. In September he noticed several near the Mission of San Patricio, and during the winter obtained several specimens near San Antonio. In May he shot a young bird on the Medina River, and early in June he found a nest containing young on the Colorado. It was on a high cottonwood-tree, and in an almost inaccessible position.

It is not mentioned by Mr. Downes as occurring in Nova Scotia, though I think it quite probable it may be found there; but it is quite common near Calais, both in Eastern Maine and in New Brunswick. Professor Verrill gives it as a common summer visitant in Oxford County, Me., near Norway, and as still more abundant near the Umbagog Lakes, and apparently the most common Hawk in that vicinity. He found its nest, June 12, containing two eggs nearly hatched. It is to be met with throughout Massachusetts, having been found breeding near Williamstown, Springfield, and also in the vicinity of Boston. Its nest was also met with in Middlebury, Vt., by the late Professor Adams. Mr. McIlwraith, of Hamilton, Canada, has noted extensive migrations of this Hawk in March of different years, as many as twenty or thirty being in view at one time, passing at a considerable height, and moving in circles towards the northwest. Others, that appeared to be stragglers from the main body, were met with in the woods. Dr. Hoy states it to be rather common near Racine, and Mr. Kumlien has obtained it in the vicinity of Lake Koskonong. From all these data it may naturally be inferred that this Hawk has a pretty general distribution from Florida to Texas, and from New Brunswick to the Mississippi Valley, probably extending northward into the Saskatchewan Valley and south-westerly to Central America.

The Broad-winged Hawk was first described by Wilson, who shot a single specimen that had been feeding on a meadow-mouse. On his approach it uttered a whining whistle and flew to another tree. Another of the same species was observed, and its movements were in wide circles, with unmoving wings. Nuttall never met with it, and regarded it as very rare.

Audubon characterizes this Hawk as spiritless, inactive, and deficient in courage, seldom chasing other birds of prey, but itself frequently annoyed by the little Sparrow-Hawk, the Kingbird, and the Martin. It only attacks birds of a weak nature, young chickens, and ducklings, and feeds on small animals and insects. It is usually found singly, is easily approached, and when wounded throws itself on its back, erects its top feathers, utters a hissing sound, and attempts to defend itself with its talons.

A nest of this bird, found by Mr. Audubon, is said to have been about the size of that of the Crow, and to have been placed in the larger branches of a tree, near the trunk. It was composed externally of dry sticks and briers; internally, of small roots, and lined with numerous large feathers. The nest found by Professor Adams, near Middlebury, Vt., was quite large, and was coarsely constructed of sticks, and lined only with fibrous roots and fine grass. In this instance the eggs were three. This is the more usual number, though occasionally four or five are found.

Mr. Boardman informs me that Mr. Audubon’s account of the spiritless manner in which one of these Hawks suffered him to capture it on its nest does not at all correspond with his own experience. He has, on the contrary, found it one of the most courageous and spirited of its family. On one occasion, when a man employed by him was ascending to a nest, a parent bird assailed the disturber with great fury, tore his cap from his head, and would have done the man serious injury had it not been shot. In another instance one of these birds attacked a boy climbing to its nest, and fastened its talons in his arm, and could not be removed until it was beaten off and killed with a club.

The eggs of this Hawk have an average length of 2.09 inches, and an average breadth of 1.61. The smallest egg measures 1.94 by 1.50 inches, and the largest 2.11 by 1.72 inches, showing considerable variation in their relative capacity, but not so much as is found among the eggs of other species. In shape, the eggs are of a slightly rounded oval, one end a little less obtuse than the other. The ground-color is of a grayish or dirty white, occasionally with a slightly silvery shading. These are marked, usually over the entire egg, in irregular distribution, with varying shades of brown. The more common is a light tawny or reddish-brown. Intermingled with these blotches are often found a peculiar faint purplish-brown, dull shading of a light yellowish-brown, and a deep rich shade of purplish-brown, approaching occasionally almost in intensity to black. These may occur separately, or they may all be found blended in the same egg. The size, shape, and peculiar coloring of the eggs of this Hawk make them readily recognizable, though not readily permitting a satisfactory description.

A nest of this Hawk, taken by Mr. J. P. Ritchie, May 18, 1863,—the parent female of which was secured also,—is described as having been made of large sticks, very loosely put together, lined with a few pieces of bark. It was placed in the crotch of a tree, close to the trunk, and twenty feet from the ground, and contained two eggs.

Buteo swainsoni, BONAP.

Var. =swainsoni=, BONAP.

SWAINSON’S HAWK; BAIRD’S HAWK.

Buteo swainsoni, BONAP. Comp. List, p. 3, 1838; Consp. Av. p. 19, 1850; Proc. Ac. N. S. Phil. p. 280, 1855; Birds N. Am. 19, 1858.—HEERM. P. R. R. Rep’t, II, 32, 1855.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 30, 1855.—DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 324 (Texas).—GAMB. Journ. Ac. N. S. Phil. n. δ. I, 27.—COUES, Prod. B. Ariz. 9, 1866.—BLAKIST. Ibis, III, 1861, 317 (fresh eggs).—GRAY, Hand List, I, 7, 1869. Falco buteo, PENN. Arct. Zoöl. II, 207, sp. 103 (♀ Juv.), 1785.—AUD. B. Am. pl. ccclxxii, 1831; Orn. Biog. IV, 508, 1831. Falco obsoletus, GMEL. Syst. Nat. p. 268, 1789.—KERR, Trans. Gmel. II, 501, 1792.—LATH. Ind. Orn. p. 28, sp. 61, 1790; Synop. Supp. I, p. 30; Gen. Hist. I, p. 254, 1821.—DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, 104, 1800.—SHAW, Zoöl. VII, 152, 1812. Buteo cinereus, VIEILL. Ois. Am. 1807. Buteo vulgaris, RICH. & SWAINS. F. B. Am. p. 5, 1831.—JARD. (WILS.) Am. Orn. II, 56, 1808.—BREW. (WILS.) Am. Orn. p. 303; Synop. p. 684, 1852. Buteo montanus, NUTT. Man. Orn. U. S. & Canad. I, 112, 1833. Buteo bairdi, HOY, Proc. Ac. Sc. Phil. VI, 451, 1853.—CASSIN, B. of Cal. & Tex. pl. xli, 1854; Birds N. Am. 21, 1858.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 37, 1855. Buteo insignatus, CASS. B. Cal. & Tex. p. 102, pl. xxxi, 1854; Birds N. Am. 23, 1858.—HEERM. P. R. R. Rep’t, VII, 31, 1857.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 38, 1855.—COUES, Prod. B. Ariz. 9, 1866.—BRYANT, Proc. Bost. Soc. X, 1865, 90 (= swainsoni). ? Buteo gutturalis, MAX. Cab. Journ. VI, 1858, 17 (and eggs).

SP. CHAR. Form robust and strong, like B. borealis; wings long and pointed; only three outer primaries with their inner webs cut. Feet robust, the tarsi strong. Dimensions: Wing, 14.40–17.00; tail, 8.00–9.50; culmen, .80–.95; tarsus, 2.30–2.70; middle toe, 1.50–1.70. Weight, 1½–3½ lbs. Colors: Tail dark grayish-brown with a hoary cast, crossed by numerous obscure narrow bands of a darker shade. Adult, uniform blackish-brown above; upper tail-coverts barred with white. Throat and lower parts posterior to the breast white or pale ochraceous; a broad patch across the breast uniform brown,—reddish-rufous in the male, and grayish-umber in the female,—the whole lower surface varying to entirely uniform dull brownish-black, though intermediate shades. Young, with the ground-color of the plumage soft ochraceous, or cream-color; the head, neck, dorsal region, and sides of the breast, with tear-shaped spots of brownish-black, with a faint purple reflection. Upper parts purplish-black, variegated with ochraceous, sometimes almost wholly black. Tail as in the adult, but more hoary.

a. Normal plumage.

Adult male (53,105, Truckee River, Nevada, July; C. King, R. Ridgway). Head, neck, and upper parts blackish-brown; scapulars slightly variegated with a rufous mottling; upper tail-coverts white tinged with rufous, and with transverse bars of blackish-brown, about six on each feather. Tail dark brown like the back, approaching black terminally, basally with a slight hoary cast; crossed by about ten narrow, very obscure bands of nearly black. Front and whole throat clear white, immaculate, and sharply defined against the surrounding blackish; lores dusky. Whole breast, cinnamon-rufous (forming a wide, sharply defined band), marked laterally with the brown of the neck; each feather with a shaft-line of black; rest of lower parts, including whole lining of the wing, continuous ochraceous white, the latter region unvariegated; sides with sparse, faint, transverse bars of rufous, and shaft-lines of darker. Under side of primaries light slate anterior to emargination, beyond which they are black; slaty portion crossed by very obscure bars of darker. Fourth quill longest, third scarcely shorter; second equal to fifth; first intermediate between seventh and eighth. Length, 19.75; extent, 48.00; wing, 15.40; tail, 8.00; tarsus, 2.32; middle toe, 1.60. (Weight 1½ lbs.) Bill slate-black, bluish basally; cere, and angle of mouth, light dull lemon yellow; iris deep hazel; tarsi and toes deep chrome yellow, claws black.

Adult female (58,507, Great Salt Lake City, Utah, May; C. King, R. Ridgway). Similar to the male, but pectoral area blackish-brown, like the back; blackish-brown of upper surface untinged with rufous, all the feathers, however, fading on edges; bands of the tail scarcely distinguishable on outer webs; white of forehead very restricted; lining of the wing barred with small cordate or deltoid spots of black; under surface of primaries plain deep slate. Abdomen and sides variegated with a few irregular longitudinal spots, and on the latter, transverse bars of dark brown; tibiæ with faint bars of rufous. Fourth quill longest; third scarcely shorter; second very slightly shorter than fifth; first intermediate between seventh and eighth. Length, 21.50; extent, 54.00; wing, 16.50; tail, 8.50; tarsus, 2.70; middle toe, 1.70. (Weight, 2¾ lbs.)

Young (10,761, Rocky Mountains, September; C. Drexler). Head, neck, and entire lower parts fine delicate light ochraceous, or cream-color; feathers of the crown, occiput, and neck, each with a medial stripe of black, of less amount, however, than the ochraceous; forehead, supraoral region, and ear-coverts, with only a few very fine hair-like shaft-streaks; on the chin, and across the cheeks, are longitudinal spaces of blended streaks of black, the latter forming a conspicuous “mustache”; sides of the breast with large ovate spots of black; middle of the breast with less numerous, smaller, and more longitudinal ones of the same; sides, flanks, and abdomen, with broad hastate spots, more irregular and transverse on the former; throat, tibiæ, anal region, and lower tail-coverts immaculate. Upper surface generally, deep black; feathers bordered with pale ochraceous, the scapulars and middle wing-coverts much variegated with the same. Secondary coverts, secondaries, and primaries narrowly tipped with white. Upper tail-coverts pale ochraceous, barred with black. Tail ashy-brown, very much lighter than the rump (more hoary than in the adult), narrowly, but clearly, tipped with white, and crossed by ten or twelve narrow bands of black, more distinct than in the adult. Under surface of primaries more whitish than in the adult.

(b. Melanistic condition; = B. insignatus of Cassin.)

Adult male (22,567, Onion River; R. McFarlane). Entirely brownish black, whole under surface of wings included; lower tail-coverts equally barred with white and black. Tail blackish slate, narrowly paler at the tip, and crossed with numerous oblique bars of dusky black; upper tail-coverts barred obsoletely with lighter slaty-brown. Wing, 15.00; tail, 8.00; tarsus, 2.20; middle toe, 1.50. Fourth quill longest; third, next; second, shorter than fifth; first, slightly shorter than eighth.

Adult female (12,927, Utah Valley, July; C. S. McCarthy). Similar; lower tail-coverts white, tinged with rusty, and barred with brown; tibiæ tinged with chestnut. Wing, 16.50; tail, 8.80; tarsus, 2.60; middle toe, 1.65. Third and fourth quills equal and longest; third shorter than fifth; first equal to eighth.

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

National Museum, 27; Philadelphia Academy, 2; Boston Society, 1; Museum, Cambridge, 1; Cab. G. N. Lawrence, 2; W. Brewster, 1; R. Ridgway, 5. Total, 39.

Measurements.

+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ |Sex.| Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. |Middle Toe.|Specimens.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♂ |14.40–15.25| 8.25–9.00| .80–.90|2.30–2.65| 1.50–1.60| 11 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♀ |14.75–16.50| 9.00–0.00| .80–.95|2.50–2.70| 1.55–1.65| 11 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+

HAB. Western regions of North America, east to the Mississippi Valley, north to the Arctic regions; Wisconsin; Arkansas; Canada; Massachusetts.

Localities: S. Texas (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 324); Arizona (COUES?); Guatemala (SCL. Ibis, I, 216, “insignatus”).

The young plumage described above is the Buteo bairdi, Hoy, of authors. The melanistic plumage is B. insignatus, Cassin.

The young birds of this species are as variable as the adults; thus, No. 53,210, ♂, has the fine ochraceous of the lower parts entirely free from spots, except across the breast; on the upper parts the ochraceous spotting is so extended as to almost prevail, while another, from the same nest, has the black beneath exceeding the ochraceous, the tibiæ being thickly spotted, and the lower tail-coverts barred. Both these specimens belong to a brood of four, which were hardly able to fly, and were shot, with their parents, the male of which is the one described, while the female (No. 53,206) is a very dark example of insignatus, Cassin.

The type of bairdi, and another Wisconsin specimen, are in the collection of the Philadelphia Academy. In plumage, they are unlike any others I have seen, though there is as little resemblance between these two as between any I have compared. Dr. Hoy’s type (Racine, Wisc., January, 1854) differs from others, in exceedingly pale colors; the cream-color beneath is scarcely spotted, there being only a few triangular spots and shaft-lines of black on the sides; the lining of the wing is entirely immaculate. Above, the black is unusually continuous; the under surface of the primaries is unusually white. Wing, 15.00; tail, 8.00.

The other specimen (Menonomee Marsh, Milwaukee, Wisc., spring of 1851) is just the opposite extreme in plumage, being unusually dark, for a young bird. Beneath, the black spots are so large as to nearly cover the whole surface, while the continuity of the black of the upper part is almost unbroken. The head above, and nape, and broad “mustache” stripe from angle of mouth down to the jugulum, with nearly the whole pectoral area, unbroken black, leaving the gular region and side of the head pale, but thickly streaked. Wing, 15.00; tail, 8.80; tarsus, 2.35; middle toe, 1.50. These specimens may be said to form about the extremes of the young plumage. An Iowa skin (No. 59,052; Ricksecker) is like the average of far-western examples.

The melanistic condition bears to the normal plumage of swainsoni precisely the same relation that the black calurus, Cassin, does to the usual style of the western variety of borealis (borealis var. calurus = montanus, Cassin); the variable series, connecting these two extremes, and designated by the name borealis var. calurus, which covers the whole, finds an exact parallel in the present species.

A specimen from the Platte (5,576, ♂, August; W. S. Wood) is entirely dark rufous-brown beneath (excepting the lower tail-coverts), with the shafts of the feathers black.

This species is entirely distinct specifically from the B. vulgaris of Europe. The latter has four, instead of only three, outer primaries deeply emarginated, and is very dissimilar in every stage of plumage.

Var. oxypterus, CASSIN.

SHARP-WINGED HAWK.

(Normal young plumage.)

Buteo oxypterus, CASS. P. A. N. S. VII, 1855, 282.—IB. Birds N. Am. 1858, 30.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 1855, 28.—COUES, P. A. N. S. 1866, 9.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 8.—COOPER, Birds Cal. 1870, 480. Buteo albicaudatus, “VIEILL.,” SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1869, 634, No. 22.

(Melanistic plumage.)

Buteo fuliginosus, SCLATER, P. Z. S. Lond. 1858, 356.—IB. Trans. Z. S., July, 1858, 267, pl. lxii.—RIDGWAY, P. A. N. S. Dec. 1870, 142.

SP. CHAR. Adult; melanistic plumage (No. 12,117, Mazatlan, Mexico; Colonel Abert). Entirely fuliginous-black, darkest on head and back; no white on forehead. Tail cinereous-umber, crossed with seven very regular and continuous bands of black, the subterminal one of which is broadest. Lower tail-coverts, and larger under wing-coverts, with transverse bands of dull white; lining of the wing unvaried black; under surface of primaries silvery-white, that portion beyond their emargination black, the whitish portion crossed by distant, very obsolete, transverse bars. Third quill longest; fourth and fifth scarcely shorter, and nearly equal; second equal to sixth; first shorter than eighth. Tail square; scutellæ of the tarsus very faintly defined, or, in fact, scarcely detectable (probably accidental), Wing, 13.00; tail, 7.00; tarsus, 1.95; middle toe, 1.55.

Young male; normal plumage (No. 8,550, Fort Fillmore, New Mexico; Dr. T. C. Henry, U. S. A.). Head, neck, and lower parts, soiled ochraceous-white. Feathers of the head above, and neck laterally and behind, with medial stripes of blackish-brown; jugulum, breast, sides, flanks, and abdomen, with large rounded spots of blackish-brown; tibiæ with transverse bars of the same; lower tail-coverts almost immaculate. A conspicuous “mustache” of blended dusky streaks, from angle of the mouth across the cheeks, the dusky suffusing the lores. Whole oral region scarcely variegated pale yellowish; whole chin and throat immaculate.

Prevailing tint above, blackish-brown, becoming purplish-black on primaries; whole outer surface of wing plain, but interscapular region somewhat variegated with partially concealed, irregular blotches of deeper ochraceous than the lower parts; upper tail-coverts with pairs of indistinct white spots. Tail grayish-brown (white at extreme base), crossed with about ten narrow, indistinct, but regular bands of dusky. Lining of the wings yellowish-white, with sparse cordate spots of blackish, this tint prevailing over the under primary coverts; under surface of the primaries pure purplish-black after their emargination, but anteriorly plain hoary brown, growing paler basally. On inner webs are very indistinct transverse spots of dusky, touching neither the edge nor shaft of the feather, and entirely concealed when the wing is closed. Shafts of primaries pure white on under side; on outer, dark brown. Wing-formula, 3–4–2–5–6–7–1, 8. Three outer primaries emarginated on inner webs; second, third, and fourth, sinuated on outer. Wing, 13.70; tail, 7.00; tarsus, 2.10; middle toe, 1.35. Primaries project beyond secondaries, 5.50. (Cassin’s type.)

Young female (33,508, San José, Costa Rica; J. Carmiol). Differs from the type chiefly in lighter colors. The whole forehead very broadly immaculate dull white, this continuing back to the occiput in a broad unstreaked superciliary stripe; along the upper edge of the ear-coverts is a rusty suffusion, with condensed, fine dusky streaks, forming an indistinct stripe separating the wholly white ear-coverts from the supraoral stripe; the “mustache” is very conspicuous; the breast has a few large tear-shaped spots of clear blackish-brown, and the sides have very sparse, irregular, and more sagittate spots of the same; the whole posterior parts are immaculate. The upper parts are more variegated with paler, the wing-coverts and rump having the feathers irregularly bordered with whitish. The upper tail-coverts are white, barred with dark brown. Tail, hoary brown, crossed by nine or ten nearly obsolete, narrow bands of dusky. Whole lining of the wings immaculate, except the conspicuous patch on the primary coverts. The whole under surface of the primaries is uniform slaty, gradually deepening into black towards ends. Wing-formula, 3–4–2–5–6–7, 1. Wing, 15.00; tail, 8.00; tarsus, 2.45; middle toe, 1.55. Primaries project beyond secondaries, 6.00.

HAB. Tropical America, from the southern border of the United States to Buenos Ayres.

The melanistic specimen described above agrees perfectly with Mr. Sclater’s excellent figure of his B. fuliginosus above cited, and the only discrepancy in the description is in the measurements,—those given for the B. fuliginosus being, wing 12.00, tail 6.50, and tarsus 2.60. This difference—certainly not great—very likely indicates the proportions of the sexes, while the discrepancy as regards the length of the tarsus, it is probable, results from a different mode of measurement.

The present form is very nearly related to the true B. swainsoni, and, though distinguishable, we find it difficult to express points of absolute difference. The essential distinctions, however, are the longer primaries and lighter colors of the present bird, there being in the immature plumage of oxypterus no approach to the deep, fine ochraceous, the characteristic and prevalent tint of the young B. swainsoni. The spots beneath are more sparse, and there does not appear to be that tendency to their aggregation on the sides of the breast as generally seen in swainsoni.

Both agree, however,—and differ from all other species,—in the unbarred slate-color of the under surface of primaries, the plain black of the outer surface, conspicuous “mustache,” obscurely barred gray tail, etc. In fact, the general pattern is almost exactly the same, while there is little difference in relative proportions.

In view of the very appreciable, though rather indefinite, differences above indicated, and the obscure history of the present bird, we prefer, at least until more familiar with its different stages, to recognize it under the above name.

A third specimen, from Buenos Ayres (Conchitas; William H. Hudson),—exactly similar, in all particulars, to the two specimens described,—was labelled by Mr. Sclater, B. albicaudatus, Vieill., which is usually placed as a synonyme under B. pterocles, an exclusively South American species; though belonging strictly to the same section of the genus with the present bird and B. swainsoni, it is quite distinct, the Smithsonian Collection containing numerous examples illustrating the several stages of plumage.

HABITS. Taking the two varieties together, this species appears to range over the entire continent of America, from the Arctic regions to the cold-temperate portion of South America. In Arctic America it appears to have a western distribution, though extending far to the north during the breeding-season, and being more or less nomadic during the winter. A single well-marked specimen was taken by Mr. Brewster, in the winter of 1871–72, in the eastern part of Massachusetts. It was first noticed by Dr. Richardson, and was by him supposed to be identical with the common Buzzard of Europe. It was met with in the fur country, where it was migratory, arriving there early in April, and departing again about the end of September. It frequented the low alluvial points of land which stretch out under the high banks of rivers, where it might be observed sitting for a long while motionless on the bough of a tree, waiting patiently for some small birds or quadrupeds to pass within its reach. As soon as it perceived anything of the kind, it would glide silently into the air and sweep easily but rapidly down upon its prey. One of Dr. Richardson’s specimens was found to have two whole toads in its stomach.

Dr. Richardson states that this Buzzard builds its nest on a tree, of short sticks, lining it sparingly with deer’s hair. The eggs, from three to five in number, are described as equalling in size those of the domestic fowl, and as having a greenish-white color, with a few large dark brown blotches at the larger end. It was seen by the doctor as far to the north as the 57th parallel.

Mr. Audubon’s drawing and description of this bird were taken from a specimen obtained by Dr. Townsend from the Columbia River. A number of specimens have been obtained by the various government exploring expeditions. A single specimen was taken by Mr. Dresser near San Antonio, in Texas.

Captain Blakiston (Ibis, 1861, p. 317) obtained several specimens of this Buzzard at the forks of the Saskatchewan River, in the stomach of one of which he found three toads. He states that it was quite abundant in that neighborhood. He adds that Mr. Bourgeau procured several specimens of the eggs, identified by also obtaining the parents. These eggs are said to have been white, more or less blotched with red. Mr. Bernard Ross also obtained this bird on the Mackenzie River, where it was rare.

This Hawk was observed by Mr. Dall, in Alaska, a skin having been obtained at Koyukuk, May 26, from an Indian. Mr. Dall states that it prefers the thickets and woody places, is not so often seen as some of the other species. It generally builds a very large nest of sticks, and begins to lay about the last of April. The young are hatched out about the 30th of May. It was only a summer visitor. He found not only the bones of rabbits, squirrels, and mice about its nest, but also those of ducks, and in one instance part of a white-fish.

Dr. Heermann obtained an egg of this species in Northern California, which had a yellowish-white ground-color, marked with obscure cloudings of a purplish-gray, and irregular patches of a light tone of umber brown. It measured 2.31 inches in length, and 1.84 in breadth.

We are indebted to Dr. W. J. Hoffmann for the following interesting note in relation to the nesting of this species: “On the 28th of May, 1871, we encamped on Antelope Creek, forty miles north of the Central Pacific Railroad Station, Argenta, Nevada. The stream of water, which is small, is fringed with willows, averaging about twelve feet in height. Strolling along the underbrush, I came to the nest of the Buteo swainsoni, which was built on the top of a willow, and in its construction took in several distinct limbs, so as to give better support. The nest, about two feet across and one foot in thickness, was constructed of thin sticks and fragments of roots. The inside was lined with leaves of tule and grass. The nest contained two eggs. Only eight feet from this nest, on the same bush, and at the same height, a female of Icterus bullocki was on her nest. These birds appeared to be living together in harmony, having been in constant sight of each other for several weeks, as the condition of the eggs proved. I deem this remarkable only as showing a rapacious and an insectivorous bird living so closely together that one might at any time have been made the prey of the other by a single spread of the wings.”

Dr. Gideon Lincecum, of Washington County, Texas, speaks of this species as one of the common Hawks of the Texan prairies. He states that it nests on the ground in the prairie; lays six eggs, sometimes on tall trees,—when it chooses to rear its young in the forest. It is apt to pounce on a brood of young poultry when it sees them, but being rather timid does not like to go about the houses. Its principal food is grasshoppers, prairie rats and mice, and small birds. Dr. Lincecum has often seen it when the grass on the prairie was burning, in the spring of the year, constantly on the wing, in front of the fire, catching the grasshoppers, rats, mice, and any small game that is driven out of the grass by the crackling fire; and it will keep in the smoke so close to the fire that it soon becomes almost as black as soot. He further remarks that, “when any one approaches their nest on the prairie, they will make a pretty bold attempt to frighten or decoy him away from it. It first tries to lead the intruder off, by alighting in the grass near by, and screeching loudly as if something was greatly the matter; you approach him, and with much seeming difficulty it makes out to move off a little farther, still screeching louder than before, and this piece of deception it will repeat time after time, improving a little in its powers of locomotion as it gets you farther from the nest, until it judges it is far enough,—that you have lost the place in the unmarked sea of grass,—when it seems to fly as well as ever; it circles round once or twice, going still farther off, and settles silently down in the deep grass. This last performance is to induce the belief that it has returned to the nest. But if you refuse to be led astray by these manœuvres, and remain about its nest, it will make a good fight. One came very near knocking off my hat one day when I did not know I was intruding on its premises.”

The Buteo bairdi of Hoy is now ascertained to be only an immature form. It was first met with in Wisconsin, and since then has been taken in various western localities.

A pair of these birds was found by Mr. Ricksecker, breeding in this plumage, in Utah. The nest was built in a young aspen-tree. The egg is marked with larger and more deeply marked blotches than usual, and is nearly of an exact oval shape, measuring 2.30 inches in length by 1.75 in breadth. The ground-color is white, with a slight tinge of rufous, over which are diffused, over the whole surface, fine markings of a reddish, rust-tinged brown. Besides these the larger end, and some other portions of the surface, are boldly dashed with large blotches of the same color, but of a deeper shade.

A black Buzzard, originally described as Buteo insignatus, is now known to be only an individual melanistic condition of the species. It was first met with in the vicinity of Montreal, and the specimen belonging to the Natural History Society of that city was described as new by Mr. John Cassin. A similar specimen was taken by Mr. Macfarlane at Fort Anderson, where it was breeding. It was met with rather abundantly by Dr. Heermann on the San Joaquin River, in California, and seen along his route for a considerable distance. He described it as sluggish in its habits, perching for hours in a quiescent state on some tall tree, and permitting the hunter to approach without showing any signs of fear.

Dr. Cooper found this bird pretty common in the vicinity of San Diego, in March, 1862, when they were apparently migrating northward. In their habits they appeared to resemble the larger varieties of Buzzards. Mr. Salvin obtained a single specimen of a Hawk at Duenas, which is referred by Mr. Gurney to this variety (Ibis, I, 216).

The variety oxypterus, of this species, was first described from an immature specimen obtained at Fort Fillmore, New Mexico. It ranges southward throughout tropical America to Buenos Ayres.

Buteo zonocercus, SCLATER.

BAND-TAIL HAWK.

?? Buteo albonotatus, G. R. GRAY, Isis, 1847, p. 329. Buteo zonocercus, SCLATER, Trans. Zoöl. Soc. Lond. IV, pt. vi, 263, 1858.—COUES, Pr. A. N. S. 1866, 46.—ELLIOT, Birds N. A. pl. xxxiii.—GRAY, Hand List I, 8, 1869.—COOPER, Birds Cal. 1870, 479.

SP. CHAR. Adult (36,872, Hassayampa River, Arizona Territory, August; Dr. Coues). Entirely carbonaceous black; forehead pure white, and feathers of occiput, neck, and breast the same beneath the surface; this on under parts, showing as transverse, ovate spots on webs of feathers, partially exposed. Tail black, faintly tipped with pale ashy, crossed (about 1¾ inches from the end) by a band of hoary plumbeous, nearly an inch in width; about half an inch anterior to this is another plumbeous band, about as broad as the black one which separates it from the last; and about the same distance, near the base, is another, much narrower, and less continuous ashy band. The outlines of these bands are rather irregular; and on the inner webs the plumbeous is replaced by snowy white, which, not exactly corresponding to the plumbeous of outer webs, is rather more extended, as well as more sharply defined, forming three very conspicuous transverse zones (decreasing in width towards the base like those on outer webs), observable only when the tail is spread, or from below. On the two middle feathers both webs are plumbeous and black; and on the lateral feathers, the white prevails on the inner web, the black bands being broken up into narrow zigzags. Primaries less intensely black than the back, and showing obscure transverse bands of deeper black; lining of the wing unvariegated black; under surface of primaries pale plumbeous, passing into hoary white on edges, and crossed from base to ends with very irregular, transverse bars of blackish, these breaking up into a mottling, or blended speckling, along the edges of the feathers. Owing to moulting stage, the wing-formula cannot be ascertained. Wing, 15.50; tail, 8.50; tarsus, 2.50; middle toe, 1.60. Length, 19½; extent, 47½.

Young male (52,763, Mazatlan, Mex.; Colonel A. J. Grayson). Generally similar to the preceding; feathers of neck, back, and under parts more conspicuously spotted with white beneath the surface, these spots considerably exposed on the breast and upper tail-coverts. Tail deep dark vandyke-brown, faintly tipped with paler, and crossed with numerous narrow oblique bands of black; subterminal one broadest, being about three fourths of an inch in width; the next one is not a fourth as wide, and crosses about an inch anterior to the last; the distance between the black bands diminishes towards the base of the tail, so that after the seventh of these, no more can be distinguished. Inner webs passing into whitish towards edges, this prevailing on lateral feathers. Fourth quill longest; third scarcely shorter; fifth but little shorter than third; second intermediate between fifth and sixth; first equal to eighth. Wing, 15.30; tail, 8.80; tarsus, 2.40; middle toe, 1.60. Length, 15¾; alar extent, 48. Bill black at tip, bluish-brown at base; iris dark brown.

HAB. Guatemala, Mexico, and adjoining parts of United States; Arizona (COUES); Santa Clara Co., Cal. (COOPER).

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

National Museum, 2; Philadelphia Academy, 2. Total, 4.

There can be but little doubt that this plumage denotes a younger stage of the same species as the B. zonocercus of Sclater. The adult bird described above is moulting, and two tail-feathers of the old plumage, which have not yet been cast, are precisely like those of this specimen, the new ones being entirely different, as will be seen by the description. Taking with this the exact similarity of the pattern of under side of primaries, as well as the plumage in general, and the sameness of proportions, one cannot but be convinced of their identity. The localities of the two specimens are also so near that it is scarcely possible they are distinct.

The plumage of this stage is parallel, in its relation to the adult, with that of the young of B. albifrons var. minutus, both differing from the mature stage in nearly the same particulars, the more numerous bands on the tail distinguishing the young of nearly all Buteos from adults of the same species.

An adult specimen from Mexico, in the collection of the Philadelphia Academy (without number or other indications on the label), though resembling the two specimens described, in all essential points, differs from them in regard to the coloration of the tail. The main differences are as follows: Tail deep black basally and subterminally, the tip (very narrowly) and a middle zone about 2.00 inches broad, and 1.80 from the tip, being duller and more brownish-black, this irregularly defined anteriorly, but of sharp regular definition along the posterior border; the subterminal black band is very precisely defined on the inner webs, and anterior to this nearly the whole inner web is white, irregularly blotched with black towards the base, however; the markings of somewhat longitudinal direction; the outer webs are black to the very base. Wing, 16.50; tail, 9.00; tarsus, 2.70; middle toe, 1.80. Wing-formula, 4, 3–5–2–6–7, 1.

Whether this is a progressive stage of plumage or a mere individual peculiarity, I do not feel certain, but am inclined to the latter opinion. Both this specimen and the immature one described are labelled B. albonotatus, Gray; I have been unable to refer to Gray’s original description; if there is no doubt of its being pertinent to the immature stage described, then this will be the name of the species, as it has priority; I should much regret, however, to discard the very appropriate and characteristic name zonocercus, for the other, as Mr. Sclater’s species is so satisfactorily described and accurately figured, while the original description of albonotatus is very meagre and difficult of reference.

HABITS. This Hawk is a Mexican and Guatemalan species which occasionally strays into our borders in Arizona and in Southern California. Dr. Cooper was the first of our naturalists to meet with this species within the United States, shooting an individual on the 23d of February, 1862, thirty miles north of San Diego, and within five of the coast. It was associating with specimens of B. insignatus and other Hawks wintering there, and seemed rather sluggish and tame. He saw no other Black Hawks in that neighborhood. Two years afterwards, September 24, 1864, Dr. Coues also procured a single specimen on the Gila River. He regards the species as restricted, within our borders, to the warm valley of the Gila and the Lower Colorado. We possess no information in regard to any distinctive specific habits it may possess. This species was first described by Dr. Sclater from a Guatemalan specimen.

The bird described as B. albonotatus is presumed to be identical with this species. It was observed by Mr. Salvin on the southern slope of the Cordillera, in Guatemala, which appears to be the true habitat of this species, but even there it cannot be said to be common. He states that, like many others of its class, it is a feeder on beetles and locusts.

Buteo lineatus, GMELIN.

Var. =lineatus=, GMELIN.

RED-SHOULDERED HAWK.

Falco lineatus, GMEL. Syst. Nat. p. 268, 1789.—LATH. Ind. Orn. p. 27, 1790; Syn. I, 56, sp. 36, 1781; Gen. Hist. I, 268, 1821.—DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, 158, 1800.—SHAW, Zoöl. VII, 153, 1812.—WILS. Am. Orn. pl. liii, f. 3, 1808.—AUD. Orn. Biog. I, 296, 1831; Syn. p. 7, 1839. CUVIER, Reg. Anim. ed. 2, I, 334, 1829. Buteo lineatus, JARD. (WILS.) Am. Orn. II, 290, 1832.—AUD. Syn. p. 7, 1839.—BREWER, (WILS.) Am. Orn. 684, 1852.—CASSIN, Birds Cal. & Tex. Syn. 99, 1854; Birds N. Am. 1858, 28.—BONAP. Comp. Av. p. 19, 1850.—KAUP, Web. Falk. Mus. Senck. 1845, p. 261.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 30, 1855.—BREWER, Oölogy, 1857, 28, pl. iii, f. 25.—MAX. Cab. Journ. VI, 1858, 19.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 7, 1869. Poecilopternis lineatus, KAUP, Mon. Fal. Cont. Orn. p. 76, 1850. Falco hyemalis, GMEL. Syst. Nat. 274, 1789.—LATH. Ind. Orn. 35, 1790; Syn. I, 79, sp. 62, 1781; Gen. Hist. I, p. 91.—DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, 110, 1800.—SHAW, Zoöl. VII, 153, 1812.—WILS. Am. Orn. pl. 35, fig. I, 1808.—BONAP. Ann. Lyc. N. Y. II, 33; Isis, p. 1138, 1832.—AUD. B. Am. pl. lvi, 71, 1831; Orn. Biog. I, 364, 1831. F. hyemalis, var. LATH. Ind. Orn. Supp. p. 8, 1801; Syn. Supp. II, 39, 1802. Circus hyemalis, VIEILL. Ois. Am. Sept. pl. vii, 1807.—JAMES. Wils. Am. Orn. I, 88 & 87, 1808. B. hyemalis, LESS. Tr. Orn. p. 81, 1831.—BONAP. Eur. & N. Am. B. p. 3, 1838. Astur hyemalis, JARD. Wils. Orn. II, 72, 1808.—VIEILL. Enc. Méth. III, 1273, 1823. Nisus hyemalis, CUV. Reg. An. ed. 2, I, 334, 1829. Buteo fuscus, VIEILL. Ois. Am. Sept. pl. v, 1807. Astur fuscus, BONAP. Oss. Cuv. Reg. An. p. 37, 1830. Falco buteoides, NUTT. Man. I, 100, 1832. Buteo cooperi (not of Cassin), ALLEN, Am. Nat. III, 1869, 518 (young of B. lineatus!)

SP. CHAR. Adult male (32,509, Washington, D. C., January). Head, neck, and interscapulars deep rufous (above becoming darker posteriorly), each feather with a medial stripe of blackish-brown. Throat and cheeks almost destitute of rufous tinge, the ground being dull white,—the dusky forming an indistinct “mustache,” and an imperfect, obsolete collar (formed by confluent, or suffused streaks), across the throat. Breast, sides, abdomen, and tibiæ rather light rufous, becoming paler posteriorly; breast with shaft-streaks of blackish; the rufous of sides of breast almost unvaried; abdomen, sides, and middle of the breast, with transverse bars of ochraceous white; tibiæ uniform pale ochraceous; anal region and lower tail-coverts, immaculate white. Lesser wing-coverts chestnut-rufous, feathers with black shaft-streaks, these becoming larger posteriorly; scapulars and middle wing-coverts edged broadly with rufous, and obsoletely spotted on inner webs with white.—this somewhat exposed; secondaries dark clear brown, tipped and crossed with two (exposed) bands of white; primaries black, fading at tips into dilute grayish-brown, and with quadrate spots of white on outer webs. Rump uniform blackish-brown; upper tail-coverts tipped and banded with black. Tail clear brownish-black, crossed with six sharply defined narrow bands of white, the last of which is terminal, and the first two concealed by the upper coverts. Lining of the wing nearly uniform pale rufous, with very sparse, deeper rufous, somewhat transverse spots; under surface of primaries silvery white, crossed by broad bands, these where the white is clearest being pale rufous, bordered with dusky, but as the white grows more silvery they darken into black; the longest (fourth) has eight of these spots, including the subterminal, very broad one. Fourth quill longest; fifth, just perceptibly shorter; third, a little shorter; second, considerably longer than sixth; first equal to ninth. Wing, 13.00; tail, 8.50; tarsus, 2.90; middle toe, 1.33.

Adult female (11,991, Washington, D. C.; Dr. W. Wallace). Generally similar to the male, but rufous more extended, this tinging the outer webs of secondaries and primaries. On the under parts the rufous is rather deeper, and the tibiæ are strongly barred, and even the lower tail-coverts have obsolete spots of the same. Wing, 13.75; tail, 9.00; tarsus, 2.90; middle toe, 1.50.

Younger (41,683, Washington, D. C.; Dr. Coues). Upper plumage precisely as in adult, but the black prevailing on head above, and nape. Beneath ochraceous-white, deepest on the tibiæ; breast, abdomen, sides, and tibiæ, with diamond-shaped spots of dark rufous-brown, connected along the shaft of the feathers, running thus, in a peculiar, longitudinal, chain-like series (19.50; 42.50; cere, legs, and feet bright chrome-yellow; anterior scales of tarsus with greenish tinge).

Young male (No. 1,210). Ground-color of head, neck, and under parts white; feathers of head and neck, with medial stripes of dark clear vandyke-brown, leaving a superciliary space, and the ear-coverts scarcely striped; a blackish suffusion over cheeks, forming a “mustache,” and large longitudinal spot of the same on middle of throat; breast, abdomen, sides, and flanks, with rather sparse, irregularly sagittate spots of clear vandyke-brown, those on the sides of breast more longitudinal; tibiæ, with a faint ochraceous tinge, and with sparse, small, and irregular specks of brown; lower tail-coverts with a very few distant isolated bars of the same. Upper parts generally, clear dark vandyke-brown; interscapulars and wing-coverts edged (most broadly beneath the surface) with pale rufous; middle wing-coverts with much white spotting on upper webs, partially exposed; wing-coverts generally, and scapulars, narrowly bordered with white; secondaries narrowly tipped with white, and crossed with about four (exposed) bands of paler grayish-brown; primaries inclining to black; faintly margined at ends, with whitish; outer webs anterior to the emargination, rufous-white, with distant, narrow bars of blackish, these widening on inner quills; upper tail-coverts white with transverse spots of blackish. Tail dark vandyke-brown, narrowly tipped with white, and crossed with numerous narrow bands of pale grayish-brown, these obsolete towards the base. Lining of the wing pale ochraceous, with a few irregularly cordate spots of dark brown toward edge of wing; under surface of primaries mostly white, the dusky bars not extending across the web, except on inner quills. Wing, 13.25; tail, 9.30; tarsus, 2.85; middle toe, 1.40.

Young female (11,994, Washington, D. C., January; C. Drexler). Almost precisely similar; tibiæ unspotted; light bands of the tail more sharply defined basally, and pale mottled rufous, instead of pale ashy brown. Wing, 14.50; tail, 9.60; tarsus, 3.10; middle toe, 1.45.

HAB. Eastern N. Am.; south to Florida; west to Texas and the tributaries of the Missouri.

Localities: Orizaba, SCL. 1857, 211; S. E. Texas, DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 325 (breeds); Iverness Shore, England (Feb. 26, 1863), NEWCOME, Ibis, 1865, 549.

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

National Museum, 19; Philadelphia Academy, 14; Boston Society, 8; Mus. Cambridge, 16; Cab. G. N. Lawrence, 4; Coll. R. Ridgway, 4. Total, 65.

Measurements.

+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+---------+------------+ |Sex.| Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. | Middle | Specimens. | | | | | | | Toe. | | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+---------+------------+ | ♂ |11.25–13.50| 8.00–9.70| .75–.90|2.70–3.25|1.30–1.50|20 Northern.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+---------+------------+ | ♀ |13.35–14.25| 9.00–10.00| .80–.90|3.10–3.20|1.35–1.50| 7 Northern.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+---------+------------+

This specimen may possibly indicate a mere individual variation, rather than a progressive stage of plumage.

A male (25,198, Washington, D. C., February) is as strongly barred beneath as described in the female; thus it would appear that any differences in plumage in the sexes are nothing more than individual discrepancies.

The yellowish outer webs of the primaries constitute a feature which will serve to distinguish the young of the Buteo lineatus from that of every other North American species.

A series of twelve specimens from Florida, in the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy, at Cambridge, shows that the birds of this species from that peninsula are very much smaller than northern ones; and though that of the adults does not differ appreciably, the plumage of the young birds is considerably darker than in northern specimens, and occasionally approaches quite nearly to that of the young of var. elegans, the markings on the lower parts, including the tibiæ, being often in the form of transverse spots.

The extreme measurements of this series are as follows: Wing, 10.90–12.75; tail, 7.70–8.50; culmen, .80–.90; tarsus, 2.90–3.20; middle toe, 1.25–1.45. Specimens, 12.

Var. elegans, CASSIN.

RED-BELLIED HAWK.

Buteo elegans, CASS. P. A. N. S. 1855, 281.—IB. B. N. Am. 1858, 28, plate.—HEERM. P. R. Rep. II, 32.—KENNERLY, P. R. Rep. III, 19.—NEWB. VII, 75.—COOP. & SUCKL. XII, ii, 147.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 38.—? DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 325 (Texas).—COUES, P. A. N. S. 1866, 9 (Arizona).—GRAY, Hand List, I, 7.—COOPER, Birds Cal. 1870, 477.

SP. CHAR. Adult male (10,573, Ft. Tejon, California, “Oct. 22, 1857”; J. Xantus). Head, neck, interscapulars, anterior scapulars, lesser wing-coverts, lining of the wing, and entire lower parts, dark lateritious-rufous, inclining to chestnut on the shoulders. The upper parts so colored have each feathers with a medial-ovate space of dull black, giving a striped appearance; the lesser wing-coverts, however, have each only a narrow shaft-line of black, these growing larger as they approach the middle coverts. There is a strong black suffusion over the cheeks, forming an obscure “mustache”; orbit blackish, throat streaked with the same. The dark lateritious-rufous of the jugulum and breast is perfectly continuous and uniform, varied only by the obsoletely darker shafts of the feathers; sides and flanks transversely barred with white; lining of the wing, and tibiæ, with very ill-defined bars of paler rufous; anal region and lower tail-coverts with broader and more sharply defined bars of the same. Scapulars and middle wing-coverts brownish-black, narrowly tipped, and irregularly spotted transversely, with pure white; secondaries and greater coverts brownish-black, tinged with rufous, and broadly tipped and crossed, with sharply defined bands of pure white, of which there are on secondaries about six exposed (including the terminal band); primaries and their coverts deep black (tinged anterior to their emargination with rufous), tipped with pure white, and having spots of white on outer webs. Rump and upper tail-coverts brownish-black, with indistinct transverse bands of white, the latter sharply tipped with the same. Tail clear brownish-black sharply tipped with white, and with about five sharply defined bands of the same, about .30 of an inch in width. Under surface of secondaries and primaries white to near the ends, where they are black; the tips, however, again white; the white portion crossed by regular transverse bands, those where the white is purest being light rufous, but as the white shades toward the black they become dusky; the rufous bars are, however, bordered with dusky. Fifth quill longest; third and fourth longer than sixth; second a little shorter than sixth; first intermediate between ninth and tenth. Wing, 12.50; tail, 8.00; tarsus, 2.90; middle toe, 1.40.

Young. Predominating color, blackish-brown; this existing on under parts in large, confluent sagittate spots, which are longitudinal on throat and jugulum, and more transverse on sides, abdomen, tibiæ, and lower tail-coverts, the ground-color of lower parts being dull ochraceous. The head and neck, all around, presenting a uniform, streaked appearance, the edges of the feathers being ochraceous, but the black far exceeding this in amount. Interscapulars and scapulars bordered with rusty rufous; wing-coverts more broadly bordered with ochraceous, and with much concealed dull white spotting; lesser wing-coverts, with a strong wash of rich dark rufous; secondaries tipped with white, and crossed by two or three (exposed) broad bands of dull ashy; primaries brownish-black, narrowly tipped with white, and with ill-defined restricted spots of the same on outer webs. Rump uniform blackish-brown, feathers faintly bordered with rusty; upper tail-coverts tipped and barred with white. Tail brownish-black tipped with white, and crossed with five narrow bands of dull light ashy. Lining of wing dull, dingy ochraceous, with numerous transverse bars of brown; fourth quill longest; third shorter than fifth; second longer than sixth; first equal to ninth. Wing (male, 10,572, Fort Tejon), 12.00; tail, 8.40; tarsus, 2.82; middle toe, 1.35. Female (4,520, Santa Clara, Cal.; Dr. Cooper), wing, 13.00; tail, 9.00; tarsus, 2.90; middle toe, 1.52.

HAB. Pacific, and southern portion of the middle Provinces of the United States; Mexico.

Localities quoted: Texas (San Antonio, winter), (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 325); Arizona (Coues, P. A. N. S. 1866, 9); city of Mexico (SCL. & SALV. P. Z. S. 1869, 364).

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

National Museum, 4; Philadelphia Academy, 4; Cab. G. N. Lawrence, 1; R. Ridgway, 2. Total, 11.

Measurements.

Wing, 12.00–13.00; tail, 8.75–9.50; culmen, .78–.90; tarsus, 3.00–3.12; middle toe, 1.40–1.50.

The young of the Buteo elegans differs most remarkably from that of B. lineatus; the pattern of coloration appears scarcely the same, for the ochraceous on outer webs of primaries, anterior to their emargination,—which is a feature distinguishing the immature lineatus from all other Buteos,—is in the present bird almost obliterated by the extension of the dusky.

HABITS. The Red-shouldered Hawk has an extended distribution, being found more or less abundant from Florida to Nova Scotia, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast it is replaced by the Buteo elegans. Mr. J. A. Allen found it by far the most abundant of this family in Florida. In Texas the two races, lineatus and elegans, appear to occur together, Mr. Dresser having met with both near San Antonio. The Red-shouldered Hawk was noticed by this writer from the river Neuces eastward. He found it breeding in the heavily wooded river bottoms of the Medina, and several others of the rivers of Texas, but did not succeed in procuring the eggs. It breeds abundantly in Florida, and thence throughout the United States as far north as Northern Vermont, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. Lieutenant Bland notices it as a common and migratory species in Nova Scotia, but Mr. Downes speaks of it as rare near Halifax, where he only met with two specimens. Mr. Boardman gives it as quite common near Calais, breeding there and probably resident. In Western Maine Mr. Verrill regarded the species as a not very common summer resident, where it was also known to breed, as he met with its nest and eggs May 24, 1860. It is quite common in Eastern Massachusetts, where it is found all the year, but where it is more abundant in the fall, from the addition of northern migrants, than at any other time. A few are found throughout the winter, keeping about open springs and in sheltered situations. Mr. Allen also speaks of it as not uncommon in the western part of the same State. It was not taken or seen by Richardson in northern regions, nor does it appear to have been observed in any of the West India Islands.

The history and habits of this very common Hawk seem to have been involved, among earlier writers, in a confusion that seems hardly explicable. Wilson described and always regarded the young and old as two distinct species, calling the former hyemalis, giving to it a northern residence, and the mature bird lineatus. Mr. Audubon repeated this error at first, and sought to demonstrate its correctness by giving to the two forms very dissimilar habits. Bonaparte believed these forms to be identical, and Nuttall did the same, but was altogether in error as to its distribution. He was not aware of its presence in Massachusetts, where it is at times the most abundant of the raptorial birds. This writer only met with it in the Southern States, where he found it very common in swampy situations. He speaks of its having a quailing cry of mutual recognition, which is a plaintive echoing note, like keé-oó, which is continued with little intermission for nearly twenty minutes. He describes the species as not shy, and as very easily approached. These Hawks remain mated throughout the year, and their affectionate treatment of each other is in striking contrast with the selfish indifference of the Red-tail species when their breeding-season is ended.

Nuttall observed it feeding on frogs, cray-fish, and even insects, and rarely troubling larger game. In only one instance did he see one descend upon a Plover. Wilson saw them attack Plover, Sand-pipers, Larks, and even Hawks; but the last is very rare and exceptional. I have never known one of this species to molest the poultry-yard. From 1828 to 1838, during my stay in Roxbury, a pair of these Hawks were residents within a few hundred yards of the house, where, as they never molested the tenants of the barn-yard, they were not allowed to be disturbed. Their breeding-place we could not find, but they kept about an open spring during the winter, feeding upon small game, and were not at all shy. One of them unfortunately was wounded, and was kept in confinement several days. It was the male bird, in full adult plumage, and was by no means wild, feeding readily upon what was given to it, even with our near presence. It would not tolerate a too great familiarity, but manifested great irritation if we attempted to approach it. Its wing had been badly shattered, and it finally died from mortification of the wound. It would never submit to be handled, and fought desperately when we sought to have its limb bound up. After we gave up this attempt as impossible it became rather more familiar, and would even at last greet me with a welcome cry of recognition, and take its food from my hand.

Wilson, in speaking of the adult bird, states that this Hawk has a high and very irregular flight, and is quite different from that of species with longer wings. In his account of the immature plumage, he notes its arrival in Pennsylvania early in November, and its departure in March. He speaks of it as a dexterous catcher of frogs, and adds that it sometimes so stuffs itself that it can fly with difficulty. He has found the remains of ten frogs in the stomach of a single individual.

The Red-shouldered Hawk constructs a large nest, not unlike that of the Crow, in the forked branches of a high tree. It is composed externally of sticks, and is lined with moss and soft leaves. The eggs are four in number, and occasionally three or two. When the nest is approached, the bird utters loud, frequent, and peculiar cries of alarm and resentment, not unlike keé-oó! rapidly repeated, but makes no attempt at resistance. The pair return year after year to the same nest, even when it has been robbed the previous season.

The eggs of this Hawk are of a very uniform spheroidal-oval shape, but slightly pointed at one end, and exhibit certain very general characteristics in the colors of their markings, but vary greatly in their size. The length varies from 2.20 to 2.00, and the breadth from 1.81 to 1.56. The ground-color is usually a dingy white, rarely pure white, and frequently with decidedly brownish tinge. The blotches are most frequently of a yellowish umber color; sometimes blotches of sienna-brown, slate-drab, and more obscure shades of brown are present, and these colors are not unfrequently confusedly mingled. An egg from Cheraw, S. C., has a ground-color of a light drab, tinged with slate and without any blotches whatever. It is not uncommon to find these nearly unspotted eggs in the same nest with others very boldly and profusely blotched. The Cheraw egg measures 2.00 by 1.56 inches; an egg from Massachusetts, 2.20 by 1.81: their relative capacity being nearly as three to four. They average about 2.10 by 1.68 inches.

Mr. L. Heiligbrodt found the nest of this Hawk near Austin, Texas. One egg was taken from the nest, and in a few days after a second was found to have been deposited (S. I. 15,894).

The handsome variety known as B. elegans is generally spoken of by all familiar with its habits, as well as with its appearance, as the almost exact counterpart of the Red-shouldered Hawk, replacing that form on the west coast.

In regard to its distinctive specific habits but little is as yet known, but it is probable they are not essentially different from those of the lineatus, Dr. Cooper bearing positive testimony to this fact. He found this Hawk common in the southern part of the State, especially near San Diego, but he did not meet with any in the Colorado Valley. On his approach to one of them, it would always fly off from its usual perch, circling up high into the air, and uttering short shrill screams in rapid succession in the manner of the lineatus. He noticed a pair constantly at one place near a ranch, and supposed they were about building there, but was not able to find the nest.

Among the memoranda of Mr. Xantus, made at Fort Tejon, Cal., is one dated May 9, mentioning the finding the nest of this species. It contained four eggs, was built in an old decayed tree, in a swamp, and was about fifteen feet from the ground. The nest was large and made of sticks.

Buteo borealis (GMEL.).

RED-TAILED HAWK.

SP. CHAR. Form heavy and robust; wings moderate, the third to fifth quill longest; the first shorter than the seventh; outer four with inner webs cut. Feet strong, the tarsi and toes robust, and claws not very acute. Dimensions: Wing, 13.50–17.25; tail, 8.50–11.30; culmen, .90–1.15; tarsus, 2.70–3.40; middle toe, 1.60–1.95; weight, 2½ to 4 lbs. Colors: Adult: tail, deep lateritious-rufous, paler at the tip, and usually with a subterminal bar of black (sometimes without any bar, and sometimes with numerous bars to the base). Above blackish-brown, more or less variegated with whitish on the scapulars and wing-coverts; beneath white, usually with a belt of blackish spots across the abdomen; sometimes wholly dusky or blackish beneath, but the pectoral region always appreciably lighter than the abdomen; under surface of primaries plain white anterior to their emargination. Young. Tail grayish-brown, with nine or ten narrow, sharply defined bands of blackish. Pattern of other parts as in the adult, but the white purer, and the plumage generally with less rufous.

HAB. Entire continent of North America; West Indies.

The plumage varies from wholly dusky blackish, with a paler, more brownish, pectoral area, and the tail of the adult with numerous black bars, or indications of bars, to the very base (var. calurus), through various proportionate degrees of rufous and dusky, to entirely pure white beneath, without any spotting; the tail of the adult without a single black bar (vars. krideri and lucasanus).

Var. borealis, GMELIN.

EASTERN RED-TAIL.

Falco borealis, GMEL. Syst. Nat. p. 266, 1789.—LATH. Ind. Orn. p. 25, 1790; Syn. I, p. 50, 1780; Supp. II, 34, 1787; Gen. Hist. I, p. 265, 1821.—DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, 157, 1800.—SHAW, Zoöl. VII, 112, 1812.—WILS. Am. Orn. pl. lii, fig. 1, 1808.—SAB. Frankl. Exp. p. 670.—WAGL. Isis, p. 517, 1831.—BONAP. Ann. N. Y. Lyc. II, pp. 32, 434; Isis, p. 1138, 1832.—AUD. Birds Am. pl. li, 1831; Orn. Biog. I, p. 265, 1831; Syn. VI.—GRAY, Genera, 1840.—RICH. F. B. A. II, 50, 1831.—NUTT. Man. I, 102, 1840.—GOSSE, Birds Jam. II, 1847.—DOUGH. Cab. I, 229, pl. xxx, 1830. Buteo borealis, VIEILL. Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat. IV, p. 478, 1819; Enc. Méth. III, p. 1222, 1823.—VIG. Zoöl. Journ. I, p. 340; Zoöl. Beech. Voy. p. 15.—STEPH. Zoöl. XIII, pt. 2, p. 47, 1826.—LESS. Tr. Orn. p. 79, 1831.—JAMES. (WILS.) Am. Orn. I, pp. 82, 84, 1808.—JARD. (WILS.) Am. Orn. II, pp. 280, 282, 1808.—BREW. (WILS.) Am. Orn. p. 450; Synop. p. 684.—BONAP. Eur. & N. Am. B. p. 3, 1838; Consp. Av. p. 19.—AUD. Synop. p. 6, 1839.—GRAY, Gen. B. fol. sp. 6, 1844; List B. Brit. Mus. p. 34, 1844.—PUCHER. Rev. Zoöl. p. 214, 1850.—GOSSE, B. Jam. p. 11, pl. ii, 1847.—CASS. B. Cal. & Tex. Syn. p. 97, 1854; Proc. Ac. Sc. Philad. p. 279, 1855.—GAMB. Journ. Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil. N. S. I, p. 26.—NUTT. Man. Orn. U. S. & Canad. p. 102, 1833.—DE KAY, Zoöl. N. Y. II, p. 9, pl. viii, f. 17 (Juv.), 1844.—PEAB. Bost. Journ. Nat. Hist. III, p. 80, 1837.—THOMP. Hist. Verm. App. p. 63, 1853.—PEALE, U. S. Expl. Exp. p. 62, 1848.—TOWNS. Sit. Exp. Zuñi & Color. p. 59.—KAUP, Ueb. Falk. Mus. Senck. p. 261, 1845.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 29, 1855.—MAX. Cab. Journ. VI, 1858, 17.—BLAKIST. Ibis, III, 1861, 318.—WOOD, Am. Nat. III, 1869, 393.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 1869, 7. Astur borealis, CUV. Règ. An. (ed. 2), I, 332, 1829.—SWAINS. Class. B. I, 316; II, 215, 1837, Pœcilopternis borealis, KAUP, Isis, Mon. Falc. Cont. Orn. 1850, p. 76. Falco leverianus, GMEL. Syst. Nat. 266, 1789.—LATH. Ind. Orn. p. 181, 1790; Syn. Supp. I, 31, 1787; Gen. Hist. I, 620, 1821.—DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, 126, 1800.—SHAW, Zoöl. VII, 151, 1812.—WILS. Am. Orn. pl. lii (Juv.), 1808.—AUD. Orn. Biog. I, 265. Buteo leverianus, VIG. Zoöl. Journ. I, 340.—STEPH. Zoöl. XIII, pt. 2, p. 47, 1815. Falco aquilinus, BARTR. Tran. p. 390, 1791. Accipiter ruficaudus, VIEILL. Ois. Am. Sept. pl. xiv, bis. 1807. Buteo fulvus, VIEILL. Ois. Am. Sept. p. 34; Nouv. Dict. Hist. IV, p. 468 (quot. F. jamaicensis), 1819. Buteo ferrugineocaudus, VIEILL. Ois. Am. Sept. pl. vi, 1807.—CUV. Règ. An. (ed. 2), I, 337. Buteo americanus, VIEILL. Nouv. Dict. Nat. IV, 477 (quot.), Ois. Am. Merid. pl. vi, Enc. Méth. III, 1224, 1823. ? Buteo gallinivorus, VIEILL. Ois. Buteo borealis, BREWER, N. A. Oölogy, 1857.

SP. CHAR. Adult. Upper parts rich blackish-brown, approaching black on the back; scapulars and middle wing-coverts edged and barred beneath the surface with dull white, and tinged along edges with ochraceous. Wings generally of a paler shade than the back; secondaries fading into nearly white at tips, and, with the greater coverts, obscurely barred with darker; primaries nearly black, tips edged with pale brown, this passing into whitish. Rump uniform blackish-brown, feathers obscurely bordered with rusty. Upper tail-coverts ochraceous-white, nearly pure terminally, and with about two distinct transverse bars of deep rufous. Tail rich uniform lateritious-rufous, passing narrowly into white at the tip, and about an inch (or less) from the end crossed by a narrow band of black. Head and neck with the feathers medially blackish-brown, their edges rusty-rufous, causing a streaked appearance; the rufous prevailing on the sides of the occiput, the ear-coverts, and neck. The blackish almost uniform on the forehead and on the cheeks, over which it forms a broad “mustache”; lores and sides of frontlet whitish. Throat white, with broad stripes of pure slaty-brown; lower parts in general ochraceous-white; tibiæ and lower tail-coverts immaculate; across the abdomen and flanks (immediately in front of the tibiæ) is a broad interrupted belt of longitudinal black blotches, those on the abdomen tear-shaped, on the flanks larger and more irregular, throwing off bars toward the edge of the feathers; whole pectoral area variegated only with a few shaft-streaks of black (these growing broader laterally), and sometimes washed with rusty. Lining of the wing ochraceous-white, with sparse diamond-shaped spots of pale rufous, and shaft-streaks of darker; under surface of primaries white anterior to their emargination, beyond which they gradually deepen into black; the innermost ones are finely mottled with slaty, and with imperfect transverse bars of the same.

Male. Wing, 13.50–16.50; tail, 8.50–10.00; culmen, .95–1.08; tarsus, 1.40–3.20; middle toe, 1.60–1.70. Weight, 2½–3 lbs.

Female. Wing, 15.25–17.75; tail, 9.50–10.50; culmen, 1.00–1.15; tarsus, 3.15–3.40; middle toe, 1.70–1.80. Weight, 3–4 lbs.

Young (28,154, Philadelphia; J. Krider). Above similar to the adult, but lacking entirely any rufous tinge, the scapulars and wing-coverts more variegated with whitish. Tail light grayish-brown (very much lighter than the rump), tinged, especially basally, with rufous, narrowly tipped with white, and crossed with nine or ten narrow, curved bands of black; upper tail-coverts white, with broad bars of black. Head as in the adult, but the rufous wanting, leaving the streaks black and white; forehead more broadly white; chin and throat wholly white, the latter with a collar of dusky streaks across the lower part; whole pectoral region entirely immaculate, pure white; abdominal band as in the adult; tibiæ somewhat tinged with ochraceous, unvariegated.

HAB. Eastern North America; not in West Indies, nor west of the Missouri.

Localities: (?) Bahamas (BRYANT, Pr. Bost. Soc. 1867, 64).

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

National Museum, 9; Philadelphia Academy, 13; Boston Society, 8; Museum, Cambridge, 15; Cab. G. N. Lawrence, 3; Coll. R. Ridgway, 2. Total, 50.

The true Buteo borealis, as restricted, may always be distinguished from the var. calurus, its western representative, by its having the posterior lower parts (tibiæ and lower tail-coverts) entirely free from transverse bars, and by lacking indications of transverse bars on the tail, anterior to the conspicuous subterminal one. It differs from the var. costaricensis, in having the head and neck conspicuously striped with rufous, and the throat thickly striped with black, almost obliterating the white; in the conspicuous abdominal belt of large black spots, and in having the tibiæ lighter ochraceous than the breast; from the var. lucasanus and var. krideri, it is distinguished by having the black tail-band, more spotted under parts, and in the upper tail-coverts being white, banded with rufous, instead of plain white, or deep rufous, uniform with the tail.

A specimen (No. 1,750, Carlisle, Pa.; S. F. Baird) appears at first sight much like the var. calurus, being very dark; the tibiæ, anal region, and the lower tail-coverts are, however, not barred as in this, and the tail possesses but the subterminal band.

An immature specimen (No. 21,488; John Krider) from Philadelphia has the tibiæ quite distinctly barred, but less conspicuously so than in young of var. calurus.

Var. krideri, HOOPES.

WHITE-BELLIED RED-TAIL.

Buteo krideri, HOOPES, P. A. N. S. Philad. 1873, p. —

SP. CHAR. Adult. Similar to var. borealis, but beneath continuous pure white, without rufous tinge, and without distinct spots across the abdomen, or lacking them entirely; above much lighter, the brown, light rufous, and white being about equal in amount. Upper tail-coverts immaculate white; tail pale rufous, the shafts pure white, and the webs mixed with white along their edges, its amount increasing toward the base; no trace of a dusky subterminal bar, or else only indicated by badly defined spots.

Young. Differing from that of var. borealis in the immaculate, snowy-white lower parts, nearly equal extent of the white and dusky on the upper parts, and whitish cast of the tail.

Two females (one shot from nest of two eggs, near Alexandria, Minn., May 8, 1872,[87] and the other, also shot from nest of two eggs, near Pelican Lake, Minn., May 21, 1872[88]) are entirely absolutely pure white beneath, there being but the faintest indications of markings in the region of the usual abdominal belt; even the whole under side of the wing is almost immaculate. The ground-color of the upper parts is pale grayish-brown, about equally variegated transversely, on the scapulars and tertials, with white. In one of them, the sides of the head and neck are pale fawn-color, the “mustache” from the rictus brownish-black in conspicuous contrast; the upper parts are nearly equally variegated with brown, light rufous, and white, the latter predominating posteriorly. The upper tail-coverts are immaculate white. The tail-feathers are light rufous, with pure white shafts, considerably mixed with white along the edges of the feathers, the white considerably increasing towards the base of the tail. Of the subterminal dusky band there is no trace in one specimen, while in the other it is indicated by transverse spots, while the inner webs along the shafts are much variegated with transverse dusky spots. The male specimen (shot at Chippewa Lake, Minn., from nest (!) of two eggs May 19, 1872[89]) is considerably darker, nearly like the average plumage of eastern var. borealis. Still the white of the lower parts is remarkably pure, being of an almost snowy clearness, without any trace whatever of an ochraceous tinge.

No. 8,532, Devil’s River, Texas (Nov. 1855; Dr. C. B. Kennerly), differs only in being a little less pure white beneath, the lower parts being very appreciably tinged with rufous posteriorly.

HAB. Plains of the United States, from Minnesota to Texas (Devil’s River, M. S. I.).

Var. lucasanus, RIDGWAY.

ST. LUCAS RED-TAIL.

“Buteo borealis var. lucasanus, RIDGWAY,” COUES, KEY, 1872, 216 (under B. borealis).

SP. CHAR. Adult. General appearance of the normal plumage of var. calurus, but the upper parts more uniformly blackish, and the upper tail-coverts and tail uniform rufous, the latter without a trace of a black bar. Beneath nearly uniform reddish ochraceous, or light rufous, the usual abdominal belt merely indicated by a few inconspicuous spots; no trace of transverse bars on the lower parts. Female ? (No. 16,925, Cape St. Lucas, Sept. 15, 1859; J. Xantus). Wing, 16.00; tail, 9.50; tarsus, 3.00; middle toe, 1.60. Wing-formula 5, 4, 3, 2–6–7–8–9, 1, 10.

Young. Not distinguishable, by positive characters, from that of var. calurus.

HAB. Peninsula of Lower California.

All adult specimens from the peninsula of Lower California agree with that described above, in the peculiar features which I consider as characterizing a well-marked local race. The present form is most nearly related, in its adult dress, to the var. krideri of the plains, in its unbarred tail and immaculate lower plumage, but differs from this in having the upper parts nearly black instead of almost white, the upper tail-coverts deep rufous, like the tail, instead of white, and the lower parts rufous instead of white; in the rufous lower plumage and very dark upper parts, it closely resembles var. costaricensis[90] of Central America and Southern Mexico, but the latter has a barred tail, entirely continuous black above, plain white throat patch, and other minor differences, besides having a quite different young plumage. As to the young plumage of var. lucasanus, I cannot find any character by which it can with certainty be distinguished from that of var. calurus.

Var. calurus, CASSIN.

WESTERN RED-TAIL; BLACK RED-TAIL.

Buteo calurus, CASSIN, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Phil. VII, 281, 1855; Birds N. Am. 1858, 22.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 38, 1855.—COUES, Prod. Orn. Ariz. p. 8, 1866.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 7, 1869. Buteo montanus (not of NUTTALL!), CASSIN, Birds N. Am. 1858, 26.—NEWB. P. R. R. Rept. VI, iv, 1857.—HEERM. P. R. R. Rept. VII, 31, 1857.—COOP. & SUCK. P. R. R. Rept. XII, ii, 147, 1860.—COUES, Prod. Orn. Ariz. p. 7, 1866.—Buteo swainsoni (not of BONAP!), CASS. B. Cal. & Tex. p. 98, 1854.

SP. CHAR. Adult. Similar to var. borealis, but darker, with more rufous and blackish in the plumage; tibiæ always, and flanks and crissum usually, barred with rufous; throat with the dark streaks suffused and widened, so as to form the prevailing color. Tail with indications of transverse bars anterior to the usual subterminal one, these varying in number and distinctness with the individual. Whole plumage sometimes sooty black, the breast, however, covered by an appreciably paler patch, usually of a somewhat rufous hue. Tail sometimes with regular and continuous narrow bands to the very base.

Young. Very much darker than that of var. borealis, the pattern being similar, but the dark markings much expanded and more numerous; tibiæ with heavy transverse spots of dusky.

HAB. Western region of North America, from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific; south into Mexico; West Indies (Jamaica and Cuba, Mus. S. I.).

Localities quoted: (?) Xalapa (SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1859, 368); Oaxaca (SCL. P. Z. S. 1859, 389); (?) Cuba (CAB. Journ. II. lxxxii; GUNDL. Rep. 1865, 223; resident. “B. borealis”); S. E. Texas (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 324).

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

National Museum, 44; Philadelphia Academy, 18; Boston Society, 6; Coll. G. N. Lawrence, 2; R. Ridgway, 5. Total, 75.

Measurements.

+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+-----------+ |Sex.| Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. |Middle Toe.| Specimens.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+-----------+ | ♂ |13.50–16.00| 9.50–10.00| .90–1.10|2.90–3.30| 1.70–1.80| 30 N. Am.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+-----------+ | ♀ |16.00–17.25| 9.50–11.30|1.00–1.08|3.30–3.40| 1.80–1.95| 16 N. Am.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+-----------+ | ♂ |13.25–14.00| 9.00–0.00|1.00–0.00|3.30–0.00| 1.80–0.00|2 Jamaican.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+-----------+ | ♀ | 14.50–0.00| 9.00–0.00|1.10–0.00|3.25–0.00| 1.75–0.00|1 Jamaican.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+-----------+ | ♂ | 15.50–0.00| 9.50–0.00|1.15–0.00|3.10–0.00| 1.85–0.00| 1 Cuban.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+-----------+

A large collection of specimens of this race presents a series connecting borealis with the black form known as “calurus”; every possible condition between the two being indicated in the range of individual variation. The lightest styles as distinguished from var. borealis always have the tibiæ barred with rufous; the crissum, also, is generally barred, on the throat the blackish-brown predominates, and the tail has more or less perfect bars to the roots of the feathers; generally, however, these are merely indicated by projections from the shafts.

The extreme condition of this is the melanistic form which Mr. Cassin described as “Buteo calurus”; the darkest example of which (5,481, Petaluma, Cal.; E. Samuels) is entirely blackish-brown, wings and scapulars with feathers somewhat paler at tips; breast inclining to dark sepia-brown, the feathers with black shaft-streaks; tibial feathers faintly tipped with pale grayish-brown; lower tail-coverts tipped and barred with rufous; upper tail-coverts deep rufous barred with black; tail deep chestnut-rufous, the subterminal black band very broad, and anterior to this are nine or ten imperfect narrower black bands.

These fuliginous examples have always a more or less appreciably lighter pectoral area, corresponding to the white of this region seen in the lighter styles.

Of this race, almost each individual has its own characteristic markings, and scarcely two are to be found alike in a very large series from Western North America. All the specimens from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, and from the table-lands of Mexico, as well as from Cuba and Jamaica, are referrible to this variety, although we are not aware that in the latter region the bird ever becomes black. In the latter island this species (as is also the case with many other birds) seems to be remarkably subject to albinism. In the peninsula of Lower California it is replaced by the var. lucasanus, and in Central America by the very different var. costaricensis; from both of which it may be distinguished by the numerous transverse rufous bars crossing the posterior under parts, which character serves also to distinguish the lightest examples from the eastern typical borealis.

A specimen (50,761; Colonel Grayson) from the Socorro Island, S. W. Mexico, is like some Fort Tejon specimens.

No. 41,759 (immature), Merida, Yucatan (Dr. Schott), is remarkably light colored, or, rather, is unusually variegated with whitish above; the tail, also, is almost white; the bands, however, very conspicuous. The lower parts are as thickly spotted as in specimens from Washington Territory.

The young bird of this western style is as different from that of the eastern as is the adult, and the essential differences are about the same,—i.e. darker colors, or a predominance, or, rather, increase in size, of the dark markings. The numerous heavy transverse spots on the tibia constitute a persistent feature of the young of the var. calurus, as compared with the almost, or perfectly, immaculate white of those in var. borealis.

It being certain that the Buteo montanus of Nuttall is really the B. swainsoni, and not the variety of borealis so called by Mr. Cassin, it becomes necessary to drop this name in connection with the present bird, and transfer it as a synonyme to swainsoni. In its place, Mr. Cassin’s name calurus must be substituted, under which was described the melanistic condition of the present variety of borealis.

In describing his B. montanus, Nuttall cites Audubon’s plate of “Falco buteo,” which, of course, is a name by which the B. swainsoni was first designated before it was distinguished from the B. vulgaris of Europe. Audubon’s plate represents, unmistakably, the adult female of the Buteo swainsoni.

HABITS. The well-known Red-tailed Hawk is widely distributed throughout North America from the West Indies and Central America to the Arctic regions, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

According to Sir John Richardson, it is common in the fur countries, which it visits in summer, and where a few are known to breed. Specimens were taken by his party on the Rocky Mountains, the plains of the Saskatchewan, and at the York factory. These were all between the 53d and the 57th parallels of latitude.

Mr. Salvin cites it as generally and plentifully distributed throughout Guatemala, from whence numerous examples in all stages of plumage, from the young to the adult, were transmitted by Mr. Skinner. It was also found at Dueñas by him. Mr. Swainson states that this Hawk was taken on the plains of Mexico by Mr. Taylor. A single specimen was received by Mr. Lawrence from Panama. Mr. Gosse states that it is the most common bird of this family in Jamaica, where it is a resident, and where it breeds. Mr. Lembeye and Dr. Gundlach both include it in their lists of the birds of Cuba, and the latter marks it as breeding in that island. It has been observed in Florida by Mr. Allen, and is not uncommon in all the New England States, where it is resident throughout the year. In the Southern States it is most abundant in the winter months.

Specimens of this bird are recorded in the government reports as obtained from the Yellowstone, from the Pecos River in Texas, and from Fort Fillmore in New Mexico. Mr. Dresser found it common throughout all of Texas in all seasons of the year, breeding in all parts, but preferring the heavily timbered country. He obtained its eggs from Systerdale and from the Medina River.

This Hawk is a strong and powerful bird, with a firm, steady, and protracted flight, frequently at a great elevation, and often moving quite a distance without any apparent motion of the wings. It is said to generally descend upon its prey from some fixed position, as the branch of a tree, and rarely to dart upon it when flying. It is a cautious bird, and rarely ventures near a house for poultry except when the dwelling is isolated and near its own haunts. It preys chiefly upon small quadrupeds, small birds, and reptiles. It usually darts upon a snake from the branch of a tree, and seizing it near the head bears it writhing through the air. In the valley of the Saskatchewan, Richardson states that it watches for the marmots, and when one imprudently ventures from its burrow, darts upon it, bears it a short distance off, and tears it to pieces.

As they fly, these birds utter a very peculiar and unpleasantly harsh cry or scream, which they repeat very frequently. Capt. Blakiston observed this at the Red River settlement, and speaks of it as the Squealing Hawk.

Though said to be thus generally cautious in exposing itself to danger in approaching a poultry-yard, it is not always thus cautious. Mr. Downes mentions an instance where one of these birds entered a garden in Halifax to pounce upon a tame Crow, and was captured alive by the owner.

Mr. Audubon states that after rearing their young they no longer remain mated, but separate and evince rather jealous hostility to each other than good-will. When one has taken any prey in sight of another, the latter will pursue and struggle with it for possession of the plunder. In these fights they scream vociferously while struggling for possession.

In the Southern States these Hawks begin to build in February; in the Middle States, from March the 24th to April 15th; and in New England usually from April to May. They construct a large nest, composed externally of coarse sticks and twigs, and lined with dried grasses, moss, and leaves, built for the most part in the fork of a lofty tree. The eggs are usually four in number.

Mr. Augustus Fowler of Danvers, who is familiar with the habits of this bird, writes me that in Massachusetts they usually begin to build their nests about the first of April, selecting some tall tree near the middle of the woods, the branches of which form a crotch near its trunk. To this chosen spot the female carries a sufficient quantity of sticks for its outside (the male taking no very active part in the matter), and for its inside she uses the bark from the dead branches of the chestnut, which she beats and pecks to pieces with her bill, making it soft and pliable, or gathers the fallen leaves of the pine, or some other soft material, which she finds conveniently, as a lining, which is about one inch in thickness. It is thirteen inches in diameter from outside to outside, and seven inches in diameter on the inside, while its depth is two and a half inches. The female usually lays five eggs, which are spherical, of a dirty-white color, and marked with large blotches of brown; on some they cover almost the whole egg, while others are marked mostly on the large end, and some even of the same nest are so faintly marked as to appear almost wholly white. They are 2.12 inches in length and 1.95 in diameter.

In Jamaica, according to Mr. March, these Hawks do not confine themselves to any particular mode or place for breeding, height seeming to be their chief object. He has found their nest in a quite accessible tree, not more than twenty feet from the ground, and near a frequented path. In another instance a pair nested for several years on the roof of the turret of the belfry of the Spanishtown Cathedral church. The nest he describes as a platform of dry sticks, more than a foot across and two or three inches thick. The bed of the nest is about six inches across and two deep, of fine inner bark, grass, and leaves, containing four or five eggs, nearly spherical, measuring 2.25 by 2.75 inches, of a dirty or clayish white, dashed with blotches and spots of vandyke-brown and umber, often running with a light shade into the ground-color.

The eggs of the Red-tail exhibit great variations in nearly every respect except their shape, which is pretty uniformly a spheroidal-oval. Their ground-color varies from white to a dingy rusty drab, their markings vary greatly in colors, shades, size, frequency, and distribution. In some the markings are small, few, and light, and the egg appears to be of an almost homogeneous brownish-white. In others the ground is completely concealed by large and confluent blotches of deep and dark purplish-brown, burnt umber, and a peculiar shade known as Dutch umber. In some the markings are distributed in fine and frequent granulations, diffused over the entire surface of the egg, producing the effect of a color of uniform umber brown, through which the ground of yellowish-white can only be traced by a magnifying-glass. Four eggs in my cabinet average 2.22 inches in length by 1.72 in breadth. The largest egg measures 2.55 by 1.90 inches; the smallest, 2.10 by 1.70. The capacity of the largest to the smallest is nearly as five to four.

The season in which this Hawk deposits its eggs varies considerably. Mr. Jackson of West Chester, Penn., gives March 24 the earliest, and April 15 the latest, in which he has met with its fresh eggs.

Mr. Ridgway obtained two eggs of this Hawk at Mount Carmel, Ill., on the 6th of March, the nest having been commenced early in February. It was placed on the summit of a black-gum tree (Nyssa multiflora), and rested upon the topmost branches, about ninety feet from the ground. It was lined with corn-husks, gathered from a field close by. The eggs (No. 12,740, S. I. Collection) measure, respectively, 2.45 and 2.50 in length, by 1.95 and 2.00 in breadth. Their color is plain bluish-white, entirely free from markings of any kind.

In California, the var. calurus is stated to be common in all parts of the State not destitute of trees, and to reside permanently wherever found, pairing only during the breeding-season. They prey upon hares and other small quadrupeds, upon smaller birds, and upon reptiles. Dr. Cooper states that at times, when food is plenty, they become excessively fat. They are known to occasionally seize a fowl from the farm-yard. During the middle of the day, in the cold weather, they are said to soar very high in the air, and occasionally to disappear also in the manner of their eastern relatives, the Buteo borealis. They are said to be abundant and resident species in Washington Territory, having been found by Dr. Suckley quite numerous at Puget Sound, but scarcer on the Upper Columbia, east of the Cascade Mountains. It seems to be more daring than is common with the borealis, for Dr. Suckley states that while he was stationed at Fort Steilacoom he noticed that the poultry-yards were as much harassed by this Hawk as by the Goshawk, not hesitating to seize poultry from the very doors of the dwelling-houses.

Dr. Kennerly states that this Hawk was met with by him between the coast of Texas at Indianola, and the Rio Grande at El Paso del Norte. It seemed to feed indifferently upon reptiles, particularly lizards, and the smaller quadrupeds and birds.

Dr. Cooper states that the nests of this species are numerous in the valleys and on the lower mountains of California. They are generally built in the forks of a sycamore or other large trees, and formed of twigs pretty finely constructed, and with a very distinct cavity. Eggs, taken by Dr. Cooper near San Diego, were laid about the 20th of March, and were three in number. They measured 2.28 by 1.76 inches, were of a dull yellowish-white, with faint brown spots. While Dr. Cooper was climbing to the nest, the old birds darted towards him from a neighboring bluff, but when within a few feet of his head they turned away and did not attempt to make an assault.

Two eggs belonging to the variety calurus were obtained by Mr. E. Samuels near Petaluma, Cal., in 1856; measure 2.31 inches in length by 1.87 in breadth. The shape of one egg is an almost exact ovoid, slightly tending to a spheroid, one end being hardly perceptibly larger than the other. Its ground-color is a very light buff, the spottings and markings giving to it the effect of a yellowish-white. It is marked over the entire surface with blotches, dashes, and lines of a light tint of a brown tending to vandyke. These are mixed with markings of a lighter purplish-brown. The markings, of both shades, are chiefly oblong in shape, and run with the length of the egg. They bear no resemblance to any eggs of the B. borealis that I have ever seen, and are unlike those of other Hawks so far as I am aware. It was built on the top of a large evergreen-oak, at least seventy feet from the ground, and was constructed entirely of large, coarse sticks, lined with a few stray feathers. The male bird was shot as it flew from the nest, which was so hidden by the thick branches that it would have escaped detection.

The black form of this species was first described by Mr. Cassin as Buteo calurus, in 1855, from a specimen procured by Dr. Henry near Fort Webster, New Mexico. In this plumage it was afterwards met with by Mr. Emanuel Samuels, near Petaluma, in California, who found it breeding, and was fortunate enough to secure the parent bird on its nest.

The nest was built near the top of an evergreen-oak, at the height of about sixty feet from the ground, and contained two eggs just on the point of hatching. It was constructed of sticks, and was lined with moss. Both birds were about the spot. The male bird, manifesting much more courage than his mate in resistance to the intruders, was shot. The female was wounded, but escaped.

One of these eggs measures 2.25 inches in length by 1.79 in breadth. Its capacity is considerably less than that of the specimens just described; its shape is a much more oblong-oval; one end is evidently more pointed than the other. Its ground-color is a dirty cream-white, covered, chiefly at the larger end, with blotches and smaller markings of a dark shade of a brown almost exactly corresponding with that known as vandyke-brown, with smaller markings and spottings of a lighter shade of the same. The latter are distributed at intervals over its entire surface.

A nest, found by Mr. Xantus near Fort Tejon, is stated by him to have been found in a swamp. It was built in a water-oak, was about fifteen feet from the ground. The nest was very large and was built of coarse sticks. It contained four eggs.

Buteo harlani (AUDUBON).

HARLAN’S HAWK; “BLACK WARRIOR.”

Falco harlani, AUD. B. Am. 1831, pl. xxxvi; IB. Orn. Biog. I, 441.—BREWER (WILS.), Am. Orn. Synop. 1852, 684. Buteo harlani, BONAP. List, 1838, 3.—AUD. SYNOP. 1839, 6.—GRAY, List B. Brit. Mus. 18.—DE KAY, Zoöl. N. Y. II, 11.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 30.—CASS. Birds N. Am. 1858, 24 (adult, but not the description of young, which is that of B. borealis, var. calurus).—COUES, P. A. N. S. 1866, 43.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 7 (under B. borealis).—RIDGWAY, P. A. N. S. Dec. 1870, 142.—COUES, Key, 1872, 216.

SP. CHAR. Form strong and heavy, like B. borealis, but still more robust; tibial plumes unusually developed, long and loose, their ends reaching to or beyond the base of the toes; lateral toes nearly equal. Four outer primaries with inner webs cut. Dimensions: Wing, 14.25–15.75; tail, 8.80–10.00; culmen, 1.00; tarsus, 2.75–3.25; middle toe, 1.50–1.70. Colors: Nearly uniform black, varying from a sooty to a carbonaceous tint, with more or less of concealed pure white. Adult. Tail confusedly mottled longitudinally, with grayish, dusky, and white, often tinged or mixed with rufous, the different shades varying in relative amount in different individuals; a subterminal band of black. Young. Tail grayish-brown, crossed by about nine very regular and sharply defined, broad bands of black, about equal in width to the gray ones.

Adult male (Lawrence, Kansas, Oct., 1871; in Collection of Kansas University). General color deep, almost carbonaceous, black, showing much exposed white on the head, neck, and breast, all the feathers of which are snowy white beneath the surface, the black being merely in the form of tear-shaped spots on the terminal portion of the feather; chin, lores, and front pure white; upper parts in general, the posterior lower parts and the lining of the wing, with the black unbroken, but all the feathers—except the under wing-coverts—more or less spotted with white beneath the surface, on a grayish ground; these spots being usually arranged in pairs on each side of the shaft, on the flanks; tail-coverts, above and below, spotted irregularly with bright rufous, in nearly equal amount with the black and white. Alulæ, primary coverts, and primaries, with quadrate spots of plumbeous on their outer webs, forming transverse bands; under surface of primaries plumbeous-gray except at ends, but much broken by coarse marbling of white, this prevailing anteriorly, where it is much confused, but posteriorly about equal with the grayish, and exhibiting a tendency to form quadrate spots. Tail, with the ground-color white, but this nearly hidden on the upper surface by a longitudinal mottling of dark and light ashy, this growing more uniform terminally, where it becomes slightly suffused with reddish and crossed by a subterminal, broad but broken and irregular, band of black, the tip again very narrowly grayish and reddish.

Wing-formula, 4, 3, 5–2, 6; 1=10. Wing, 15.00; tail, 8.80; culmen, 1.00; tarsus, 2.75; middle toe, 1.50; lateral toes equal. Plumage of the flanks, abdomen, tibiæ, and crissum remarkably lengthened and lax, the latter reaching within two inches of the tip of the tail, and the tibial plumes reaching to the base of the toes.

Adult female (6,851, Rio Grande, lat. 32°; Dr. T. C. Henry, U. S. A.). Whole plumage purplish black, or chocolate-black, with a purplish lustre; feathers everywhere pure white at bases, this exposed, however, only on the occiput, or where the feathers are disarranged. Forehead, lores, and chin white. Secondaries and primaries more brown than other portions, crossed by distinct bands of black,—about six on the secondaries. Whole lining of the wing and upper tail-coverts continuous, unvariegated black. Under surface of the primaries ashy-white, more slaty terminally; ends with distinct, and other portions with obsolete mottled, bars of dusky. Tail ashy-brown on outer webs, white on inner; both with a confused, rather longitudinal mottling of blackish; terminally, there is a broad nearly continuous subterminal band indicated by blotches, these mixed very slightly with a rufous tinge. Primaries injured by shot, therefore proportions of the quills cannot be determined. Wing 15.75; tail, 9.10; culmen, 1.00; tarsus, 2.90; middle toe, 1.60; outer, 1.15; inner, 1.15.

Young (Phil. Acad. Coll.; San Antonio, Texas, 1860; Dr. A. L. Heermann). Like the preceding, but basal white rather more exposed, and somewhat fulvous on the breast; the sides, axillars, lining of the wing, and lower tail-coverts have very obsolete transverse spots of the same. Under surface of primaries unvariegated silvery white anterior to their emargination, beyond which they are more hoary, along the edge black, this portion with about five transverse spots of black. Tail grayish ashy-brown to the tip, crossed with about nine very sharply defined bands of black, of equal width with the gray ones. Lores grayish-white. Wing-formula, 4, 3, 5–2–6–7–8=1. Wing, 14.25; tail, 10.00; tarsus, 3.25; middle toe, 1.70.

HAB. Southern Mississippi Valley, from Louisiana (Aud.) and Texas (Mus. S. I.); north to Eastern Kansas (Coll. Kansas Univ.).

Localities quoted: Guatemala (SCLATER, Ibis I, 216 (?)); Arizona (COUES, P. A. N. S. 1866, 43).

There is not a doubt in my mind as to the propriety of separating this bird from any close relationship to the B. borealis, nor of the correctness of considering it the B. harlani of Audubon. It only can be referred to Audubon’s plate and description, both of which agree perfectly with the younger plumage described.

The specimens Mr. Cassin describes as the “adult” B. harlani are really such; but those which he describes as the “young” are the young of the Western Red-tail (B. borealis var. calurus). The California specimens to which Mr. Cassin refers, as identified by Mr. Lawrence as B. harlani, are in reality the melanistic condition of B. swainsoni, or the “insignatus” of Cassin. The present bird appears to be restricted to Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, and adjacent portions, north to Kansas, and probably Eastern Mexico.

HABITS. This Hawk was first described by Audubon from a pair obtained by him near St. Francisville, Louisiana. They had bred in that neighborhood for two seasons, were shy and difficult of approach, and for a long while eluded his pursuit. The female was shot while sailing over his head, and wounded in the wing. He endeavored to preserve it alive and to carry it as a present to the Zoölogical Society, but it refused all food and died in a few days. This specimen is now in the British Museum. The male bird was also obtained a few days later, and this too was brought to him yet alive but also wounded. It was even more fierce and wilder than the female, would erect the feathers on its head, open its bill, and prepare to strike with its talons when any object was brought near to it.

This species, though smaller than the Red-tail, to which he regarded it as allied, Audubon thought greatly superior to it in flight and daring. Its flight is described as rapid, greatly protracted, and so powerful as to enable it to seize the prey with apparent ease, or effect its escape from its stronger antagonist, the Red-tail, which pursued it on all occasions. It had been seen to pounce upon a fowl, kill it almost instantly, and afterwards drag it along the ground several hundred yards. It was not seen to prey on hares or squirrels, but seemed to evince a marked preference for poultry, partridges, and the smaller species of wild duck. He saw none of the young, but was told that they appeared to be of a leaden-gray color at a distance, and at the approach of winter became as dark as their parents.

Mr. Dresser states that he noticed this bird on several occasions near San Antonio but was not fortunate enough to shoot one. He received one specimen that had been shot by a lad on the Medina River. He was informed by a man living near there, who was a good sportsman and a careful observer, that he had several times found their nests, and Dr. Heermann is said to have obtained the eggs there several years before. Dr. Coues did not meet with it in Arizona, where it probably, however, will yet be found. Specimens have been received from Mexico, as is stated by Cassin, and a Buzzard, which Mr. Salvin referred to this species, was seen by him near Dueñas, where it was by no means common.

A specimen of this species has recently been taken in Kansas, near Lawrence, as recorded by Professor Snow, and fully identified at the Smithsonian Institution.

Buteo cooperi, CASSIN.

COOPER’S RED-TAILED HAWK.

Buteo cooperi, CASS. P. A. N. S. Philad. VIII, 1856, 253.—IB. Birds N. Am. 1858, 31, pl. xvi.—COOP. & SUCK. P. R. R. Rept. XII, ii, 1860, 148.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 8.—RIDGWAY, P. A. N. S. Dec. 1870, 142.—COUES, Key, 1872, 43.

SP. CHAR. Adult (8,525, Santa Clara, California, Oct. 1856; Dr. J. G. Cooper). Head, neck, and whole lower parts white; feathers of the head and neck with medial longitudinal streaks of black, the white prevailing on the occiput and superciliary region,—the black predominating over the cheeks, forming a “mustache”; throat with fine lanceolate blackish streaks; sides of the breast with broader, more cuneate markings of the same; flanks with narrow, lanceolate stripes, these extending sparsely across the abdomen; tibiæ, and lower tail-coverts immaculate, the inner face of the former, however, with faint specks. Upper plumage in general dark plumbeous-brown, inclining to black on the back; plumbeous clearest on primaries, which are uniformly of this color, the inner ones inclining to fine cinereous. Scapulars and wing-coverts spattered with white beneath the surface. Rump black; upper tail-coverts white tinged with rufous, and with irregular, distant transverse bars of blackish. Tail with light rufous prevailing, but this broken up by longitudinal daubs and washes of cinereous, and darker mottlings running longitudinally on both webs; basally, the ground-color approaches white; tips white, and a distinct, but very irregular, subterminal band of black, into which the longitudinal mottlings melt; outer webs of lateral feathers entirely cinereous, and without the black band. Under side of the wing white, with a large black space on the lining near the edge; under surface of primaries white anterior to their emargination, finely mottled with ashy, and with indistinct transverse bands terminally. Fourth quill longest; third shorter than fifth; second equal to sixth; first equal to tenth. Wing, 15.75; tail, 9.10; tarsus, 3.25; middle toe, 1.70.

This remarkable Hawk is certainly not to be referred to the B. borealis, as has been suggested, the proportions of the two being quite different, while there is no similarity of plumage. In plumage, Buteo cooperi very closely resembles the adult of Archibuteo ferrugineus, and the suggestion has been made that it is a hybrid between this and the Red-tail. The markings of the head, and the general tint of the upper parts, are almost precisely as in the former bird, while the tail is exactly similar in character of markings, the only difference being the more reddish tinge and black subterminal band, which are, in fact, the only characters approximating it to the Buteo borealis. The feet are, however, very much stronger than in the A. ferrugineus, while the tarsus is very much longer than in borealis, scarcely more so, however, than in the former. The black patch on the lining of the wing, however, is a feature shared by neither of these birds, being one entirely peculiar to the Buteo cooperi. But one specimen—the one described above—is known to have been obtained. Mr. J. A. Allen, in his “Notes on some of the Rarer Birds of Massachusetts” (see “American Naturalist,” Vol. III, p. 518, and a separate paper, p. 14), mentions the capture of this species near Cambridge, Mass., but probably did not actually see it. The specimen in question being in the possession of Mr. C. J. Maynard, he kindly sent it to the Smithsonian Institution. On examination, it proved to be a young Buteo lineatus, differing from the average in somewhat lighter colors.

HAB. Santa Clara County, California.

The nearest ally of this species is the B. ferox, of the Palæarctic Realm (Northern Asia and Africa and portions of Europe), which has exactly the size and proportions of the present bird, and in certain stages a very similar plumage. I have not seen an unquestionable adult of B. ferox, but specimens almost adult, in the collection of the Boston Society of Natural History, from the Himalaya Mountains, come remarkably close to B. cooperi in plumage, having like it a black spot on the under side of the wing, but apparently on the under primary-coverts, instead of on the lining, near the edge; the tail is also very similarly colored. Upon the whole, I consider the B. cooperi to be a good species, with B. ferox, Gmelin, of Asia, etc., as its nearest relative, unless it proves to be a hybrid between Buteo borealis and Archibuteo ferrugineus, which I think is less likely to be the case.

HABITS. A single individual of this bird was shot by Dr. Cooper near Mountain View in Santa Clara Valley, California, in November, 1855. It still remains unique in collections, and during his more recent explorations Dr. Cooper has not been able to obtain any additional specimens or see any like it. Those he mistook for this bird and to which he refers in his report on the birds of Washington Territory, he is satisfied were only the Archibuteo ferrugineus. The suggestion of Sclater, that the bird is not distinct from Buteo erythronotus, is negatived, according to Mr. Ridgway, by the fact of their actually belonging to different sections of the genus.

GENUS ARCHIBUTEO, BREHM.

Archibuteo, BREHM, 1828. (Type, Falco lagopus, GMELIN.) Triorchis, KAUP, 1829 (nec. LEACH, 1816). (Same type.) Butaëtes, LESS. 1831. (Same type.) ? Butaquila, HODGS. 1844. (Type, Butaquila strophiata, HODGS.) ? Hemiaëtus, HODGS. 1844. (Same type.)

CHAR. Similar to Buteo, but bill and feet weaker, wings longer, and tarsi feathers in front, to the toes. Bill small, compressed anteriorly, but very broad through the gape; upper outline of the cere ascending basally; nostril broadly oval, nearly horizontal. Tarsus densely feathered in front and on the sides down to the base of the toes; naked behind, where covered with irregular scales. Tarsus more than twice as long as the middle toe; basal half of the toes covered with small scales; outer toe longer than the inner; claws long, strongly curved, acute. Feathering of the head and neck normal. Wing very long; the third to fourth quill longest; first shorter than seventh; outer four or five with inner webs deeply emarginated. Tail moderate, rounded. Plumage full and soft.

The relationship of this well-marked genus appears to be nearest to Buteo and Circus, with an approach to Circætus in character of the plumage, especially the wing. The Old World species, belonging to the subgenus (?) Butaquila, numbering two or three, according to different authors, I have not seen, and consequently cannot say whether they are really congeneric with the American species or not. Exclusive of these, two species are known, both of which belong to North America, one of them (A. lagopus) being found also in Europe and Africa. These differ very considerably from each other, in the details of external structure, probably quite as much as they do from the Asiatic forms above mentioned. The following synopsis will express the differences between the two North American species, and between the American and European races of the one common to both continents.

Species and Races.

COMMON CHARACTERS. Tail more or less white basally; inner webs of the primaries white, without bars, anterior to their emargination. Head and neck with longitudinal streaks of whitish and dusky (except in melanistic individuals of lagopus var. sancti-johannis).

1. =A. ferrugineus.= Wing, 15.90–17.60; tail, 9.50–11.00; culmen, 1.00–1.20; tarsus, 3.10–3.45; middle toe, 1.40–1.65. Bill wide, the base very broad and depressed. Beneath, continuous pure white, without conspicuous spots, except sometimes a few scattered ones along the sides and across the abdomen; breast immaculate, or with only narrow shaft-streaks. Upper parts always with more or less rufous. Adult. Upper parts and tibiæ fine rufous, the former with longitudinal spots, the latter with transverse bars, of blackish. Secondaries and primaries plumbeous, the latter with a hoary cast. Tail white, washed with pale ash, and more or less stained along the edges of the feathers (longitudinally) with light rufous; sometimes with a badly defined indication of a dusky subterminal bar. Young. Above dark grayish-brown, with only the borders of the feathers rufous or ochraceous; tibiæ white, with sparse transverse spots of dark brown. Tail white only on basal third, and on inner webs, the remaining portion brownish-ashy, with several more or less distinct darker bands. Hab. Western North America, from Arizona, California, and Oregon, east to the Great Plains.

2. =A. lagopus.= Wing, 15.75–18.20; tail, 8.70–10.50; culmen, .80–1.00; tarsus, 2.30–2.80; middle toe, 1.30–1.50. Bill narrow, compressed; beneath more or less spotted with dusky, which usually predominates; breast with large spots of dusky; no rufous on upper parts, nor on tibiæ. Adult. Whitish, with transverse dusky spots. On the lower parts, the dusky spots or cloudings, largest and most suffused anteriorly (on the jugulum and breast). Terminal portion of the tail with several irregular dusky bands. (Sometimes almost entirely black, varying in shade from a brownish to a carbonaceous tint!) Young. Above grayish-brown, longitudinally spotted with dusky, and more or less edged with pale ochraceous, or rusty whitish. Beneath ochraceous-white, with the spots largest and most suffused posteriorly, forming a wide, more or less continuous belt across the abdomen; markings on the jugulum and breast longitudinal. Terminal portion of the tail without transverse bars.

Spots on the jugulum, in the adult, suffused into a nearly uniform patch. Never melanistic (?). Hab. Europe …

var. lagopus.[91]

Spots on the jugulum, in the adult, scattered. Frequently melanistic. Hab. North America …

var. sancti-johannis.

Archibuteo ferrugineus (LICHT).

CALIFORNIA SQUIRREL HAWK.

Falco ferrugineus, LICHT, Berl. Trans. 1838, p. 429. Lagopus ferrugineus, FRASER, Proc. Zoöl. Soc. Lond. 1844, p. 37. Archibuteo ferrugineus, GRAY, Gen. B. fol. sp. 3, 1844.—CASS. B. of Cal. & Tex. 1854, p. 104; Birds N. Am. 1858, 34.—BONAP. Consp. Av. p. 18.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 41, 1855.—HEERM. P. R. R. Rept. VII, 31, 1857.—COOP. & SUCK. P. R. R. Rept. XII, ii, 149, 1860.—COUES, Prod. Orn. Ariz. p. 10, 1866 (anatomical notes).—BLAKIST. Ibis, III, 1861, 318 (Saskatchewan; eggs).—FRASER, Pr. Z. S. 1844, 37.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 10, 1869. Archibuteo regalis, GRAY, List B. Brit. Mus. p. 39, 1844; Gen. B. fol. pl. vi.

SP. CHAR. Adult male (41,719, Fort Whipple, Arizona, Dec. 2, 1864; Dr. Coues). Ground-color of head and neck white; each feather with a medial streak of black, these growing broader posteriorly, and along the upper border of the ear-coverts are so blended as to form an indistinct stripe back from the eye. Entire lower parts (except tibia) and whole under surface of the wing continuous pure white; breast with a faint tinge of delicate ochraceous; tibia and tarsus reddish-white, tinged with or inclining to deep ferruginous on upper portion, and with numerous transverse bars of darker ferruginous and blackish; sides of the breast with a very few hair-like shaft-streaks of black; flanks with a few distant, dark ferruginous bars; axillars with two or three cordate spots of ferruginous near ends; feathers of the lining next the body, with blended irregularly hastate spots of rufous; under primary coverts shading into cinereous on terminal half, and with obscure broadly hastate spots of a darker shade of the same; primaries slaty beyond their emargination, deepening gradually toward their tips. Back, scapulars, and lesser and middle wing-coverts fine rufous, each feather with a broad median, longitudinal spot of brownish plumbeous-black, these on the back rather exceeding the rufous; longer wing-coverts and secondaries ashy-umber, with very obsolete transverse bands of darker; primary coverts more ashy, and more distinctly banded; primaries fine chalky cinereous, this lightest on outer four; shafts pure white. Rump nearly uniform brownish-black,—posterior feathers rufous with medial black blotches; upper tail-coverts snowy white on outer webs, inner webs more rufous; a few concealed blackish transverse spots. Tail pale pearly ash, becoming white basally, and with a wash of dilute rufous along the edge of outer webs; inner webs white, with an ashy tinge thrown in longitudinal washes; outer feathers nearly white, with faint pale ashy longitudinal mottlings; shafts of tail-feathers pure white. Fourth quill longest; third but little shorter; second very much shorter than fifth; first intermediate between seventh and eighth. Wing, 16.75; tail, 9.20; tarsus, 2.95; middle toe, 1.35.

“Length, 22.50; extent, 54.50. Iris clear light yellow; cere, edges of commissure, and feet bright yellow; bill very dark bluish horn; mouth, purplish flesh-color, livid bluish along edges.”

Adult female (41,720, Fort Whipple; Dr. Coues). Almost exactly like the male, but black spots on rufous portions of upper parts much restricted, forming oblong spots in the middle of each feather; rump almost entirely rufous, variegated, however, with black. Longitudinal lines on breast more distinct; transverse bars on flanks and abdomen more numerous; tibial and tarsal feathers wholly deep rufous or ferruginous, the bars more blackish. Third and fourth quills equal and longest; second intermediate between fifth and sixth; first equal to eighth. Wing, 17.25; tail, 9.75; tarsus, 2.95; middle toe, 1.40. “Length, 23.25; extent, 56.50. Iris light ochraceous-brown.”

Young female (6,883, Los Angeles, California; Dr. Heermann). General plumage above, grayish-brown; interscapulars, scapulars, lesser and middle wing-coverts, and feathers of head and neck, edged laterally with light rufous; secondaries passing broadly into pale ashy at ends; primaries slaty-brown, with obscure darker bands; no appearance of these, however, on secondaries; rump entirely blackish-brown; upper tail-coverts wholly white. Tail hoary slate, basal third (or more) white, the junction of the two colors irregular and broken; tip obscurely paler; feathers obscurely blackish along edges, and with obsolete transverse spots of the same; white prevailing on inner webs. Beneath entirely pure white, scarcely variegated; tibiæ and tarsi with a few scattered small transverse spots of blackish; flanks with larger, more cordate spots of the same. (Breeds in this plumage.)

HAB. Western North America from California to the Missouri, and from the Saskatchewan to Texas.

Localities: Texas (Fort Stockton), (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 325); Western Arizona (COUES. Pr. A. N. S., 1866, 40).

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

Nat. Mus., 10; Philad. Acad., 2; Boston Soc., 2; Coll. R. Ridgway, 2. Total, 16.

Measurements.

+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ |Sex.| Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. |Middle Toe.|Specimens.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♂ |15.90–17.00| 9.50–10.50|1.00–1.18|3.10–3.45| 1.40–1.50| 6 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♀ |17.00–17.60|10.50–11.00|1.08–1.20|3.20–3.40| 1.60–1.65| 6 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+

The variations in this species are very slight, and never sufficient to mislead the student. One specimen (26,590, ♂; Fort Tejon, Cal.; J. Xantus) differs from the adults described in having the abdomen quite closely barred, the streaks on the breast distinct, the rufous above tinging the secondary coverts, and spreading over the upper tail-coverts, while the tibiæ and tarsi are of a very deep ferruginous,—the bars black.

In a specimen from the Platte (5,577, ♂; W. S. Wood) white prevails on the tibiæ, the bars being dark ferruginous upon a white ground; the flanks are similarly marked, the other lower parts, however, immaculate; there is much concealed white on the scapulars. The rufous tinge of the tail is very deep, while there is a transverse series of black blotches, indicating the course of a transverse band near the end.

HABITS. The California Squirrel Hawk appears to be an exclusively western species, occurring as far to the east as Nebraska and Kansas, and as far to the north as the Plains of the Saskatchewan and Washington Territory. It occurs as far to the southeast as Texas, and has been found also in New Mexico and in Arizona.

This species was first noticed and described in a paper on the natural history of California published in the Transactions of the Royal Academy of Berlin, in 1838, by Professor Lichtenstein, a Prussian naturalist. It was first brought to the notice of American naturalists by Mr. Edward M. Kern, of Philadelphia, who accompanied Colonel Fremont in his expedition of 1846, and who brought home specimens.

Dr. Coues found it quite abundant about Fort Whipple, where it was especially numerous in the winter, and where also he thinks it probable that it is a permanent resident. He found it more generally frequenting meadows, plains, and the more open woods. He usually found their stomachs filled with arvicolæ and other small quadrupeds peculiar to that country. It could always be readily recognized by its conspicuously white under parts, contrasted with its dark chesnut tibiæ and reddish back.

At San Pedro, on the southern coast of California, he again found this Hawk very common. It there alights very freely on the ground, where he often observed it. At Fort Whipple he only saw it on trees. At San Pedro its choosing thus the bare plain may have been a matter of necessity.

Dr. Kennerly observed a single individual of this species in a “prairie-dog-town” of large extent, near Fort Davis. It was intently watching at the hole of one of these animals. While in this position, it was observed to strike at the prairie-dog with its claw, when one of these animals protruded its head. As it was very intently watching its prey, it was easily approached and shot.

Dr. Heermann observed this Hawk in the valley of the Sacramento, where he thought it rather rare, but afterwards, during his connection with the government surveying party under Lieutenant Williamson, in the southern part of the State, he found it very abundant. On one occasion five or six individuals were in view at the same moment, among the mountains, sixty miles east of San Diego. It was there much more abundant than any other species. As large tracts of that country frequented by these birds are entirely without trees, they alight on the ground or on some slightly elevated tuft of grass, or a stone, where they sit patiently for hours watching for their prey, which was always found to consist of mice and other small quadrupeds. In one instance the crop was found filled with the remains of a ground squirrel.

Dr. Heermann states that he found the nest and eggs of this bird on the Consumnes River. The nest was in the fork of an oak, and was composed of coarse twigs and lined with grasses; the eggs were two in number, white with faint brown dashes. The nest was placed in the centre of a large bunch of mistletoe, and would have escaped notice had not the Hawk, in flying, betrayed her retreat.

The eggs, however, differ essentially in size from those mentioned by Capt. Blakiston, and it is quite possible that Dr. Heermann was mistaken in his identification. One of these eggs was figured in the North American Oölogy, and resembles much more an egg of Swainson’s Buzzard than any egg I have since seen of this species.

The specimens procured by Mr. Kerr were taken in the Tulare Valley, in January, 1846, and are stated in his notes to have been remarkably fat, and in excellent condition generally, so that some of his party shot these birds whenever opportunity offered, for the mess-kettle, and considered them very good eating.

Dr. Cooper states that in the spring and fall these Hawks abound in Southern California, migrating in summer through the interior plains of the Columbia and the Platte Rivers, at least as far north as the Dalles. He found it in winter at Martinez, and is of the opinion that few migrate beyond the State. It was usually to be seen slowly sailing over the plains, sometimes in circles, and occasionally pouncing down obliquely on its prey, which consists principally of the large ground squirrel. It rarely, if ever, attacks poultry, and limits its prey to wild animals, and is therefore a decided friend to the farmer.

Capt. Blakiston met with this bird breeding between the north and the south branches of the Saskatchewan River, April 30, 1858. The nest was placed in an aspen-tree, twenty feet from the ground, was composed of sticks, two and a half feet across, and lined with buffalo wool. The eggs were four in number. Those taken from another nest near the same locality were five in number. This nest was in a tree, and was only ten feet above a lake. Two eggs were taken by Mr. Bourgeau on the Saskatchewan Plains, July 9. These differences in seasons, from April to July, are suggestive either of great variations in the time of nesting, or of there being two broods in a season. The eggs obtained by Capt. Blakiston measured, one 2.60 by 2.00 inches, the other 2.50 by 1.95 inches, and are described as having been white with large distinct blotches and smaller specks of two shades of brown. The other was more obscurely blotched with a paler brown, and at the same time freckled all over.

An egg of this species taken by H. R. Durkee near Gilmer in Wyoming Territory, May 9, 1870, measures 2.43 inches in length by 1.95 in breadth. The ground-color is a creamy white, over which are very uniformly distributed on every part of the egg, in nearly equal proportions, blotches, plashes, and smaller markings of a dark burnt umber. The nest from which this egg was taken was composed of sticks, and was placed among rocks. The nest contained but one egg. The parent bird was secured, and there was no question as to identification.

Archibuteo lagopus, var. sancti-johannis (PENN.).

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK; BLACK HAWK.

Falco sancti-johannis, PENN. Arct. Zoöl. pl. ix, 1785.—GMEL. Syst. Nat. p. 273, 1789.—LATH. Index Orn. p. 34, 1790; Syn. I, 77; Gen. Hist. I, 276.—DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, 105, 1800.—SHAW, Zoöl. VII, 150, 1809.—BONAP. Ann. Lyc. N. Y. II, 32.—AUD. Orn. Biog. II, 381, 1831.—GIRAUD, B. Long Island, p. 6, 1844.—KERR, Trans. Gmel. II, 507, 1792. Buteo sancti-johannis, JARD. (WILS.) Am. Orn. II, 287, 288, 1832.—NUTT. Man. Orn. U. S. & Canad. p. 98, 1833.—DE KAY, Zoöl. N. Y. II, 7, pl. ii, fig. 3, 1844. Butaëtes sancti-johannis, CUV. Règ. An. (ed. 1), i, 323, 1829.—BONAP. List, p. 3, 1838. Archibuteo sancti-johannis, GRAY, Gen. B. fol. sp. 2, 1844; List B. Brit. Mus. p. 39, 1844.—BONAP. Consp. Av. p. 18, 1850.—CASS. Birds Calif. & Tex. p. 103, 1854.—BLAKIST. Ibis, III, 1861, 318 (eggs).—KAUP, Monog. Falc. Cont. Orn. 1850, p. 75.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 40, 1855.—BREWER, Oölogy, 1857, 34, pl. iii, f. 28.—CASS. Birds N. Am. 1858, 33.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 10, 1869. Falco spadiceus, GMEL. Syst. Nat. p. 273, 1789.—LATH. Ind. Orn. p. 27, 1790; Gen. Hist. I, 279.—DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, 109, 1800. Buteo spadiceus, VIEILL. Ois. Am. Sept. I, 34, 1807. Falco lagopus, WILS. Am. Orn. pl. xxxiii, f. 1, 1808.—BREW. (WILS.) Am. Orn. Syn. 648, 1852.—BONAP. Ann. Lyc. N. Y. II, 32; Isis, 1852, 1138.—AUD. Birds Am. pl. clxvi, 422, 1831; Orn. Biog. II, 377; V, 217. Buteo lagopus, RICH. Faun. Bor. Am. II, pl. xxviii, 1831.—AUD. Synop. p. 8, 1839.—JAMES. (WILS.) Am. Orn. I, 77, 1831.—JARD. (WILS.) Am. Orn. II, p. 54, 1832.—NUTT. Man. Orn. p. 97, 1833.—PEAB. B. Mass. p. 79, 1841. Archibuteo lagopus, CASS. Birds N. Am. 1858, p. 32.—BREWER, Oölogy, 1857, 36, pl. iii, f. 29.—COOP. & SUCK. P. R. R. Rept. VII, ii, 148, 1860.—COUES, Prod. Orn. Ariz. p. 16, 1866. Falco niger, WILS. Am. Orn. pl. liii, figs. 1 and 2, 1808.—LATH. Gen. Hist. pp. 256, 257, 1821. Buteo niger, STEPH. Zoöl. XIII, pt. ii, p. 47, 1815.—VIG. Zoöl. Journ. I, 340.—JAMES. (WILS.) Am. Orn. I, pp. 79, 80, 1831.—CUV. Règ. An. (ed. 2), i, 326, 1829. Buteo ater, VIEILL. Nouv. Dict. Nat. Hist. IV, 482, 1866; Enc. Meth. III, 1227.

a. Normal plumage.

SP. CHAR. Adult male (43,073, Fort Resolution, June; J. Lockhart). Ground-color of the upper parts dull umber-cinereous, this more rufous on the shoulders, and dull white on nape, scapulars, inner secondaries, and upper tail-coverts; rump entirely black, feathers bordered with whitish. All the feathers above with central oblong or irregular spots of black, this color predominating on top of head, and forming transverse bands across the wing-coverts and secondaries; upper tail-coverts pure white, each marked with an exceedingly irregular transverse spot of black. Tail white on basal two thirds, and narrowly, but sharply, tipped with the same; subterminal portion pale mottled cinereous, with a very broad zone of black next the terminal white, and anterior to this three narrower and more irregular bands of the same. Primaries blackish-cinereous, with obsolete darker bands. Ground-color of head and lower parts dull white; cheeks thickly streaked with black; ear-coverts and throat more sparsely streaked; forehead and sub-orbital region plain whitish. Breast with large, longitudinal but very irregular, oblong spots of dark brown, these largest and somewhat confluent laterally; lower part of breast with much less numerous and less longitudinal spots; tibiæ strongly tinged with rusty, and with tarsus, abdomen, crissum, and flanks having irregular transverse spots of blackish-brown; lower tail-coverts unvariegated. Lining of wing white, with numerous spots of black, these becoming more rusty towards the axillars; a large space of continuous clear black, covering the under primary coverts and the coverts immediately anterior; under surface of primaries and secondaries pure white, the former becoming black at ends, the latter ashy; no bars, except toward shafts, of the latter. Fourth quill longest; third equal to fifth; second intermediate between fifth and sixth; first equal to eighth. Wing, 16.50; tail, 9.00; tarsus, 2.50; middle toe, 1.30; bill, 1.30 and .90.

Adult female (28,156, Philadelphia, Pa.; J. Krider). Generally similar to the male. On head and nape, however, the yellowish-white predominates, the central black being much reduced; on the other hand, there is less white on the upper parts, the dull cinereous-drab being much more evenly spread; darker markings less conspicuous. Tail white only at the base, the remaining portion being pale cinereous-drab crossed with four or five distinct, very regular bands of black, the tip being very broadly ashy. Flanks with ground-color light umber-drab, and marked with transverse bands of black. Lower surface generally as in the male; tail-coverts with two or three blackish spots, apparently out of place. Fourth quill longest; fifth much shorter than third; second intermediate between fifth and sixth; first intermediate between seventh and eighth. Wing, 17.00; tail, 9.00; tarsus, 2.40; middle toe, 1.30; bill, 1.30 and .85.

Young (25,934, United States). Upper surface generally light umber, becoming lighter on scapulars and middle wing-coverts, but showing nowhere any trace of spots or bands; wings, scapulars, and back with blackish shaft-streaks; primaries approaching black toward ends, becoming white basally; upper tail-coverts white, with a hastate stripe of brown along shaft; tail, basal half white, terminal half plain drab, becoming darker terminally, the tip narrowly white. Head, neck, and lower plumage in general, white stained with ochraceous, this deepest on tibiæ and tarsi; head and neck streaked with dark brown, ear-coverts almost immaculate; breast with oblong spots of clear brown; flanks, abdomen, and anal region continuous uniform rich purplish vandyke-brown, forming conspicuous transverse belt; tibiæ and tarsi scarcely varied, the few markings longitudinal; lower tail-coverts immaculate. Under side of wing much as in adult; black area, however, more extended; lining much tinged with rufous, and with longitudinal streaks of dark brown.

b. Melanistic condition.

Adult male (28,153, Philadelphia; J. Krider). General plumage blackish-brown, the head streaked by whitish edges of the feathers; wing-coverts, secondaries, primaries, and tibial plumes paler terminally; tarsi mottled with whitish; upper and lower tail-coverts tipped obscurely with white. Tail narrowly tipped with dull white, and with about five very obsolete pale ashy bands. Lining of wing black, spotted with white near edge; whole under surface of the primaries pure white anterior to their emargination, beyond which they are black. Third and fourth quills equal and longest; second intermediate between fifth and sixth; first shorter than seventh. Wing, 16.00; tail, 8.85; tarsus, 2.45; middle toe, 1.25.

Adult female (12,008, Philadelphia; C. Drexler). Continuous pure carbonaceous black; forehead white; occiput same beneath surface. Tail paler at tip, and crossed with four ill-defined though continuous bands of ashy white, the last of which is distant over two and a half inches from the tip; lower tail-coverts with a few white spots. Whole lining of wing glossy coal black; under surface of primaries, anterior to their emargination, white mottled with ashy. Fourth and fifth quills equal and longest; third only a little shorter; second a little longer than sixth; first intermediate between seventh and eighth. Wing, 16.50; tail, 9.00; tarsus, 2.50; middle toe, 1.20.

Young. Similar, but the tail dusky, growing whitish toward the base, and without any bars.

HAB. Whole of North America north of Mexico, but breeding northward of the United States.

Localities: Western Arizona (COUES, Pr. A. N. S., 1866, 48).

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

National Museum, 44; Philadelphia Academy, 17; Boston Society, 1; Museum Comparative Zoölogy, Cambridge, 10; Cab. G. N. Lawrence, 6; Coll. W. S. Brewer, 3; R. Ridgway, 4. Total, 85.

Measurements.

+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ |Sex.| Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. |Middle Toe.|Specimens.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♂ |15.80–16.80| 9.80–10.00| .85–.90|2.75–2.80| 1.35–0.00| 18 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♀ |16.15–17.70| 9.00–10.50| .90–1.00|2.80–0.00| 1.30–1.40| 8 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | |15.75–18.00| 9.00–11.00| .80–1.00|2.15–3.00| 1.20–1.50| 40 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+

That all the North American Rough-legged Hawks, whether light or dark (excepting of course the A. ferrugineus), are one species, and also one race, there appears to be but little doubt; a critical comparison and minute examination of about one hundred specimens also proves that the dark plumage, usually separated as “A. sancti-johannis,” has nothing to do with age, sex, season, or locality, but that, as in Buteo borealis var. calurus and B. swainsoni, it is a purely individual condition, black birds being black, and light birds being light, from the first plumage till death. Each phase has its young and adult stages distinctly marked, as the above diagnoses point out. It however appears to be the fact that certain regions are frequented more by birds of one color than another, and of the many hundreds of specimens sent from the Arctic regions to the Smithsonian Institution by officers of the Hudson’s Bay Company, none exhibited the blackish plumage which, on the other hand, appears most abundant about Hudson’s Bay.

The North American birds are distinguishable from European ones (var. lagopus) by the characters given in the synopsis on p. 1619, and description, on p. 1624.

HABITS. The Rough-legged Hawk of North America bears so close a resemblance to the European species, in all respects,—plumage, habits, and eggs,—that the two are generally considered to be identical. The distribution of the American variety appears to be nearly throughout the entire Union, from the Atlantic to the coast of the Pacific, and from New Mexico to the Arctic regions. It was taken at Fort Steilacoom, and at Shoal-water Bay in Washington Territory, by Drs. Suckley and Cooper. It was not seen by Mr. Dresser in Texas nor by Dr. Woodhouse in New Mexico, but it was taken near Zuñi by Dr. Kennerly, was found from Mimbres to the Rio Grande by Dr. Henry, and obtained near Fort Fillmore by Captain Pope, and at Fort Massachusetts by Dr. Peters.

The Rough-legged Hawk is quite abundant in spring and fall in the neighborhood of Niagara Falls. In the fall of 1872, Mr. James Booth met with a pair of this species, accompanied by their young. The latter were fully grown. The male bird was in very black plumage, while the female was unusually light, the pair thus presenting well-marked illustrations of the two types, the black sancti-johannis and the common lagopus. The parents were secured, and are now in the museum of the Boston Society of Natural History. One of the young was also shot, but I did not see it. It was said to have been only a little less dark plumaged than the male parent.

It is very abundant throughout the Arctic regions, where it was found breeding in the Anderson River country by Mr. MacFarlane, from whom were received valuable notes and a large number of specimens of birds and eggs. It was observed generally by Dr. Richardson’s party, but owing to its extreme wariness only a single specimen was obtained. Richardson noted its arrival in the fur countries in April or May, and gives the time of its departure as early in October.

Dr. Kennerly mentions finding this Hawk quite abundant in the vicinity of the Pueblo Zuñi, where it confined itself in the neighborhood of the stream, watching eagerly for ducks, which seemed to be its favorite prey.

Dr. Cooper found a large number of these Buzzards on a low point near the sea-coasts, at Shoalwater Bay, Washington Territory, in October. This point was covered with small pines, on the dead tops of which they were observed sitting in the manner of owls. Occasionally one would dart down after a mouse, and alight a short distance off. At times they would call to each other with a loud scream, but they usually sat motionless and silent for hours together. Some remained there throughout the winter, and he had no doubt that a few build near the mouth of the Columbia, where he saw young birds in July. In California, the same writer states, this species is only a winter visitor, and has never been observed by him south of Santa Clara Valley.

Dr. Coues mentions the taking of a single specimen of this bird in the Territory of Arizona in the winter, but no others were observed.

Audubon never met with this species south of North Carolina nor west of the Alleghanies. He regarded it as a sluggish bird, confining itself to the meadows and low grounds bordering the rivers and salt marshes, where its principal food appeared to be moles, mice, and other small quadrupeds. He has never known it to attack a duck on the wing, although it will occasionally pursue a wounded one. Except when alarmed, it flies low and sedately, and manifests none of the daring courage or vigor so conspicuous in most Hawks. They are also described as somewhat crepuscular in habit, watching for their food long after sunset, and Mr. Richardson speaks of their hunting for their prey “by the subdued daylight which illuminates even the midnight hours in the high parallels of latitude.” For these nocturnal hunts it is well fitted by the softness of its plumage, which renders its flight noiseless, like that of the more nocturnal birds.

These birds were once quite abundant in the low lands and marshes in the vicinity of Boston, but are now comparatively rare. They were abundant during October and November, and again in April. They usually kept on or near the ground, appeared to feed chiefly on small quadrupeds or reptiles, were never known to molest the poultry-yard, or even to destroy other birds.

They were very wary, and when approached with a gun would slowly and deliberately move off to a safer distance. Wilson found them quite abundant, during the winter months, in the meadows on the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, near Philadelphia, where they are still common. Though rendered very shy by the frequent attempts made to shoot them, they would never fly far at a time, usually from one tree to another, making a loud squealing noise as they arose. They all disappeared early in April.

He also speaks of them as common during winter in the lower parts of Maryland, as well as in the extensive meadows below Newark, N. J. He mentions having often seen this Hawk coursing over the surface of meadows long after sunset, and many times in pairs. They roost near these low grounds, and take their station at daybreak near a ditch, watching with patient vigilance for their prey.

Wilson, Audubon, and Nuttall appear to have known nothing in regard to the breeding of the Rough-legged Hawk. A pair was seen by Richardson at their nest, which was built of sticks, and on a lofty tree standing on a low moist alluvial point of land, in a bend of the Saskatchewan; but they were too wary to be shot, and he makes no mention of their eggs.

My nephews, H. R. and F. H. Storer, found a pair of Rough-legged Hawks nesting on a rocky cliff on the coast of Labrador, near the harbor of Bras d’Or. The nest was very rudely constructed of sticks, and placed on a high rock directly over the water, inaccessible from below, but readily approached from above. It contained three young birds and an egg. The young Hawks were just ready to fly, and all scrambled out as the nest was approached, and rolled the egg to the bottom of the cliff, but without injuring it. The nest contained four or five large rats peculiar to that region, collected by the old birds for their young. The old birds were in the light plumage. At the same time a young bird was taken alive from another nest by one of the sailors of their party, which was quite black even in its immature dress, and strikingly different from the young just mentioned.

Mr. MacFarlane’s very complete and careful notes mention, in detail, no less than fifty-eight nests of this species as procured and identified by his party. Of these, forty-six were built on trees, generally spoken of as being large pines, and usually about twenty feet from the ground. Twelve nests were found built on the edge of steep cliffs of shaly mud on the banks of creeks, rivers, and lakes.

The nests that were taken from trees are described as having been built in a crotch, not far from the top, and to have been formed externally of dry twigs, sticks, and small branches, warmly lined with down, feathers, and fine hay. Those found upon cliffs and high river-banks were made of similar materials, but usually with a smaller base of sticks, and a greater supply of hay, moss, and other soft materials. The number of eggs varied from three to five, never more than the latter, and were at times in differing stages of incubation in the same nest. Whenever the nest was approached, the parent birds always manifested great uneasiness, and uttered vociferous screams of distress. The eggs were generally found from the 27th of May to the 25th of June. Those taken after the 20th of June usually contained well-developed embryos. The species was met with by Mr. MacFarlane in great abundance in various localities,—near Fort Anderson, lower down on the Anderson River, near the Arctic coast, and in the vicinity of Rendezvous Lake.

One of the Indians collecting for Mr. MacFarlane informed him that on the 9th of June he discovered the nest of one of these Hawks on a ledge of shaly mud. As he could not kill the parents, he set a snare about the nest. Going to it later in the day, he was disappointed at finding his snare set aside, the eggs gone, and the birds not to be seen. He presumed the parents had removed the eggs, of which there had been three, to a safer place. Several nests were also taken on the shores and among the islets of the Arctic coast, west of Liverpool Bay.

The egg of the Rough-legged Hawk taken by the Storers in Labrador measures 2.06 inches in length by 1.88 in breadth, and is nearly spherical. The ground-color is a soiled white or a light drab, and is marked with a few faint, ill-defined spots of light umber, distributed at intervals over the entire surface.

Two European specimens in my collection are so nearly like the American that the same description would answer for both. They are a trifle larger, but their color and markings are exactly the same. These eggs vary from 2.25 to 2.12 inches in length, and the breadth of each is 1.75 inches. In one specimen the ground-color is of a deeper shade of dingy-white, with larger blotches, and its purplish-slate markings are intermingled with those of umber. A fourth, from Switzerland, varies from most others of this species, and is marked over a cream-colored ground with very numerous and quite large blotches of different shades of umber and sepia-brown. It measures 2.25 by 1.93 inches.

Six eggs taken by Mr. MacFarlane have an average length of 2.18 and an average breadth of 1.79 inches. Their greatest length is 2.24, and their least 2.12 inches. There is but very little variation in their breadth, or only from 1.76 to 1.80 inches. Occasionally these eggs are of a nearly uniform dingy-white, nearly unmarked, and only by very faint cloudings. These cases are rare. Generally they have a creamy-white ground and are boldly marked with blotches of a varying intensity of umber or sepia-brown. Intermingled with these are obscure markings of a purplish-slate.

The dark variety of the Rough-legged Falcon, recognized by some as the A. sancti-johannis, Mr. Ridgway is disposed to regard as rather an individual melanism of the common species, rather than as a distinctive race. In this form it appears to be quite generally distributed over the continent, rather in isolated pairs than as a common bird. It was not taken on the Anderson River by Mr. MacFarlane, where the lagopus style was extremely common, hundreds of skins having been sent by him to the Smithsonian Institution.

The dark-colored birds are seen occasionally in Massachusetts in the winter season, and are usually found frequenting low alluvial tracts in search of small quadrupeds and frogs, and occasionally well-marked specimens have been secured in the neighborhood of Boston. A pair was found breeding near the mouth of the Kennebec River in Maine, and the eggs were secured. They were not readily distinguishable from those of the common Rough-legged Hawk. It is also said, on the authority of Mr. John Krider of Philadelphia, to have been found breeding in New Jersey, and the eggs taken. The parent bird was not secured. These eggs resembled well-marked eggs of the lagopus. Wilson, who observed birds in this plumage on the marshy banks of the Delaware, describes them as remarkably shy and wary, frequenting river-banks, and feeding on mice, moles, and other small game, sailing a good deal and at a great height, which is not the habit of the lagopus, and was seen by him to kill a Duck while on the wing. It has been seen to sit for an hour at a time on a stake by the side of marshes, in an almost perpendicular position, as if dozing. It flies with great ease, and occasionally with great swiftness, and rarely with any flapping of the wings; was most numerous on the Delaware in the winter, but was occasionally to be seen there in the summer. Such is Wilson’s account of its habits as observed by him, and these are partially confirmed by Nuttall from his own observations. It is, however, quite probable that they are mistaken in claiming an essential or specific difference in the habits of the two former. Mr. Audubon regarded it as the adult of the lagopus, and appears not to have been familiar with its habits.

Captain Blakiston mentions the occurrence of the dark bird on the Saskatchewan Plains, where the parent bird and three eggs were obtained by M. Bourgeau, a French collector, in the summer of 1858, and where it is spoken of as not uncommon. Mr. Andrew Murray, in his Contributions to the Natural History of the Hudson Bay Territories, records specimens from Hudson Bay and the country lying between its western shore and Lake Winnipeg. Dr. Gambel speaks of this bird as common in California. Dr. Cooper refers to one obtained by Mr. Lorquin at San Francisco. Mr. Lawrence cites it among the birds of New York. Mr. Boardman gives it as rare near Calais. Mr. Verrill also gives it among the birds of Western Maine, where the lagopus was not observed, but where this form was a regular winter visitant.

The Storers found the Black Hawk not uncommon on the cliffs near Bras d’Or, and their observations of its habits, as contrasted with those of the still more common Rough-legged Hawk, left no doubt in their mind of their specific distinction. While the Black Hawk was observed to be a bold, vigorous, and spirited bird, easy and swift in its motions, and preying upon other birds while on the wing, the Rough-legged was comparatively sluggish, inoffensive, and subsisted only upon rats, mice, moles, frogs, and other small game. A nest containing young birds was found, and one of the latter caught alive. Both old and young were in the same black plumage. The young Hawk was fierce and intractable, and its whole air and manner were utterly unlike the conduct of the young of the other species. Unfortunately, it broke from its confinement and escaped.

The eggs from New Jersey, attributed to this bird by Mr. Krider, vary in the number and depth of coloring of their markings, the blotches in one being darker and less generally distributed. They measure 2.06 by 1.69 inches. Their ground-color is a yellowish white, intermingled with which are faint markings and blotches of a brownish-purple. Over these are diffused confluent blotches of russet-brown.

An egg from near Wiscasset, taken by Edmund Smith, Esq., the parent of which was secured, measures 2.22 by 1.75 inches, has a white ground, and is marked and blotched with deep umber-brown. These markings are chiefly at one end and only vary in their depth, and are unmixed with any other shading or colors.

GENUS AQUILA, AUCTORUM.

Aquila, MŒHR. 1752. (Type, Falco chrysætos, LINN.) Aëtos, NITZSCH, 1840. (Same type.) Hieroaëtus, 1844, and Hieraëtus, 1845, KAUP. (Type, _Falco pennatus_, GMEL.) Pteroaëtus, KAUP, 1844. (Type, Falco vulturinus, DAUD.) Uroaëtus, KAUP, 1844. (Type, Vultur audax, LATH.) Pseudaëtus, HODGS. 1844. (Type, Falco bonelli, TEMM.) Tolmaëtus, BLAS. 1845. (Same type.) Eutolmaëtus, BLAS. 1848. (Same type.)

GEN. CHAR. Form robust and structure powerful; the bearing and general aspect that of Buteo and Archibuteo. Wing long, the primaries long and strong, with their emarginations very deep. Tail rather short, slightly rounded or wedge-shaped. Bill stronger than in the preceding genera, its outlines nearly parallel, and the tip somewhat inclined backward at the point; commissure with a more or less prominent festoon; nostril narrowly oval, vertical; skin of the cere very hard and firm. Superciliary shield very prominent. Feet very strong, the membrane between the outer and middle toes very well developed; tarsus less than twice as long as the middle toe; outer toe equal to, or longer than, the inner; claws very long and strong, very much graduated in size; scutellæ of the toes small except on the terminal joint, where they form broad transverse plates; tarsi densely feathered all round down to the base of the toes; tibial plumes well developed, loose-webbed, their ends reaching down to or beyond the base of the toes. Feathers of the nape and occiput lanceolate, acute, and distinct, forming a nuchal “cape” of differently formed feathers. Third to fifth quill longest; first shorter than the seventh; outer five or six with their inner webs deeply emarginated.

This genus is almost peculiar to the Old World, where about seventeen so-called species are known, while America has no member of the genus exclusively its own, the single North American species being the same as the European one. Though the details of external structure vary somewhat, and the size ranges from that of a Buteo to that of a sea-eagle (Haliaëtus), the generic characters given in the above diagnosis apply well to all the species. The species of Heteropus, Hodgson, 1842 (A. malayensis, REIN. and H. gurneyi, Gray), I remove entirely from Aquila, since they differ so strikingly in many important respects. With the general aspect of Aquila, Heteropus has the outer toe disproportionately shorter than the inner (instead of equal to it, or longer), which curious feature it shares only with Geranospiza of tropical America, and Polyboroides of South Africa,—both terrestrial Buteonine forms of specialized structure. An entirely peculiar feature of Heteropus is the great length and straightness of the claws. Its bill is more like that of Archibuteo than like that of Aquila.

The North American and European races of the single species which occurs on the former continent may be distinguished as follows:—

Species and Races.

=A. chrysaëtus.= Wing, 23.00–27.00; tail, 14.00–16.00; culmen, 1.50–1.90; tarsus, 3.40–4.20; middle toe, 2.40–3.10. Third to fifth quill longest first shorter than seventh or eighth. Color blackish-brown, or umber-brown, nearly uniform, except on the tail; nuchal cape of lanceolate feathers, and tarsi of a paler and more tawny tint. Adult. Tail transversely clouded with ashy, and not white at the base; feathers of the body not distinctly white beneath the surface. Young. Tail with the basal half plain white, the terminal portion plain blackish; feathers of the body distinctly white beneath the surface. Hab. Nearctic and Palæarctic Realms.

Tarsi of adult pale umber; of young, dirty whitish. Hab. Palæarctic Realm …

var. chrysaëtus.[92]

Tarsi of adult deep umber; of young light brown. Hab. Nearctic Realm …

var. canadensis.

Aquila chrysaëtus, var. canadensis (LINN.).

GOLDEN EAGLE; RING-TAILED EAGLE.

Aquila chrysaëtus (not of LINN.!), RICH. & SW. F. B. A. II, 1831, 12.—JARD. (WILS.) Am. Orn. II, 1832, 304.—BONAP. List, 1838, 2.—AUD. Synop. 1839, 9.—DE KAY, Zoöl. N. Y. II, 4, pl. vi, f. 14 (Juv.).—CASS. B. Cal. & Tex. 109.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 55 (in part).—BREWER, Oölogy, 1857, 45.—COUES, Key, 1872, 219. Falco chrysaëtus, (LINN.) MAX. Cab. J. 1858, VI, 9.—BLAS. Ber. XVI, Vers. Deutsch. Orn. 1862, 83 (“absolutely identical with European”). Falco canadensis, LINN. S. N. (ed. 10), 1766, 88. Aquila canadensis, WILS. Am. Orn. 1808, pl. lv, f. 1.—HEERM. P. R. R. Rept. II, 1855, 30.—CASS. Birds N. Am. 1858, 41.—COUES, P. A. N. S. 1866, 13.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 40. Falco niger, GMEL. S. N. 359. Aquila nobilis, PALL. Zoög. Ros. As. 1811. Aquila fulva (not of LINN.!), NUTT. Man. Orn. 1833, 62.—PEAB. B. Mass. 1841, 71.

SP. CHAR. Adult male (24,167, Fort Crook, North California, Dec. 25; D. F. Parkinson). General plumage fuliginous-black, this deepest on the head, throat, lower surface in general, under surface of the wings, back, scapulars, shoulders, secondaries, primaries, and rump; middle and secondary wing-coverts, upper and under tail-coverts, tarsi and inside of tibiæ, considerably paler, inclining to light umber. Lanceolate feathers of occiput and nape with the exposed portions light fulvous, the shafts black; dusky beneath the surface. Tail black, somewhat paler on basal half, and with about three irregular, obsolete zigzag bands of pale brown (on two middle feathers ashy); no concealed white on breast. Fifth quill longest; third and fourth intermediate between fifth and sixth; second considerably shorter than sixth; first intermediate between eighth and ninth. Length, 31.60; extent, 78.30. Wing, 24.50; tail, 13.40; culmen, 1.60; from base of cere, 2.15; tarsus, 3.85; middle toe, 2.40; hind claw (chord) 1.90.

Adult female (12,006, Washington, D. C., March 7, 1869; C. Drexler). Almost exactly like the male. Black covering forehead, ear-coverts, cheeks, chin, throat, foreneck, and under parts generally (except the tarsi, inside and front of tibiæ, and lower tail-coverts, which are light fulvous, the tarsi palest), more tawny than in the male. The lanceolate, pale, tawny feathers, which in the male cover only the occiput and neck, in the female extend forward over the top of the head, leaving the forehead only blackish. Upper parts and tail as in the male. Fourth quill longest; third slightly shorter than fifth; second intermediate between sixth and seventh; first intermediate between eighth and ninth. Wing, 26.00; tail, 14.25; culmen, 1.70; tarsus, 3.80; middle toe, 2.70; hind claw, 2.15; inner toe, 1.90; outer, 2.00; inner claw, 1.80; middle, 1.35; outer, 1.10.

Young male (49,684, Camp Grant, near Tucson, Arizona, July 10, 1867; Dr. E. Palmer). Continuous deep sepia-black, with a purplish lustre; breast and scapulars with large concealed spots of pure white; lanceolate feathers of the “mane” dull brown, not conspicuously different from the throat; under surface of primaries showing much white basally, this most extended on inner feathers. Upper and under tail-coverts more brownish than the rump, the basal portion white. Basal half or more of tail white (more ashy on outer feathers), distinctly defined against the broad, pure black, terminal zone; tarsi dull white, clouded with dilute brownish; inside of tibiæ with feathers tipped with white.

Young female (older?) (9,121, Washington, D. C., Dec., 1856; B. Cross). Similar, but black more brown; “mane” as in adult; tarsi dull whitish brown; tail-coverts deep umber-brown; tail as in young male, but terminal band narrower, the white occupying nearly the basal two thirds. Wing, 25.70; tail, 14.75; culmen, 1.65; middle toe, 2.80; hind claw, 2.20.

HAB. Whole of North America north of Mexico; most common in mountainous regions.

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

National Museum, 8; Philadelphia Academy, 2; Boston Society, 2; Cambridge Museum, 2; Coll. R. Ridgway, 2. Total, 16.

Measurements.

+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ |Sex.| Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. |Middle Toe.|Specimens.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♂ |23.00–24.50|14.00–15.00|1.50–1.62|3.65–3.80| 2.40–2.80| 5 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♀ |25.00–27.00|15.00–16.00|1.68–1.85|4.15–4.20| 2.55–2.80| 7 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+

A young male from Massachusetts (No. 39, Lexington; Dr. S. Kneeland), in the collection of the Boston Society of Natural History, has the tail plain black, the extreme base and tip white.

Though the Golden Eagles of North America can be distinguished by the characters given in the diagnosis on p. 312 from those of Europe, the differences are appreciable only on direct comparison. The American bird is darker in all its shades of color, the difference being most marked in the young plumage, which in var. chrysaëtus has the tarsal features nearly white, and in var. canadensis light brown, the brown of other portions being also considerably darker. The American bird appears to be rather the larger.

HABITS. The Ring-tailed or Golden Eagle of North America is found throughout the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from New Mexico to the higher Arctic regions.

In its geographical distribution, the Golden Eagle of North America appears to be chiefly confined to the mountainous regions, and the more northern portions, but to be nowhere abundant. Sir John Richardson saw but few individuals in the Arctic regions, nor does he appear ever to have met with its nest. Individual birds on the Atlantic coast have been occasionally obtained,—once as far south as Philadelphia, twice at Washington,—but very rarely. Several specimens appear to have been obtained among the mountains of New Mexico by Dr. Henry’s party.

Although not mentioned by either Dr. Heermann or Dr. Gambel in their lists of the birds of California, it was found in Oregon by Dr. Townsend, and is said by Dr. Cooper to be quite common in almost all parts of California during the colder months. It is, however, much less numerous than the White-headed Eagle. It is very much more a mountain bird, and its descent into the plains or to the sea-coast is said to be quite rare. Dr. Adolphus Heermann, in his Report of the survey between Fort Yuma and San Francisco, speaks of seeing one of these birds near Livermore Pass, and of meeting others in Northern California, and of an individual killed in the mountains near Mokelumne River. He regarded it, both in that state and elsewhere, as a rare and wild bird. It is not mentioned as occurring in Greenland. It was found breeding in Napa Valley, Cal., by Mr. F. Gruber.

A bird was secured alive in Brighton, near Boston, in 1837, by being taken in a trap which had been set for another purpose. Its occurrence, however, near the sea-coast, is very rare, and even among the mountains it is never found except in occasional pairs. It breeds in the mountainous portions of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York, and was formerly not unfrequent among the cliffs of the Hudson River. Steamboats and railroads have, however, driven this wild bird from its romantic retreats in that quarter. In Franconia, N. H., for quite a number of years, a pair occupied a nest on an inaccessible rock, near the top of a mountain, known as Eagle Cliff, in sight of, and opposite, the Profile House. Repeated efforts have been made to reach its nest, but thus far without success. In the summer of 1855 a renewed attempt was made to scale the precipice over which the shelving rock, on which the nest stands, projects. A party was formed, and although they succeeded in ascending the mountain, which had never been achieved before, they could reach only a point beyond and above, not the nest itself. The attempt to pass to it was abandoned as too perilous. The party reported a large collection of bones in its immediate vicinity, with other evidences of the accumulated plunder of many years, as well as a plentiful supply of fresh food at the time visited.

Without here seeking to affect the question of identity of species, it is interesting to note certain peculiarities in the European Golden Eagle so far not noticed or of rare occurrence in the American birds. Mr. I. W. P. Orde in the Ibis of 1861 (p. 112), gives a very interesting account of a pair of Golden Eagles, which the previous season built their nest in a large Scotch fir-tree, in a wood on the southern bank of Glen Lyon, in Perthshire, within a few hundred yards of Meggerine Castle. Four eggs were laid, two of which were hatched. The nest was one of the Eagles’ own construction, and is specially interesting from being in such near proximity to human habitations. Mr. Tristram (Ibis, 1859, p. 283, in his valuable note on the birds of North Africa), while he never observed this Eagle in any of the cliffs among the mountain ranges of the desert, found it almost gregarious, so abundant was it among the Dayets. In one wood he saw no less than seven pairs of the Eagles, each pair with a nest. There were, besides, many unoccupied nests, and, indeed, very few terebinths of any size were without a huge platform of sticks on the topmost boughs. The birds were undisturbed, and consequently very fearless. On the other hand Mr. Salvin, in the same volume (p. 180) among the mountains of Eastern Atlas, describes very different manner of life in the same birds. “Whatever rock a pair may choose for their eyrie, there they reign alone in dignified solitude, nor do they allow a single Vulture, Kite, or indeed any other species of rapacious bird, to occupy with their nest a single spot in the same rock, however eligible for the purpose; nor are these other species ever to be seen in the haunts of their exclusive majesties. The whole southern precipice at Djebel Dekma was thus tenanted by a single pair of this Eagle, as also several other rocks that came under our notice. Instances of the Golden Eagle building in trees were by no means of unfrequent occurrence.”

The extreme southern range of the European bird, its gregarious habit, and the frequency of its building in trees, are all peculiarities not observed in the American form. They are not necessarily conclusive, but are at least suggestive.

The Golden Eagle in this country usually constructs its nest on the sides of steep, rocky crags, where its materials are coarsely heaped together on a projecting shelf of rock. These consist of large sticks, loosely arranged, and lined with other softer materials. In rare instances they are said to build on trees, where rocky cliffs are not to be met with. The eggs are usually three in number; sometimes two, or only one. Mr. Audubon describes them as measuring 3.50 inches in length by 2.50 in breadth; the shell thick and smooth, dull white, brushed over with undefined patches of brown, which are most numerous at the larger end. This description is not quite accurate in regard to size. The European egg is presumed to be larger than the American, yet the largest I have ever seen measures but 3.19 inches in length by 2.31 in breadth. An egg of the European bird in the British Museum, and another represented in Hewitson’s British Oölogy, which closely resembled it, were marked over the entire surface with small but distinct blotches of reddish-brown on a white ground. One in my collection, taken in Scotland, is nearly unmarked. A distinctly bluish-white ground is faintly stained with a few very obscure markings of slate and purplish-brown.

Mr. MacFarlane furnishes very full and interesting notes and observations on the habits of our canadensis, as attentively studied by him in the neighborhood of Anderson River, near the Arctic Ocean. Our limits will only permit us to give a summary of his valuable memoranda. In a large majority of instances the nests were built against the face of a steep bank, some sixty or seventy feet from the ground, and about thirty from the summit. They were very strongly constructed with dry sticks, usually of willow, and formed a platform on the top, in the centre of which the eggs were found on a bed composed of moss, hay, and feathers. These platforms were usually about six by seven feet, and ranged from four to six in height. It is said to be “not very scarce in that quarter,” and to be “a resident, in the summer, of the entire Arctic coast and rivers.” Mention is made of ten nests observed by him, and eggs taken therefrom. In several instances these eggs were white and unspotted, exciting his doubts whether they might belong to the leucocephalus.

According to Mr. MacFarlane they feed on ducks, mice, and other small animals, partridges, and the fawn of the reindeer. In confinement they are fierce and nearly untamable, though they readily eat the food that is given them, whether fish or meat. Even when taken young from the nest they evince the same fearless and intractable disposition. In one instance a young female killed its older companion by piercing it with her talons. When first observed, she was standing on and plucking the feathers from the body of the slain bird. This was the second bird this same ferocious, but comparatively tame, Eagle had thus destroyed. When the cage was removed outside, though the weather was very cold, the Eagles did not seem to mind it much, but exercised themselves with jumping off and on their roosting-pole, and seemed very much interested in all that was taking place within the Fort square. They kept their plumage in a cleanly condition, and were generally a very clean bird in all respects. During the fine weather the Eagles were more lively than on other occasions. When feeding they drooped both wings, and, if disturbed, arched their necks and moved their heads in a threatening manner, spreading out their tails like a fan. They grasped the meat or fish in the talons of either leg, and tore it with their beaks. After feeding, they invariably removed any blood or other impurities that may have adhered to the beak by scratching it with their talons or rubbing it against the bars of their cage. Several of these birds, in confinement, especially the female referred to, when their cage was approached, would endeavor to attack Mr. MacFarlane, descending from their sleeping-pole and making a rush at the front bars of the cage, spreading the wings and flapping them with great force, and making active demonstrations with beak and talons. Occasionally they would get out of their cages; then it was no easy matter to get them back again, as, when approached, they would throw themselves on their backs and thrust out their talons in the most formidable manner. They nest as early as the last of April or early in May, as largely developed embryos were found on the 27th of May. When their nests were pillaged they generally deserted them; but in one instance, where the female had been snared upon her nest, and the eggs taken, the same nest was occupied the following season by the male with another mate. The new mate was shot, and proved to be a mature bird. Almost invariably the male birds were too wary to be either shot or taken in a snare. Two of the nests of this bird, pointed out by the Indians, appeared to have been used for several years, and had been known to their discoverers for six or seven years previous. The nests taken were in about latitude 69° 30′.

In one particular case a nest had been discovered two years previously by MacFarlane’s Esquimo interpreter. It had been occupied that season, and a pair of Eagles had been recognized as its inmates. In 1863 the nest was known to have been reoccupied, though he did not visit it. On the 17th of May, 1864, he went to it and found both Eagles engaged in repairing it. The female appeared to act as the builder, and the male as the carrier of the materials, as well as the provider of provisions. The nest was not complete, and contained two half-eaten Ptarmigans, but no eggs. It was built against the face of a steep bank of a small stream, and was of considerable bulk. When first constructed, the nest of this Eagle is comparatively small, but as it is renovated every season, it ultimately becomes large and bulky. A quantity of dry sticks and twigs are laid lengthways over the greater portion of the platform of the previous season, and the spaces between are filled up by smaller twigs, mosses, and hay, and the centre is then covered with the two latter ingredients, intermixed with deer’s hair, etc. This annual addition varies in thickness from three to eighteen inches. In no instance did Mr. MacFarlane find or hear of any accumulation of bones or other débris of food either on or in the neighborhood of the nests. In three instances the nests were constructed in the tops of tall pines. In these cases the sandy nature of the soil did not favor their building on the sides of cliffs.

The “Mountain Eagle,” as this species is called throughout the western regions of the United States, was found by Mr. Ridgway to be a common species throughout the Great Basin along the line of the 40th parallel. It was daily seen soaring about the mountains, and nested on inaccessible cliffs. A pair—the female leading—were observed to give chase to a Sage Hen (Centrocercus urophasianus), chasing her on the wing until the fugitive dropped down to the ground from exhaustion, when she was picked up by the foremost of the Eagles, who then flew off together to the summit of the mountain range (the East Humboldt) near by, where they probably had their nest.

An egg of this bird, taken by Mr. R. MacDonald among the mountains west of the Lower Mackenzie River, measures 2.60 inches in length by 2.18 in breadth. The ground-color is of a rich pinkish cream-color, boldly dashed with large blotches of three or four varying shades of umber-brown, intermingled with a few finer markings of a lighter shade of brown, and a few clouded markings of a purplish-slate. These markings are grouped and confluent about the smaller end. Other specimens vary to whitish, with faint obsolete blotches.

GENUS HALIAËTUS, SAVIGNY.

Haliaëtus, SAVIG. 1809. (Type, Falco albicilla, LINN.) Thalassoaëtus, KAUP, 1844. (Type, Falco pelagicus, PALLAS.) Cuncuma, HODGSON, 1837. (Type, Falco macei, TEMM.) Pontoaëtus, KAUP, 1844. (Same type.) Blagrus, BLAS. 1849. (Same type.) Polioaëtus, KAUP, 1847. (Type, Falco icthyaëtus, HORSF.) Icthyiaëtus, LAFR. 1839 (nec KAUP, 1829). (Same type.)

GEN. CHAR. Form robust, and organization powerful, as in Aquila; size large. Bill very large, usually somewhat inflated, the chord of the arch of the culmen more than twice the length of the cere on top; commissure with a more or less distinct festoon and sinuation behind it. Nostril oval, obliquely vertical. Feet robust and strong, the tarsus less than one and a half times the middle toe; tarsus feathered in front and on the sides for about one half its length; front of the tarsus and top of the toes with an imperfectly continuous series of transverse scutellæ, entirely interrupted in the region of the digito-tarsal joint; the other portions covered with roundish, somewhat granular, scales, these larger on the posterior face. Claws large, strongly curved, and more obtuse, and less graduated in size, than in Aquila. No trace of a web between outer and middle toes. Wing very large, the primaries well developed and strong; third to fifth quill longest; first longer than the ninth; outer five to six with inner webs deeply emarginated. Tail variable in length and shape, usually short and rounded, cuneate and with fourteen feathers in H. pelagicus, and nearly even, and with twelve feathers, in H. macei, the rest all having twelve feathers, varying in form with the species. Feathers of the neck, all round, lanceolate.

The species of this very strongly marked genus vary between great extremes in the details of their external structure; but these variations I consider to be mainly specific, though two well-defined subgeneric divisions should be made, one to include the Old World H. leucogaster, H. vocifer, and H. icthyætus, which have five, instead of six, outer quills, with their inner webs cut, and the tarsus with the frontal and posterior rows of broad transverse scutellæ nearly as well developed and continuous as in Buteo. The last of these species has the claws nearly uniform in size, and contracted and rounded underneath almost as much as in Pandion; but the other species are less so, each differing in this respect, so that I consider this as only indicating the greatest perfection in the specialization of the piscatorial type of modified structure. In the possession of fourteen tail-feathers, its very large bill, naked lores, and general aspect, the H. pelagicus shows an approach to the Old World Vultures.

About nine species are known, of which only two belong to North America, one of them (H. leucocephalus) being peculiar to that continent. Tropical America is without a single representation of the genus. The majority of the species belong to the Indian region, only the H. albicilla and H. pelagicus belonging to the Palæarctic Realm, the former representing the western, and the latter peculiar to the eastern, district of that zoögeographical division; it is the former which straggles into the Nearctic fauna. The habits of the Sea Eagles differ considerably from those of the true Eagles (Aquila) in very important respects; they frequent the shores of the sea, lakes, or large rivers, instead of mountainous portions, and feed chiefly—some of the species entirely—on fish. Those of the subgenus Polioaëtus are almost precisely like Pandion in their habits.

The three closely allied species belonging to the northern portions of the Northern Hemisphere may be distinguished by the characters given in the following synopsis.

Species and Races.

COMMON CHARACTERS. Adult. Bill, cere, and iris yellow. Tail, and sometimes the head and neck, white. Young. Bill and cere black; iris dark brown. Tail, head, and neck, blackish.

=A.= Tail of fourteen feathers, cuneate, or graduated, for nearly half its length. Nostril with its lower end acute, bevelled gradually to the level of the cere; upper outline of the cere very convex; lore naked.

1. =H. pelagicus.=[93] Wing, 24.50–26.00; tail, 13.50–16.00; culmen, 2.60; depth of bill, 1.80; cere, on top, 1.10; tarsus, 3.50; middle toe, 2.95. Adult. Forehead, greater wing-coverts, abdomen, and tail, white; other portions blackish-brown (AUCT.). Young. Dark umber or blackish-brown, the feathers of the head and neck with lighter shaft-streaks; tertials (except at ends) and basal third, or more, of inner webs of tail-feathers, white; tail-coverts much mixed with the same. Hab. Northeastern Asia.

=B.= Tail of twelve feathers, only slightly rounded. Lower end of the nostril rounded, opening more abruptly inward; upper outline of the cere nearly straight; lores scantily feathered.

2. =H. albicilla.= Wing, 23.00–28.00; tail, 11.50–16.00; culmen, 2.05–2.20; tarsus, 3.30–3.80; middle toe, 2.50–2.95; depth of bill about 1.45; cere, on top, .85. Adult. Head and neck pale grayish-fulvous, or dirty yellowish-gray, not abruptly lighter than the body. Tail, only, pure white. Rest of the plumage, including the tail-coverts, dark grayish-brown, inclining to blackish on the primaries. Young. Prevailing tint of the upper parts light isabella-color, or pale grayish-cinnamon, each feather having a terminal triangular spot of blackish-brown. Breast soiled white, with broad stripes of brownish-black; rest of the lower parts nearly uniform fulvous-brown, the tibiæ darker. Hab. Europe; Egypt; Greenland.

3. =H. leucocephalus.= Wing, 20.00–26.00; tail, 10.50–15.50; culmen, 1.85–2.20; tarsus, 2.65–3.70; middle toe, 2.35–3.10; depth of bill about 1.30; cere, on the top, .80. Adult. Head and neck, tail and tail-coverts, pure white, immaculate (except in transition dress). Rest of the plumage brownish-black. Young. Brownish-black, showing much concealed white at the bases of the feathers; ground-color inclining to umber-brown on the upper surface; on the lower parts, the basal white much exposed and predominating, the blackish forming longitudinal, tear-shaped spots. Head and neck brownish-black, the penicillated feathers of the nape seldom with whitish points. Tail-feathers and primaries black, the inner webs usually more or less marked, longitudinally, with buffy-whitish. Hab. The whole of North America.

SP. CHAR. Young female(?) (28,100, Amoor River; Mr. Burlingame). Form: very similar to H. albicilla and H. leucocephala, but bill altogether more robust, and feet rather less so, than in these. Tail, of fourteen feathers! graduated for about one half its length. Dimensions: About the size of the female of the two other species. Color: Generally dusky vandyke-brown, a medial line on the lanceolate feathers of the neck, and the border of the squamate ones of the tibiæ, decidedly lighter. Entire plumage white at the base, this exposed wherever the feathers are disarranged, and prevailing on the crissum. Tertials, basal half of inner webs of primaries, the whole tail, and upper tail-coverts, white with a yellowish tinge. Tertials, upper tail-coverts, and tail-feathers, with a large terminal spot of clear grayish-black; on the tail these form a rather irregular terminal zone, being on the middle feather narrower, and broken into fine blotches. Bill, cere, lore, and feet, yellow; end of upper mandible, and the claws, black. Wing-formula, 3, 4, 2, 5–6–7=1. Wing, 24.50; tail, 13.50; culmen, 2.60; depth of bill, 1.80; cere, on top, 1.10; tarsus, 3.50; middle toe, 2.95.

Haliaetus albicilla (LINN.).

GRAY SEA-EAGLE.

Aquila albicilla, BRISS. Orn. I, 427, 1760.—PALL. Zoog. Ross. As. I, 345, 1811.—BENICK. Isis, 1824, pp. 878, 892.—SWAINS. Classif. B. II, 207, 1837.—KUHL. Beiträg. Zool. pt. i, p. 76 (anat.), 1820.—TYZENHAUZ, Rev. Zoöl. 1848, p. 235.—BAILLY, Orn. Sav. I, 110, 1853.—S. LONGCH. Faun. Belg. p. 53, 1842. Vultur albicilla, LINN. Syst. Nat. p. 123, 1766. Falco albicilla, PENN. Brit. Zoöl. p. 61, pl. A, 1812; ed. 8vo, 1812, I, 209, pl. xviii.—GMEL. Syst. Nat. p. 253, 1789.—LATH. Ind. Orn. I, 9, 1790; Syn. I, 33, 1781; Supp. I, 11, 1802; Gen. Hist. I, 46 A, 1821.—ODMANN, Nov. Act. Soc. Ups, IV, 225.—SHAW, Zoöl. VII, 79, 1812.—TEMM. Man. Orn. pt. i, 49; pt. iii, 26, 1820; Tab. Méth. p. 3, 1836.—KITTL. Kupf. Vög. pl. ii, f. 2, 1832.—BRUNN. Orn. Bor. p. 3, 1764.—FABER, Prod. Island, Orn. p. 1, 1822.—NAUM. Nat. Vög. Deutschl. ed. nov. I, 224, pls. xii, xiii, xiv, 1822; Nachtr. p. 330, pl. ix, f. 17.—FRISCH, Vög. Deutschl. pl. lxix, 70, 1739. Haliaëtus albicilla, CUV. Reg. Anim. (ed. 1), I, 315, 1817; (ed. 2), I, 336, 1829.—BENN. Gard. Zoöl. Soc. II, 33, 1831.—WERN. Atl. Ois. Eur. 1826.—LESS. Man. Orn. I, 85, 1828.—VIG. Raffl. Life, p. 648. SELBY, Brit. Orn. I, 18, pl. iii, iii^x, 1833.—GOULD, B. Eur. pl. x, 1837.—BONAP. Eur. & N. Am. B. p. 3, 1838; Cat. Ucc. Eur. p. 19, 1842; Consp. Av. p. 15, 1850; Rev. et Mag. Zoöl. p. 531, 1854.—CASS. B. Calif. & Tex. I, p. 111, 1854.—GRAY, Gen. B. p. 3; ed. 2, p. 4; fol. sp. 1, pl. vii, fig. 8.—BREHM. Vög. Deutschl. I, 14, pl. iii, f. 1, 1831.—CASS. Birds N. Am. 43, 1858.—SCLAT. Pr. Z. S. 1863, 257 (found in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia—this disproven!).—ELLIOT, Birds N. A. I. Haliaëtus albicilla, GRAY, Hand List, I, 16, 1869. Aquila ossifraga, BRISS. Orn. I, p. 437 (Juv.), 1760.—KUHL, Beiträg. Zoöl. pt. i, p. 60, pl. iv, figs. 1, 3, 3; pl. v, f. 1. Falco ossifragus, LINN. Syst. Nat. p. 124, 1766.—GMEL. Syst. Nat. p. 255, 1789.—LATH. Ind. Orn. p. 12, 1790; Syn. I, 30, 1781; Supp. I, 9, 1802; Gen. Hist. I, 48 (Juv.), 1821.—DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, 64, 1800.—SHAW, Zoöl. VII, pl. xviii, 1809.—RAFFL. LINN. Tr. VIII, 277 (var.). Aquila leucocephala, MEYER, Taschenb. Deutsch. Vögelk. p. 16, 1810. Falco melanotus, GMEL. Syst. Nat. p. 254, 1789. Falco albicaudus, GMEL. Syst. Nat. p. 258, 1789. Falco hinularius, LATH. Ind. Orn. p. 15, 1790; Syn. I, 39, sp. 16, 1781; Gen. Hist. I, 47 B, 1821.—SHAW, Zoöl. VII, 80, 1809. Falco pygargus, DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, 62, 1800. Falco albicilla borealis, FABER, Isis, 1827, p. 56; Prod. Island, Orn. p. 1, 1822. Haliætus nisus, SAVIG. Descr. Egyp. pt. i, 86, 1809.—VIEILL. Faun. Franç. p. 10, pl. v, figs. 1, 2.—DEGL. Mém. Soc. Sc. Lille, 1831, p. 213.—LESS. Tr. Orn. p. 40, pl. viii, fig. 2, 1831.—ROUX, Orn. Prod. I, 16, pl. ix, x, 1825.

SP. CHAR. Adult male (56,034, Europe; Schlüter Collection). Plumage almost continuously umber-brown, becoming black on the primaries; on the head and neck approaching pale grayish-brown. Tail (but not the coverts) white, much mottled with dusky at base; shafts of the quills white. Wing-formula, 3–2=4–5–6, 1. Wing, 23.00; tail, 11.50; culmen, 2.20; depth of bill, 1.45; cere, above, .85; tarsus, 3.30; middle toe, 2.50; outer, 2.00; inner, 1.70; posterior, 1.40. Bill and feet yellow.

Young. Head and neck blackish-brown, feathers whitish beneath the surface, the long pencillate feathers of the nape tipped inconspicuously with the same; prevailing color of the upper surface isabella-color (much more reddish than in corresponding age of leucocephalus) each feather with a terminal triangular spot of blackish-brown; tertials more whitish. Secondaries rich dark brown; primaries deep black, their shafts dark brown. Tail brownish-black much spotted with isabella-color, or soiled creamy-white, this occupying most of the inner webs. Breast soiled white, each feather with a conspicuous broad medial stripe of brownish-black; abdomen more fulvous; tibiæ nearly uniform dark brown. Rump nearly uniform vinaceous-fulvous. Bill black. Feet yellow.

Male (56,037, North Europe; Schlütter Coll.). Wing, 26.00; tail, 12.50; culmen, 2.20.

Female (56,039, North of Europe; Schlütter Coll.). Wing, 28.00; tail, 16.00; culmen, 2.45; depth of bill, 1.55; cere above, .70; tarsus, 3.65; middle toe, 3.50.

Hab. Europe and in Greenland.

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

National Museum, 3; Philadelphia Academy, 3; New York Museum, 2; Boston Society, 2; Cambridge Museum, 1. Total, 11.

Measurements.

+------+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+---------+----------+ | Sex. | Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. | Middle |Specimens.| | | | | | | Toe. | | +------+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+---------+----------+ |♂ Ad. |23.00–24.00| 11.50–0.00|2.10–2.20|3.30–3.70|2.50–2.85| 2 | +------+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+---------+----------+ |♂ Juv.|24.75–26.00| 12.50–0.00|2.05–2.20|3.80–0.00|2.70–0.00| 2 | +------+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+---------+----------+ |♀ Juv.|27.80–28.00|14.00–16.00|2.20–2.45|3.50–3.65|2.95–3.50| 2 | +------+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+---------+----------+

HABITS. The White-tailed or Gray Sea Eagle is common to the sea-coast of Europe, where it inhabits only the parts of the country adjacent to the sea, and rears its young on the cliffs. It occurs in Greenland, and is on that ground included in the fauna of North America. It has not yet been traced south of Greenland, nor has it been found in any part of our continent.

The Sea Eagle in Europe is rarely found inland. It builds its nest on rocky cliffs projecting over the water, on the shores of Scotland, the Orkney and Shetland Islands, Norway, Russia, etc. The nest is constructed of sticks, or, where these are not convenient, of seaweed. The eggs are two or three in number. Their ground-color is a clear white, usually unmarked, but occasionally stained with small, faint spots of light brown. The measurements of two in my collection, both from Scotland, but obtained at different times by H. F. Walter, Esq., of London, are as follows: Length 2.69 inches, breadth 2.19 inches; length 2.13 inches, breadth 2.25 inches.

The following, in relation to their breeding and distribution, is taken from Mr. Yarrell’s excellent work on the Birds of Great Britain:—

“The White-tailed Eagle builds its nest on high rocks, and lays two eggs, about the same size of those of the Golden Eagle, but with very little or no red color on the white ground. The young are at first covered with a soiled white down, and even at this age the beaks and claws of the eaglets are of very large size. A pair of Golden Eagles have been known to rear their young in the same spot for eight seasons in succession; and Mr. Mudie has mentioned that, being thus attached to a particular locality, their young, when able to provide for themselves, are driven away by the parent birds to get their living elsewhere; but the more erratic White-tailed Eagles, quitting the breeding station when the season is ended, leave their young to forage over the district in which they have been raised. In confinement, the White-tailed Eagle sometimes becomes sociable.... One kept by Mr. Hoy laid three eggs in the same season; and a female in the possession of Mr. Selby laid an egg after having been kept in confinement twenty years.... The White-tailed Eagle breeds in the Hebrides, in Orkney and Shetland. Mr. Dunn, in his useful Guide to these latter islands, names the particular localities in which they may be found, but states that they are much more numerous in winter than in summer. This accords with the opinion of Mr. Temminck and others that this species returns to the southward from high northern latitudes as the season advances.... This Eagle frequents Denmark, Sweden, the west coast of Norway, and from thence as far north as Iceland and Greenland, but is not found in North America. Mr. Temminck believes that this Eagle follows the flocks of geese that annually resort to the Arctic regions in summer to rear their young. It is found in Siberia, at Lake Baikal, and inhabits Russia, from whence to the southward it is spread over the European continent generally.”

Haliaëtus leucocephalus (LINN.).

BALD EAGLE; AMERICAN EAGLE.

Aquila leucocephala, BRISS. Orn. I, 422, 1760.—VIEILL. Ois. Am. Sept. pl. iii, 1807.—PALLAS, Zoog. Ross. As. I, 347, 1811.—SWAINSON, Classif. B. II, 207, 1837; Anim. Menag. 106, 1838.—S. LONGCH. Faun. Belg. 53, 1842. Falco leucocephalus, LINN. Syst. Nat. 124, 1766.—GMEL. Syst. Nat. 255, 1789.—LATH. Ind. Orn. 11, 1790; Syn. I, 29, 1781; Supp. p. 9, 1802; Gen. Hist. I, 45, 1821.—PENN. Arct. Zoöl. pp. 194 and 196, 1785.—WILS. Am. Orn. pl. xxxvi, 1808.—TEMM. Man. Orn. pt. i, 52; pt. ii, 27, 1820; Tab. Méth. 3, 1836.—SHAW, Zoöl. VII, 78, 1809.—BONAP. Ann. Lyc. N. Y. II, 26.—GREEN, Silliman’s Am. Journ. IV, 89; Isis, 1832, p. 1136.—AUD. Orn. Biog. I, 160, 1831; Birds Am. pl. xxxi, 1831.—BREWER, (WILS.) Am. Orn. Synop. 683, 1852. Haliaëtus leucocephalus, SAVIG.—CUV. Règ. An. (ed. 2), I, 326.—LESS. Tr. Orn. p. 40, 1831.—STEPH. Zoöl. XIII, pt. 2, p. 13, 1826.—JAMES. (WILS.) Am. Orn. I, 21, 33, 1808.—JARD. (WILS.) Orn. II, 89, 307.—RICH. F. B. A. II, 15, 1831.—BENNETT, Gard. Zoöl. Soc. II, 37, 1831.—BONAP. Eur. & N. Am. B. 3, 1838; Cat. Ucc. Eur. 19, 1842; Consp. Av. 15, 1850; Rev. et Mag. Zoöl. 1854, p. 531.—MAX. Cab. Journ. VI, 1858, 3.—BLAKISTON, Ibis, III, 1861, 320.—DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 328 (Texas, breeding).—GOULD, B. Eur. pl. xi, 1837.—GRAY, Gen. B. fol. sp. 3, 1844; List Birds Brit. Mus. 2, 1844.—AUD. Synopsis Birds Am. 10, 1839.—NUTTALL, Man. Orn. U. S. & Canad. 72, 1833.—PEALE, U. S. Expl. Exp. 71, 1848.—PEAB. Birds Mass. 73, 1841.—GIRAUD, Birds Long Island, 9, 1844.—WOODH. Sit. Expl. Zuñ. & Colorad. 59, 1853.—CASSIN, B. Calif. & Tex. I, 111, 1854.—DE KAY, Zoöl. N. Y. II, 5, pl. i, f. 1, 1844.—HEERM. P. R. R. Rept. VII, 30, 1857.—NEWB. P. R. R. Rept. VI, 75, 1857.—WERN. Atl. Ois. Eur. 1826.—BREHM, Vögel Deutschl. 17, 1831.—CASS. Birds N. Am. 1858, 43.—COOP. & SUCK. P. R. R. Rept. XII, ii, 151, 1860.—COUES, Prod. B. Ariz. 13, 1866. _Haliaëtus leucocephalus_, GRAY, Hand List, I, 16 (1869). Falco candidus, GMEL. Syst. Nat. 258, 1789.—LATH. Ind. Orn. 14, 1790; Syn. I, 36, 1781; Gen. Hist. I, 240, 1821.—DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, 51, 1800.—VIEILL. Ois. Am. Sept. I, 30, 1807. Falco pygargus, DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, 62, 1800. Falco ossifragus, WILS. Am. Orn. pl. lv, f. 2 (Juv.), 1808. Falco leucogaster, LATH. Gen. Hist. I, 242, 1821. _Vultur albicilla_, FABER, Faun. Grœnl. 53, 1780. Falco washingtoni, AUD. Mag. Nat. Hist. ser. 1, I, 1828, 115.—IB. Orn. Biog. I, 58; Birds Am. pl. xi.—BREWER, (WILS.) Am. Orn. 683.—JAMES. (WILS.) Am. Orn. IV, 261. Haliaëtus washingtoni, JARD. (WILS.) Am. Orn. II, 92.—BONAP. List, 1838, 3.—GRAY, Gen. fol. sp. 4.—AUD. Synop. Birds Am. 10.—CASS. B. CAL. & Tex. 110.—IB. Birds N. Am. 1858, 42.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 51, No. 82. Falco washingtonianus, NUTT. MAN. pl. lxvii. Haliaëtus leucocephalus, BREWER, Oölogy, 1851, 48, pl. iv, f. 37.

SP. CHAR. Adult. Entire head and neck, upper and lower tail-coverts, and tail, immaculate pure white. Rest of the plumage brownish-black, the feathers fading toward the edges, these paler borders being most conspicuous on the upper surface. Primaries uniform deep black. Bill, cere, superciliary shield, and feet, deep chrome-yellow; iris Naples-yellow. Male (12,017, Philadelphia; C. Drexler). Wing, 22.00; tail, 10.50; culmen, 1.90; top of cere, .80; depth of bill, 1.30; tarsus, 3.00; middle toe, 2.60; outer, 2.00; inner, 1.50; posterior, 1.30. Wing-formula, 3=4–5, 2–6; 1=7. Female (11,986, Philadelphia; C. Drexler). Wing, 25.00; tail, 12.75; culmen, 2.20; top of cere, .80; tarsus, 3.10; middle toe, 2.85. Wing-formula, 3=4, 5–2–6–7–1, 8. Young. Second year (?) (No. 58,977, Mount Carmel, Wabash County, Illinois, Dec.; D. Ridgway). Head and neck brownish-black, white beneath the surface, the penicillate ones of the nape tipped with pale brown. Prevailing color of other portions blackish-brown, inclining to umber on the dorsal region, wing-coverts, and lower parts; all the feathers white at their roots, this much exposed on the lower parts, where the brown forms tear-shaped terminal spots; axillars and lining of the wing white, each feather of the latter region with a medial lanceolate stripe of blackish-brown. Primaries and tail brownish-black; inner webs of secondaries and tail-feathers spattered longitudinally with creamy-white. Bill and cere black; iris brown; feet yellow. Wing, 25.50; tail, 15.00; culmen, 2.10; tarsus, 3.10; middle toe, 2.60.

Young, first year (No. 41,595, Eastern United States?). Whole plumage nearly uniformly black, this very continuous above; beneath, the basal white is much exposed, producing a somewhat spotted appearance. Primaries and tail deep black, the inner webs of the latter sprinkled with cream-color.

Young in down (Washington, D. C.). Downy covering uniform deep sooty-gray; the sprouting feathers on wings, etc., all brownish-black.

Specimens from the Pacific Coast have the plumage rather deeper black; but scarcely any other differences are appreciable. Measurements of specimens are as follows:—

“Male” (?) (45,838, Sitka; Bischoff). Wing, 24.50; tail, 12.50; culmen, 2.00.

Female (45,835, Sitka; Bischoff). Wing, 25.00; tail, 12.50; culmen, 2.20.

Of these, the male is continuous deep black, the head, neck, tail, and tail-coverts pure white in sharp contrast; the female is less continuously black,—more so, however, than in eastern specimens; the white portions are as pure as in the male.

An immature bird (9,130, Shoalwater Bay, W. T., Feb.; Dr. Cooper) is almost like the Illinois specimen described, but is somewhat larger, measuring, wing, 26.00; tail, 15.00; culmen, 2.20. It differs somewhat in plumage also, the lower parts being nearly uniformly light isabella-color, not variegated by the black spots; the whole wing (except the quills) is pale isabella-brown, the wing-coverts with terminal triangular spots of black; the back is also light-colored, like the wings.

Hab. Entire continent of North America, north of Mexico.

Localities quoted: Upper Texas; breeds (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 65). Western Arizona (COUES, P. A. N. S., 1866, 49).

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

National Museum, 17; Philadelphia Academy, 14; Boston Society, 3; Museum Comparative Zoölogy, 3; Coll. R. Ridgway, 2; Coll. J. C. Sharp, Jr., 1; W. S. Brewer, 1. Total, 41.

Measurements.

+------+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+---------+----------+ | Sex. | Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. | Middle |Specimens.| | | | | | | Toe. | | +------+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+---------+----------+ |♂ Ad. |20.00–23.00|11.00–13.00|1.85–2.00|2.65–3.40|2.35–2.65| 10 | +------+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+---------+----------+ |♂ Juv.|23.50–25.00|12.00–15.25|1.95–2.20|3.20–3.30|2.70–2.90| 5 | +------+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+---------+----------+ |♀ Ad. |23.50–25.00|12.50–13.50|1.90–2.20|3.40–3.60|2.55–2.80| 7 | +------+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+---------+----------+ |♀ Juv.|25.50–26.00|15.00–15.50|2.10–2.20|3.25–3.70|2.55–3.10| 2 | +------+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+---------+----------+

The “Bird of Washington” of Audubon was, without the least doubt, a very large immature female, in about the second year: the discrepancies between Audubon’s figure and description, and the real characters of the young Bald Eagle, are very probably the result of carelessness and faulty memory; the stretch of wing of “10 feet 2 inches” is, no doubt, an exaggeration; and the peculiar scutellation of the tarsus, as exhibited in his plate, was as certainly caused by this portion of the figure being worked up from memory. The probability is also that the description was made up, or at least very much added to, from this plate, as there is no record of Mr. Audubon’s specimens having been preserved. It is by no means strange that persons should consider these large grayish Eagles a different species from the smaller white-headed ones, since their proportions are as different as their colors; and throughout the country, unscientific people, and among them experienced hunters, distinguish the three stages described above as the “bald,” “big gray,” and “black” Eagles. Nothing is more certain, however, than that all are only different stages of one and the same bird.

In the preceding table of measurements the old and immature specimens are given separately, in order to prove the remarkable fact that the latter have longer wings and tails than the former. This feature is not confined to the present bird, however, but applies as a general rule to all Falconidæ.

HABITS. The White-headed Eagle is widely diffused throughout the North American continent, from about latitude 58° north to the Gulf of Mexico and Central America.

Sir John Richardson, in Fauna Boreali-Americana (Vol. II, p. 15), states that he did not meet with this species north of 62°, although he found it common between that point and Lake Superior. He also states that they leave the fur-countries in October, when the rivers are frozen. Subsequently, in his expedition overland to the Arctic Seas, in 1848, he found occasion to change his first impressions quite materially. He gives it as abundant at Half-Moon Lake, in latitude 56° north. He also speaks of finding both the Osprey and White-headed Eagle building their nests on the banks of Bear Lake River, in about 60° north. We find in his notes, that White-headed Eagles made their appearance at Fort Confidence, latitude 66° 54′, as early as May 17, before the ice had given way in the rivers; and in his tables of phenomena observed at the Cumberland House, in latitude 54°, we also observe that a White-headed Eagle was seen as early as the 24th of March, “being almost always the first of the summer birds which arrives.”

Mr. MacFarlane found these Eagles breeding on Lockhart River, latitude 67° 30′, but does not regard it as abundant in that locality, and from the information he has received from the Indians, he presumes latitude 68° to be its extreme northern range. In the following year, 1862, this supposition was in part confirmed by his finding a pair breeding on the same river, near its junction with the Anderson, in latitude 68° north. Mr. B. E. Ross states that it ranges to the Arctic Circle, and is numerous around Great Slave and Bear Lakes. It proved to very common at Sitka, where Bischoff obtained a number of specimens.

Dr. Cooper, during his journey northward to the 49th degree, found this one of the most abundant birds of the Falcon tribe in Washington Territory, particularly along the Columbia River. It is a constant resident in the Territory, and is said to lay its eggs as early as February. He saw large numbers along the Columbia, sitting on some log or cliff over the water. He never met with it about high mountain tops nor on the plains east of the Rocky Mountains.

Dr. Newberry met with this Eagle in the interior of Northern California, along the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. He found it very common at the Cascades of the Columbia, at the Falls of the Willamette, and still more abundant about the chain of lakes in the Klamath basin, and also in the Cascade Range, among the mountain lakes, and wherever fish was attainable. They exhibited little shyness, and were easily brought within rifle range.

In Florida, Mr. Allen found this bird very common, breeding as early as January. It was very abundant on the upper St. John’s, and especially so at Lake Monroe. It is also equally common in Texas, according to Dresser, especially near the headwaters of some of the rivers. He was told by his guide, Westfall, that in passing a distance of forty miles he had noticed eight nests. It also breeds on the Altacosa. Dr. Woodhouse found these birds, but nowhere very abundant, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific, along his entire route, and Dr. Coues observed them near Fort Whipple.

The statements of Temminck that this Eagle has been taken accidentally in Central Europe, Switzerland, and Germany, and also that it breeds in Northwestern Europe, are not now credited; and more recent scrutiny of these supposed facts cast discredit upon them, and show that there is no well-authenticated instance of its having been detected in Europe.

The White-headed Eagle appears to be equally well adapted by nature for the endurance of heat or cold, and is apparently indifferent to either. Its residence is influenced only by its abundance of food, especially that of fish; and it seems to matter very little whether that plenty is procurable within the Arctic Circle or on the coast and rivers of Florida and Texas. In places like the Falls of Niagara, where the stream is ever liable to contribute the remains of animals destroyed by the descent of the torrent, this Eagle is especially abundant. Unscrupulous, greedy, voracious, not select in its choice of food, and capable of providing for itself when necessity compels, we find this not altogether unsuitable emblem of our country now enacting the tyrant and robber and plundering the Fishhawk of the fruits of its industry, now sharing with the Raven and the Vulture the dead salmon of the Columbia, and in other places diving for and catching its own fish. The impetuosity and skill with which it pursues, overtakes, and robs the Fishhawk, bearing off a fish it has just taken, must be witnessed to be appreciated; and the swiftness with which the Eagle can dart down upon and seize the booty, which the Hawk has been compelled to let fall, before it reaches the water, is not the least wonderful feature of this striking performance. On the banks of the Columbia, where there are no Fishhawks to depend upon, this bird finds an easy subsistence on the vast numbers of dead and dying salmon which abound; and in Florida Mr. Allen has observed it dive and catch its own fish. This is also confirmed by the statements of other naturalists. Wilson also accuses this Eagle of destroying great numbers of young pigs in the Southern States, young lambs, and even sickly sheep; and in one instance it attempted to carry off a child, which was only saved by its dress giving way.

The White-headed Eagle breeds along the Atlantic coast from the St. Lawrence to Florida, and thence westward to Mexico along the coast and among the tributaries of the Gulf. In the interior it breeds as far north as the Arctic Circle.

Richardson states that it abounds in the watery districts of Rupert’s Land, and a nest may be looked for within every twenty or thirty miles. Each pair appropriates a certain range of country, on which they are said to suffer no intruders of their own species to encroach; but the nest of the Osprey is often placed at no great distance from that of the Eagle. Some of the voyagers had the curiosity to visit an Eagle’s nest, which was built on the cleft summit of a balsam poplar, of sticks, many of them as thick as a man’s wrist. It contained two young birds, well fledged, with a good store of fish in a very odoriferous condition. While the men were climbing the tree, the female parent hovered close around, and threatened an attack on the invaders; but the male kept aloof, making circles high in the air.

In California, where the rocky coast is destitute of convenient trees, the White-headed Eagle resorts to rocky cliffs as the safest and most convenient places for nesting. We have the authority of Richardson for the same deviation from its usual resort to trees in parts of the fur-countries where the latter are wanting. The climate apparently exerts a certain influence, though not so much as might be supposed. In the Southern States it nests seven weeks earlier than in Maine, in both of which regions it is resident throughout the year. Farther north, where the severity of the cold, by closing the ponds and rivers with solid ice, places their food beyond their reach, and where they are only visitants in the warmer season, they, of course, nest still later, for the reason that they do not reach these regions until after the breeding season of more southern birds of the species.

In the extreme Southern States, as in California, the White-headed Eagle breeds as early as February. In Maine, the general impression has been that the eggs are not deposited before May, and at a still later period in the more northern portions of the United States. More recent observations show this to be incorrect, and that these birds breed at a much earlier season of the year. Mr. Audubon speaks of having once shot a female on her eggs, near the Mississippi, as early as the 17th of January. Dr. Gambel found White-headed Eagles nesting on the cliffs along the shores of the Pacific in February and March.

Having occasion to visit the State of Maine in April, 1856, near the Damariscotta River, the banks of which stream are frequented by these birds on account of the abundance of fish, I was informed that a pair had constructed a nest in a neighboring wood, which they had occupied for several successive years. The previous season (1855), late in May, my informant had climbed a tree in the immediate neighborhood, commanding a full view of the nest. It then contained young nearly grown. From this statement I was led to conclude that there was no time to be lost if we would secure the eggs before hatching. We accordingly visited the nest on the 27th of April, and found it situated on a tall pine, at least sixty feet from the ground. The tree stood in a swampy wood, within a few rods of the stage road, and not more than half a mile from the village of Damariscotta. It contained no limbs or branches to facilitate ascent for at least the distance of thirty feet, and the trunk at the base was from six to nine feet in circumference, rendering it impossible to mount the tree by the aid only of the hands and feet. My assistant was, however, drawn up, by means of a rope fastened round his body, to a height where the branches of the tree rendered the remainder of the ascent comparatively easy. While he was ascending, we observed several Eagles flying over our heads, but at a great height. One only approached us; but, as soon as we were noticed, the bird made a precipitate retreat. It was apparently conveying food to the nest, and was not at first aware of our presence; after which it hovered at a distance, uttering hoarse, disagreeable cries of displeasure, not unlike the imperfect barking of a dog. No attempt was made to molest or interrupt the man as he ascended to, or after he had reached, the nest. We found, when he had climbed to the nest, that the female had been sitting upon it all the while, and only left when the unwelcome caller was near enough to have reached her with his hands. She too flew over the man’s head in somewhat close proximity, uttering frequent cries of distress, but made no effort whatever to attack him.

The nest was found to contain no egg, and but a single bird, apparently about a fortnight old. It was some six or seven inches in length, its weight between one and two pounds, and its head and claws disproportionately large. It was covered uniformly with a thick, close, and soft downy plumage, which was of a clean deep straw-color. There was not the least admixture of gray or brown. The young bird was completely helpless, and uttered almost constant cries for food. It ate readily whenever fish or meat was offered it, but was unable to support itself upon its legs. It was taken to my host’s house, where it was well cared for, and for a while, with careful attention, it did well and grew apace, manifesting a most inordinate and insatiable appetite.

The nest was described to me by my assistant as a platform between five and six feet in diameter, and at least four in thickness. It was constructed of regular layers of large sticks, each several feet in length, and from an inch to an inch and a half in thickness. Its surface was perfectly flat, and was “finished off,” to use his expression, with tufts of grass, dry leaves, mosses, lichens, small twigs, etc., etc. He found in it, by the side of the young Eagle, four or five large eels, each of which was about two feet in length, showing that the parent birds provide liberally for their own wants and those of their young.

Estimating the age of the young Eagle at ten days, and allowing four weeks for incubation, and at least one week’s interval between the deposition and the commencement of the parent bird’s sitting upon it, we have very nearly the exact period at which the egg was laid, March 13.

This occurred at the coldest period of the season, when the ground was covered with snow to an unusual depth, and when the thermometer indicated a temperature at that time frequently as low as 15° below zero.

The nest is usually of great size, composed of sticks from three to five feet in length, pieces of turf, weeds, and moss. Its diameter is about five feet, and its depth is not unfrequently as great. In the warmer localities, where it breeds, the pair usually frequent the same nest throughout the year, and make it their permanent place of resort. This is also true, probably, wherever this Eagle remains throughout the year. Mr. T. H. Jackson, of West Chester, Pa., informs me that he met with three fresh eggs of this species in Maryland, on the 11th of February, 1871.

The eggs are usually two, sometimes three or four, in number; they are nearly spherical, equally rounded at either end, and more or less granulated on their surface. Their color is a dull white, unspotted, but often stained by incubation to a dirty white or a light soiled drab. Two eggs in my collection present the following measurements: Length 3 inches, breadth 2.75; length 2.88 inches, breadth 2.80. The first was obtained in New Jersey by Alexander Wilson, the ornithologist; the latter by Dr. Trudeau, in Louisiana.

Another, taken from a nest in Texas by Dr. Heermann, measured 2.80 by 2.20 inches. A fourth, from Sitka, measures 2.75 by 2.25 inches. These measurements, so far as they may be taken as typical, exhibit but little variation in size between the most northern and the most southern specimens.

Several nests were met with and the eggs taken by Mr. MacFarlane near Anderson River. They were generally built in high trees not far from river-banks. In a few instances the parents made hostile demonstrations when their nests were robbed, but generally kept at a safe distance, uttering loud and discordant sounds. The nests were built of dry sticks and decayed branches, and lined with deer’s hair, mosses, hay, and other similar soft materials.

Mr. Dall was informed by the Indians that this species breeds among the Alaskan mountains on inaccessible cliffs. This statement, however, may have had reference to the Golden Eagle.

FAMILY CATHARTIDÆ.—THE AMERICAN VULTURES.

Cathartidæ, GRAY, 1842.—HUXLEY, P. Z. S. 1867, p. 463. Cathartinæ, LAFR. 1839. Sarcorhamphidæ, GRAY, 1848. Gryphinæ, REICH. 1850.

The characters of this family have been given in sufficient detail (III, 1), so that a short diagnosis, showing its most readily observable peculiarities, will here be sufficient.

CHAR. Whole head, and sometimes the neck, naked; eyes prominent, and not shaded by a superciliary shield. Cere much elongated, much depressed anteriorly below the very arched culmen; nostrils longitudinal, horizontal, the two confluent or perforate. Middle toe very long, and the hind one much abbreviated. A web between the base of the inner and middle toes.

The family Vulturidæ,[94] as long recognized, included all the naked-headed, carrion-feeding Raptores of both the Old and the New World. The later researches of science, however, have shown the necessity of separating the Vultures of the latter continent from those of the former, and ranking them as a distinct family, while at the same time the Old World Vultures are found to be merely modified Falconidæ. The resemblance between the Cathartidæ and the vulturine Falconidæ is merely a superficial one of analogy, and not one of affinity. Being the scavengers of the countries they inhabit, the latter thus perform the same office in nature as the former, and for adaptation to a similar mode of life their external characters are modified to correspond. Close, however, as is the external resemblance between the two groups, their osteological structure and internal anatomy is entirely different.

The Cathartidæ differ from the Vulturinæ[95] as to their external structure in the following particulars, the osteological structure being entirely different in the two groups, the latter being like the Falconidæ in all the characters which separate the latter family from the Cathartidæ.

=Cathartidæ.= Nostrils horizontal, perforate; a well-developed web between the inner and middle toes, at the base.

=Vulturinæ.= Nostrils vertical, not perforate; no trace of web between inner and middle toes.

In habits, the Cathartidæ resemble the vulturine Falconidæ of the Old World. “They lack the strength and spirit of typical Raptores, and rarely attack animals capable of offering resistance; they are voracious and indiscriminate gormandizers of carrion and animal refuse of all sorts,—efficient and almost indispensable scavengers in the warm countries where they abound. They are uncleanly in their mode of feeding; the nature of their food renders them ill-scented, and when disturbed they eject the fetid contents of the crop. Although not truly gregarious, they assemble in multitudes where food is plenty, and some species breed in communities. When gorged, they appear heavy and indisposed to exertion, usually passing the period of digestion motionless, in a listless attitude, with their wings half spread. But they spend most of the time on wing, circling high in the air; their flight is easy and graceful in the extreme, and capable of being indefinitely protracted. On the ground, they habitually walk instead of progressing by leaps. Possessing no vocal apparatus, the Vultures are almost mute, emitting only a weak hissing sound.” (COUES.)

The Cathartidæ all belong to the tropical and warm temperate portions of the continent, only one species (Rhinogryphus aura) extending its range as far as the border of the colder regions. The famous Condor (Sarcorhamphus gryphus) of the Andes and the equally large California species (Pseudogryphus californianus) are among the largest birds of flight in the world, being exceeded in size by none, and rivalled but by one or two of the Vultures of the Eastern Hemisphere.

The following diagnoses based upon the external structure are sufficient to characterize the very well-marked genera and subgenera of this family. The distinctive osteological characters which accompany these external features afford still more decided differences, and are illustrated by the figures.

Genera and Subgenera.

=A.= Crop naked. Male with a fleshy crest, or lobe, attached to the top of the cere. Bill very robust and strong, its outlines very convex; cere much shorter than the head.

1. =Sarcorhamphus.= Entire neck bare; nasal cavity entirely open; posterior claw very thick and strongly curved. Tail even.

Sexes different, the female lacking any fleshy caruncles, or appendages, on the head and neck. Frontal lobe, or fleshy crest of male, extending from the anterior border of the cere to the middle of the crown; throat with a median wattle, or “dewlap”; side of the neck with a somewhat convoluted or twisted caruncle, extending from the side of the occiput obliquely downward, across the neck to near the lower extremity of the gular wattle; lower part of the foreneck with a pendent fleshy appendage. Plumage beginning below the neck by a crescentic ruff of soft white down, or cottony feathers, around the posterior portion. Primaries longer than the secondaries; front of the tibio-tarsal joint feathered …

Sarcorhamphus.[96]

Sexes alike, the female possessing the caruncular appendages of the head as well as the male. Frontal lobe attached to only the middle portion of the cere, above the nostril; throat without a median wattle; side of the neck without any caruncles; no appendage on the foreneck; auricular region with longitudinal corrugations, and occiput densely haired. Plumage beginning below the neck by a ruff of broad, well-developed, normal feathers. Primaries not longer than the secondaries. Front of the tibio-tarsal joint naked …

Cathartes.[97]

=B.= Crop feathered. Male without a fleshy crest, or other appendages, on the head. Bill less robust, variable as to strength, its outlines only moderately convex; cere nearly equal to the head in length. Sexes alike.

a. Entire neck bare; plumage commencing abruptly in a ruff of lanceolate, or penicillate feathers, these continued on the breast and abdomen. Head much elongated, the upper outline a slightly convex plane, the forehead depressed below the level of the very elevated dorsal outline of the cere. Posterior claw very thick and strongly curved.

2. =Pseudogryphus.= Nostril occupying only the posterior third of the nasal orifice, its anterior end acute. Bill weak, the terminal hook only slightly developed, the mandibles broader than deep, the lower as deep as the upper. Head and neck without corrugations or caruncles. Tarsus slightly longer than the middle toe; fourth or fifth quill longest; extremities of the quills reaching to or beyond the end of the tail. Tail even. (P. californianus.)

b. Only the upper half, or less, of the neck bare; plumage commencing gradually with normal, broad feathers; feathers of breast and abdomen broad and normal. Head only moderately elongated, the upper outline irregular, the forehead elevated above the dorsal outline of the cere. Bill strong, the terminal hook well developed. Posterior claw weaker, less curved.

3. =Rhinogryphus.= Nostril occupying the whole of the nasal cavity, its anterior end broadly rounded; cere as deep as broad, the upper and lower outlines divergent posteriorly, the former considerably arched; lower mandible much less deep than the upper. Skin of the neck without corrugations; a semicircular tuft of antrorse radiating bristles in front of the eye. Wing very long, the primaries reaching to or beyond the end of the tail. Tail much rounded. (R. aura and R. burrovianus.)

4. =Catharista.= Nostril occupying only the posterior half of the nasal cavity, its anterior end contracted and acute; cere depressed, much wider than deep, its upper and lower outlines parallel, the former not perceptibly arched; lower mandible as deep as the upper; skin of the neck transversely corrugated; no tuft of bristles in front of the eye. Wing short, the primaries reaching scarcely to the middle of the tail. Tail even, or slightly emarginate. (C. atratus.)

GENUS PSEUDOGRYPHUS, RIDGWAY.

Cathartes, AUCT. (in part.)

GEN. CHAR. Size very large, and aspect vulturine. Head much elongated, with regular outlines; the entire head and neck bare of feathers, the skin faintly wrinkled, but free from corrugations or caruncles. Nostril small, occupying only the posterior third, or less, of the nasal orifice, its anterior end acute. Plumage beginning at the bottom of the neck in a ruff of lanceolate, acuminate feathers, these continued over the breast and abdomen. Wings very large, the primaries and secondaries well developed, the former longest, and reaching to, or beyond, the end of the tail; fourth or fifth quill longest; outer five with inner webs appreciably sinuated. Tail even. Sexes alike.

The single species composing this very distinct genus belongs to Western North America, and, so far as known, has the most restricted distribution of any large raptorial bird in the world. It is remarkable for its very large size, all its dimensions nearly, if not quite, equalling those of the famed Condor of the Andes (Sarcorhamphus gryphus).

Pseudogryphus californianus (SHAW).

CALIFORNIA CONDOR, OR VULTURE.

Vultur californianus, SHAW, Nat. Misc. IV, pl. ccci, 1797; Zoöl. VII, 10, 1809.—LATH. Syn. Supp. II, 3, 1802; Ind. Orn. Supp. 2; Gen. Hist. I, 7.—JAMES. (WILS.) Am. Orn. IV, 259, 1831.—DOUGL. Zoöl. Journ. IV, 328; Isis, 1831, 110.—REICH. Prakt. Nat. Vög. p. 18. Cathartes californianus, CUV. Règ. An. (ed. 2), I, 316, 1829.—BONAPARTE, Ann. Lyc. N. Y. II, 221; Isis, 1832, 1135; List, 1; Consp. Av. 9.—SWAINS. Classif. B. II, 206, 1837.—RANZ. Elem. di Zool. III, 23.—GRAY, Gen. B. sp. 3, pl. ii.—DE KAY, Zoöl. N. Y. II, 3, 1844.—NUTT. Man. I, 39, 1833.—AUD. Birds Am. pl. ccccxxvi, 1831; Orn. Biog. V, 240; Synop. p. 2, 1839.—BREW. (WILS.) Synop. p. 832, 1852.—PEALE, U. S. Expl. Exp. VIII, 58.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 3, 1855.—KAUP, Thierr. p. 229.—CASSIN, Birds N. Am. 1858, 5.—HEERM. P. R. R. Rept. II, 29, 1855.—NEWB. P. R. R. Rept. VI, 73, 1857.—COOP. & SUCK. XII, ii, 141, 1860.—COUES, Prod. Orn. Ariz. p. 6, 1866.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 3, 1869.—TAYLOR, Hutchins’s Cala. Mag. III, 1859, 537 (fig. of egg and young).—GURNEY, Cat. Rapt. B. 1864, 39.—SCLAT. P. Z. S. 1866, 366 (with fig. from life); 1868, 183 (fig. of young from life, same specimen).—COUES, Key, 1872, 222. Catharista californianus, GRAY, List B. Brit. Mus. p. 4, 1844. Sarcorhamphus californicus, STEPH. Zoöl. XIII, 6, 1815.—VIG. Zoöl. Journ. II, 375.—RICH. & SWAINS. F. B. A. II, 1, 1831.—LICHT. Orn. Calif. p. 8, pl. i. Cathartes vulturinus, TEMM. Pl. Col. 31, 1820.—LESS. Man. Orn. VII, 10, 1828.

SP. CHAR. Wing, 30.00–35.00; tail, 15.00–18.00; culmen, about 1.50; length of head, 6.50–7.00; tarsus, about 4.50–5.00; middle toe, 4.00–4.50; outer, 3.10; inner, 3.60; posterior, 1.10; middle claw (longest), 1.50; posterior (shortest), 1.90. Total length, .45–.50; extent of wings, about 9 or 10 feet.

Adult. Bill yellowish white; naked skin of the head and neck orange and red; iris carmine (authors). General plumage dull black, the upper surface with a faint bluish lustre, the feathers (excepting the primary coverts, secondary coverts, and remiges) passing into dull brownish on their margins, producing a squamate appearance. Scapulars and (more appreciably) the secondaries and their coverts with a hoary grayish cast, the latter white for most of their exposed portions (producing a band across the wing), the white following the edges of the secondaries nearly to their ends; primaries and tail-feathers, with their shafts, uniform deep black. Whole lining of the wing (except the outer border) and axillars pure white. Lower parts continuous dull carbonaceous-black, the tips of the penicillate feathers with a hoary or chalky tinge. (No. 41,649, Monterey, California; Dr. C. A. Canfield. Wing, 32.00; tail, 15.00; culmen, 1.50; depth of bill, 1.20; length of head, 7.00; cere, on top, 2.90; point of bill to anterior end of nostril, 2.50; tarsus, 5.00; middle toe, 4.20.)

Young. Bill dusky; naked skin of the head and neck dusky, and more or less covered with soft, grayish down. Plumage duller black, with the white wholly absent. (No. 41,707, Monterey; C. A. Canfield. Measurements as in the last.)

Localities: Fort Yuma (COUES, Pr. Ac. Nat. Sc. 1866, 42).

HAB. Pacific Coast region from mouth of the Colorado to the Columbia? Southern Utah (HENSHAW).

HABITS. This large Vulture, so far as is known, is restricted to the area on the Pacific Coast from the Columbia River to the Colorado, and extending as far to the east as the Sierra Nevada. None are known to have been taken in Mexico, and it very rarely goes north of the Columbia. It is said to be most common in the hot interior valleys of California, where are large herds of cattle, upon which it, to a large extent, depends for its food. Dr. Cooper saw none on the Colorado, and met with none east of the San Bernardino Mountains. Even at Fort Mohave the cattle killed during the five months he resided there did not attract one of these Vultures.

Dr. Cooper did not see these birds in any number along the sea-coast, and has noticed none on the islands or in the highest Sierra Nevada. Yet they are said, when other food is scarce, to feed on dead seals and whales; but this fact he has never witnessed.

Dr. Newberry states that it was to him a pleasant portion of every day’s experience, in his march through the Sacramento Valley, to watch the graceful evolutions of this Vulture. In its colors the combination was a pleasing one, while its flight was easy and effortless beyond that of any other bird. Though a common bird in California, he found it much more shy and difficult to shoot than its associate, the Turkey-Buzzard; and it was never seen in such numbers or exhibiting such familiarity as the smaller species which swarm, and are such efficient scavengers, in our southern cities. After his party left the Sacramento Valley, he saw very few in the Klamath Basin, and met with none within the limits of Oregon. It is occasionally found there, but much more rarely than in California.

Dr. Newberry states that a fine specimen presented to Dr. Sterling on his return to San Francisco ate freely of the meat given him, and was for some time kept alive. It was, however, impatient of confinement, and succeeded in tearing the cord that confined him from his legs, and in making his escape. Dr. Cooper also saw one of these Vultures in confinement, at Monterey, in the possession of Dr. Canfield. This was a full-grown individual which he had raised from the nest. It had been fed exclusively on fresh meat, had no offensive smell, and was clean and shining. It was gentle and familiar, but seemed stupid, and dozed most of the time on a fence. This was subsequently presented to the Zoölogical Society of London, and formed the subject of our figure. The figure of the young bird on the next page is taken from a photograph of the same specimen at an early age.

Dr. Heermann, in his Report on Lieutenant Williamson’s Survey, mentions having observed this Vulture sailing majestically in wide circles at a great height, and ranging by its powers of flight over an immense space of country in search of food. Often when hunting in the Tejon Valley, if unsuccessful, they would be several hours without seeing one of this species; but as soon as they succeeded in bringing down any large game, these birds would be seen rising above the horizon before the body had grown cold, and slowly sweeping towards them, intent upon their share of the game. In the absence of the hunter, unless well protected, these marauders will be sure to drag out from its concealment the slain animal, even though carefully covered with branches. Dr. Heermann states that he has known them to drag out and devour a deer within an hour. This Vulture possesses immense muscular power. Dr. Heermann has known four of them to drag the body of a young grizzly bear, that weighed over a hundred pounds, the distance of two hundred yards. Dr. Cooper states that it visits the Columbia River in autumn, when its shores are lined with great numbers of dead salmon, on which, in company with other birds and various animals, it feasts for a couple of months. He considered it, however, only a visitor at certain seasons, and not a resident even through the summer. He did not see it, nor did he hear of its presence at Puget Sound.

It is stated by Douglas that these Vultures will in no instance attack any living animal unless it be so severely wounded as to be unable to walk. Their senses of sight and smell are very acute, especially the former; and when searching for prey they soar to a very great height, and if they chance to discover a wounded animal they immediately follow and attack it whenever it sinks down. The first comers are soon followed by others, and it is not long before the carcass is reduced to a skeleton. After thus feeding, they remain for a while sluggish and reluctant to move. At these times they perch on dead trees, with their heads drawn down, and their wings drooping over their feet. Except after feeding, or when protecting their nests, they are said to be very wary, and are with great difficulty shot by the hunter. Their flight is described as slow, steady, and graceful, and they glide along with little or no perceptible motion of the wings, the tips of which are curved upward in flying, in the manner of the Turkey-Buzzard. They are said to appear most numerous and to soar the highest preceding thunder-storms and tempests.

Dr. Townsend states that in their walk they resemble a Turkey strutting over the ground with great dignity, but are clumsy and awkward when they endeavor to hasten their movements. When they attempt to rise from the ground they always hop several yards, in order to give an impetus to their heavy body. Dr. Cooper discredits the statement of Mr. Taylor, that this Vulture has been known to kill and carry off a hare in its claws. These are straight and weak, and not adapted for such uses.

Dr. Heermann states that a nest of this bird with young was discovered in a thicket on the Tuolumne River. It was about eight feet back from the entrance of a crevice in the rocks, completely surrounded and masked by thick underbrush and trees, and composed of a few loose sticks thrown negligently together. He found two other nests, of a like construction and similarly situated, at the head of Merced River and in the mountains. From the latter the Indians were in the habit of yearly robbing the young, to kill at one of their festivals.

Mr. Alexander S. Taylor, of Monterey, published a series of papers in a California journal relative to this Vulture. In one of these he mentions that a Mexican ranchero, in hunting among the highest peaks of the Santa Lucia range, disturbed two pairs of them from their nesting-places, and brought away from one a young bird a few days old, and from the other an egg. There was no nest, the eggs having been laid in the hollow of a tall old robles-oak, in a steep barranca, near the summit of one of the highest peaks. These birds are said by some hunters to make no nest, but simply lay their eggs on the ground at the foot of old trees or on the bare rocks of solitary peaks. Others affirm that they sometimes lay their eggs in old nests of Eagles and Buzzards. Mr. Taylor states that the egg weighed 10.50 ounces, the contents weighing 8.75. The egg was of a dead dull white color, the surface of the shell slightly roughened. It was nearly a perfect ellipse in shape, and measured 4.50 inches in length by 2.38 in diameter. The egg-shell held nine fluid ounces of water. The young Vulture weighed ten ounces. His skin was of an ocreous-yellow, covered with a fine down of a dull white.

Dr. Canfield informed Dr. Cooper that he has seen as many as one hundred and fifty of these birds at one time and place in the vicinity of antelopes he had killed, and noticed that they invariably sighted their prey. They are often killed by feeding on animals that have been poisoned with strychnine. They are not feared by the rancheros, yet Dr. Canfield has known a number to attack a young calf, separate it from its mother, and kill it. A vaquero having killed a large grizzly bear, left it on the plains near the sea-shore, to return to the house, about three miles distant, for assistance. On his return, after an absence of about two hours, a flock of these Vultures had cleaned the entire carcass, leaving only the skin and the skeleton. This Vulture and the Turkey-Buzzard often feed together over the same carcass, and generally do some fighting together. Many of them nest in the high mountains east and south of the Carmelo Valley, and also near Santa Cruz, as well as in the Santa Lucia range, and are found there throughout the year, but in greater numbers from July to November.

An egg of this species, in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution (9,983), from San Rafael, California, obtained by Dr. C. A. Canfield, measures 4.40 inches in length by 2.50 in breadth. It is of an elongate-oval shape, but is decidedly more pointed at the smaller than at the larger end. In color it is of a uniform pale greenish-blue, almost an ashy greenish-white, and without spots.

GENUS RHINOGRYPHUS, RIDGWAY.

Cathartes, AUCT. (in part). (Type, Vultur aura, L.)

GEN. CHAR. Size medium (about equal to Neophron), the wings and tail well developed, the remiges very long and large. Head and upper portion of the neck naked; the skin smooth, or merely wrinkled; a semicircular patch of antrorse bristles before the eye. Nostril very large, with both ends broadly rounded, occupying the whole of the nasal orifice. Cere contracted anteriorly, and as deep as broad; lower mandible not so deep as the upper. Plumage beginning gradually on the neck, with broad, rounded, normal feathers. Ends of primaries reaching beyond the end of the tail; third or fourth quill longest; outer five with inner webs appreciably sinuated. Tail much rounded; middle toe slightly longer than the tarsus. Sexes alike.

The species of this genus are only two in number, one of them (aura) extending over the whole of America, with the exception of the colder portions; the other (burrovianus) confined to the eastern tropical region. They may be distinguished as follows:—

Species.

COMMON CHARACTERS. General plumage nearly uniform blackish; no white. Adult. Bill white; head reddish. Young. Bill and head dusky, or blackish.

1. =R. aura.= Upper half of the neck bare all round. Feathers of the upper surface with brown borders. Wing, 20.00–23.00; tail, about 12.00. Hab. Entire continent and islands of America, except the colder portions.

2. =R. burrovianus.=[98] Only the head and throat naked, the feathers of the neck extending up to the occiput. Feathers of the upper surface without brown borders. Wing, 18.00–18.50; tail, 9.00. Hab. Eastern Tropical America (Brazil; Eastern Mexico??).

Rhinogryphus aura (LINN.).

TURKEY-BUZZARD; RED-HEADED VULTURE.

Vultur aura, LINN. Syst. Nat. 122, 1766.—GMEL. Syst. Nat. 246, 1789.—LATH. Syn. I, 9; Syn. Supp. I, 2; Ind. Orn. 4.—Gen. Hist. I, 12, pl. iii.—PENN. Arct. Zoöl. I, 221.—BART. Trav. Carol. p. 285.—VIEILL. Ois. Am. Sept. pl. ii.—ORD (WILS.) Am. Orn. pl. lxxv, f. 1.—AUD. Edin. New. Phil. Journ. II, 172.—DARW. Journ. Res. p. 68.—WAGL. Isis, 1831, 517.—SHAW, Zoöl. VII, 36.—SELLS, Proc. Zoöl. Soc. pt. v, p. 33; Mag. Nat. Ser. 2, I, 638.—LEDRU, Voy. Ténérif. Trinit. etc. II, 264. Cathartes aura, ILLIG. Prod. Syst. 236, 1811.—CUV. Règ. An. (ed. 1), 308; (ed. 2) I, 317.—SPIX, Av. Bras. I, 2.—VIG. Zoöl. Journ.—LESS. Man. Orn. I, 73; Tr. Orn. p. 28.—BONAP. Ann. Lyc. N. Y. II, 23; Isis, 1832, p. 1135; List Eur. & N. Am. B. p. 1.—RICH. & SWAINS. F. B. A. II, 4.—JARD. (WILS.) Am. Orn. I, 3; IV, 245.—BREWER (WILS.) Synop. p. 682.—IB. N. A. Oölogy.—AUD. Birds Am. pl. cli; Orn. Biog. II, 339; Synop. Birds Am. p. 2.—NUTT. Man. I, 43.—SWAINS. Classif. B. II, 205.—DARW. Zool. Beag. pt. iii, p. 8.—GRAY, Gen. B. fol. sp. 2; List B. Brit. Mus. p. 3; List Gen. & Subgen. Brit. Mus. p. 2.—DE KAY, Zoöl. N. Y. II, 2, pl. v, f. 12.—GOSSE, Birds Jam. 1.—PEALE, U. S. Expl. Exp. VIII, 58.—REICHENB. Prakt. Nat. Vög. p. 26.—KERR, Transl. Gmel. II, 472.—MAX. Beit. III, 64.—RICH. (SCHOMB.) Faun. Brit. Guiana, p. 742.—CAB. (TSCHUDI) Av. Consp. Wieg. Archiv, 1844, 262; Faun. Per. Orn. p. 71.—D’ORB. Synop. Av. Mag. Zoöl. p. 2; Voy. Am. Merid. Ois. p. 38 (R. Sagra); Hist. Nat. Cuba Ois. p. 4.—LICHT. Verz. Doubl. p. 63.—HARTL. Syst. Ind. Azar. Pax. p. 1.—MAX. Cab. Journ. VI, 1858, 2.—GURNEY, Cat. Rapt. B. 1864, 42.—DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 322 (Texas).—COUES, Key, 1872, 222. Percnopterus aura, STEPH. Zoöl. XIII, pt. ii, p. 7, 1826. Vultur iota, MOLIN. St. Chil. p. 265, 1782.—GMEL. Syst. Nat. p. 247.—DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, 20.—LATH. Gen. Hist. I, 15. Cathartes iota, BRIDG. Proc. Zoöl. Soc. pl. ii, p. 108; Ann. Nat. Hist. XIII, 498. Cathartes ruficollis, SPIX, Av. Bras. I, 2, 1824 (quote Catesby, pl. vi). Cathartes falklandicus, SHARPE, Ann. & Mag. N. H.

SP. CHAR. Length, about 27.00–30.00; extent of wings, about 6 feet; weight, 4–5 pounds. Wing, 20.00–23.00; tail, 11.00–12.00. Culmen, about 1.00; tarsus, 2.25–2.30; middle toe, 2.50; outer, 1.55; inner, 1.25; posterior, .80. Iris umber; tarsi and toes dirty whitish, tinged with yellow or flesh-color.

Adult. Bill chalk-white; naked skin of the head and neck livid crimson, approaching dilute carmine on the cere, and sometimes with whitish papillæ on the crown and before the eye. General plumage black, this deepest and uniform on the lower parts; upper parts with a violet lustre, changing to greenish posteriorly, all the feathers of the dorsal region and the wing-coverts passing into brown on its borders. Primaries and tail-feathers dull black, their shafts clear pale brown. ♂ (No. 12,015, Maryland; M. F. Force). Wing, 22.00; tail, 12.00; culmen, .95; tarsus, 2.30; middle toe, 2.50; outer, 1.55; inner, 1.25; posterior, .30. ♀ (No. 49,681, Camp Grant, Arizona; Dr. E. Palmer). Wing, 20.00; tail, 11.50.

Young. Bill, and naked skin of the head and neck, livid blackish, the occiput and nape with more or less of whitish down. Plumage more uniformly blackish, the brownish borders above less distinct; the reflections of the plumage rather green than violaceous.

HAB. Whole of Temperate America; resident to lat. 38° north.

Localities: Guatemala (SCL. Ibis, I, 213); Cuba? (CAB. Journ. II, lxxix; GUNDLACH, resident); Bahamas (BRYANT, Pr. Bost. Soc. 1859); Jamaica (GOSSE); Ecuador (SCL. Pr. Z. S. 1860, 287); Honduras (SCL. Ibis, II, 222); Trinidad (TAYLOR, Ibis, 1864, 78); S. Texas (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 322, breeding); Arizona (COUES, Prod. 1866, 42); Para (SCL. & SALV. 1867, 589).

After having compared numerous specimens of this species from all parts of its range, including Chile, Patagonia, Terra del Fuego, the West India Islands, and all portions of Middle America and the United States, I am unable to appreciate differences according to locality, and cannot recognize any geographical races. As a rule, the specimens from intertropical regions, as might be expected, are the smallest and most brightly colored. The smallest in the series are those from Lower California.

HABITS. Probably none of the birds of America have so extended a distribution as this Vulture, occurring, as it does, in greater or less abundance from high northern latitudes at the Saskatchewan, throughout North America from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and in all portions of South America, even to the Straits of Magellan. On the Atlantic coast it is not common north of Central New Jersey, though occasionally individuals have been seen as far north as New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Several specimens have been taken in various parts of New England, from Calais, Me., to Connecticut. Mr. Lawrence cites it as of rare and irregular occurrence near New York. In one instance he noticed a company of nine individuals at Rockaway, Long Island. West of the Alleghanies it has a much less restricted distribution, from Central America almost to the Arctic regions. It is found more or less frequently in all the Middle, the Southern, Western, and Northwestern States, without an exception. It is met with in large numbers throughout the entire Pacific coast of North America, from Lower California to Washington Territory. Mr. Douglas saw vast numbers of this species in Canada, near Sandwich and Lake St. Clair, during their breeding-season. Dr. Richardson speaks of their having higher summer migrations in the interior of the continent than on the Pacific coast, finding it along the banks of the Saskatchewan, in latitude 55°, late in the month of June. Mr. Say met with them in latitude 59°, and Lewis and Clarke noticed them near the Falls of the Columbia River, in latitude 48°. Mr. Blakiston states that an individual was shot at the Red River Settlement as early as April 27, while the winter’s snow was still covering the ground to the depth of a foot and the rivers were ice-bound. He also observed it at Fort Carlton, in latitude 53°, on the 7th of May, and again, on the 2d of September, in latitude 49°.

Mr. T. H. Jackson, of West Chester, Pa., informs me that this Vulture has been known to breed at Parkersburg, fifteen miles west of the former place, in the summer of 1870, and that they also breed rather plentifully on the banks of the Susquehanna, laying their eggs, two in number, in caves among the rocks, as early as the 10th of April, and that some remain in that vicinity all winter.

Dr. Cooper mentions their great abundance during the summer in all parts of Washington Territory, frequenting the vicinity of prairies and river-banks, but never appearing along the coast. They arrive at Puget Sound about the middle of May, and undoubtedly breed in the Territory. Dr. Suckley met with them at Fort Dalles, in Oregon, and also on Puget Sound. He also met with them not far from Pembina. Dr. Newberry also observed them in California and Oregon, quite common in the vicinity of the towns and about the great rivers. In the Klamath Basin it was more rare, and on the Des Chutes he scarcely saw any; but on the Columbia, especially below the Cascades, they were very plentiful.

Dr. Heermann found this bird ranging over the whole extent of California, meeting them in great numbers in the vicinity of Fort Yuma, at the junction of the Colorado and Gila Rivers.

In the West India Islands these birds occur in Cuba, Jamaica, and Trinidad; but according to Mr. E. C. Taylor, neither this nor any other species of Vulture occurs in any of the islands between Trinidad and St. Thomas, not even in Tobago or Porto Rico. At Trinidad they are very abundant.

Mr. G. C. Taylor found this Vulture common in Honduras, where, however, it does not go much into the towns and villages, but is usually seen on the outskirts and in the forests. In Guatemala, Mr. Salvin found it not nearly so abundant as C. atratus, and there also, as in Honduras, it frequented the more uncultivated and forest districts, leaving to the latter all the duties of the scavenger. Captain C. C. Abbott found this Vulture very common in the Falkland Islands, remaining the whole year round, and breeding.

The flight of the Turkey-Buzzard is graceful, dignified, and easy. It sails with a steady, even motion, with wings just above the horizontal position, with their tips slightly raised. They rise from the ground with a single bound, give a few flaps to their wings, and then proceed with their peculiar, soaring flight. They rise very high in the air, moving round in large circles. They are of gregarious habits, and usually associate in companies of from ten to a much larger number. They feed upon all kinds of animal food, and are accused by Audubon of sucking eggs and devouring the young of Herons and other birds. Yet in Trinidad they were observed by Mr. E. C. Taylor associating with the poultry apparently upon the most amicable terms, and, although surrounded with chickens of all sizes, they were never known to molest them. Mr. Audubon also states that they devour birds of their own species when dead. They are said to walk well on the ground and on the roofs of houses, and associate and even roost in company with the Black Vulture. Dr. Heermann, who observed them on the desert between the Colorado and Carissa Creek, where they find an ample supply of food from numerous animals that there perish from want of grass and water, states that they seemed to be on terms of amity both with the Ravens and the California Vultures, but retire on the approach of the prairie wolf. He adds that when a company of these Vultures have once commenced upon a carcass, a scene of plunder, noise, confusion, and dispute ensues, baffling all description. Each one strives, as best he may, to bolt the morsel he has seized, or to rob his neighbor whose booty is too voluminous to be despatched at once. As illustrating the peculiar flight of this species, Dr. Newberry mentions that, having occasion to shoot one for the purpose of determining its identity, the wounded bird made no motion indicating it had been struck by the shot, but sailed on with widely expanded and motionless wings as before; gradually it “began to descend in wide and regular circles, till finally, without a wing-flap, it settled as lightly as a feather on the prairie, and remained motionless.” Upon going to the bird, Dr. Newberry found it resting in the grass, the wings still widely and evenly expanded, but the head drooping and life extinct.

In the Southern States this Vulture is found equally in cities and large villages, and near the coast, as well as in the interior, in company with the Black Vulture (C. atratus), although the latter species is chiefly confined to the coast, and is rare in the interior. It is noticeable that in Guatemala and Honduras its habits are somewhat different in these respects, being only found in wild places, leaving the cities and sea-coast to the exclusive occupancy of the Black Vulture. Mr. G. C. Taylor, who observed these birds in Kingston, Jamaica, states that they were the only species seen, and that they were always to be found either on the roofs of the houses or feeding on the carrion in the streets. They made great noise with their feet as they clattered over the shingles of the roofs.

In Trinidad, where Mr. E. C. Taylor found this bird much less numerous than the atratus, it kept to the open country, and was not found in the towns. He could always readily distinguish it by its more graceful flight and its aquiline appearance. They were generally to be seen skimming over the tree-tops, as if trying how near they could go without touching. On the Orinoco, though more numerous than in Trinidad, they did not frequent the towns in the same familiar manner with the Black Vulture.

The Turkey-Buzzards, as well as the Black Vultures, are evidently aided by a very powerful sight in distinguishing their food at a great distance. They are frequently known to collect in large numbers, from great distances, around the dead bodies of animals, where none were in sight before. But it seems equally certain that they are also assisted by an only less powerful sense of smell. Mr. Hill, cited by Mr. Gosse, mentions a remarkable instance where these Vultures were attracted by a strong smell of carrion to the house of a German emigrant, lying sick of a fever, and where his neglected food had become offensive. In this instance the sense of smell, unaided by that of sight, must have guided these birds.

Mr. G. C. Taylor, while residing at Kingston, often used to puzzle the Vultures by throwing dried bird-skins stuffed with cotton out upon an adjacent roof. Few seconds would elapse before a Vulture would pounce upon them, and manifest a great disappointment in finding nothing to eat in skins of so promising an appearance. He once wrapped the carcass of a bird in a piece of paper, and threw it into the top of a thickly leaved tree near his window. There it remained for a long while, the Vultures sweeping within a few feet of it, almost brushing the leaves with their wings, their sense of smell informing them that there was something eatable close by, but their sight failing to solve the problem, owing to the enclosure of the object in an envelope.

The Turkey-Buzzard breeds on or near the ground, usually in hollow trees, stumps, or decaying logs. It generally constructs no nest, depositing the eggs with little or no preparatory pains for their shelter. Mr. Ord found them breeding as early as the month of May in the deep recesses of the solitary swamps of New Jersey. He describes the nest as formed, without any painstaking, in a truncated hollow tree, and in excavated stumps or logs, and mentions the number of eggs as from two to four. Except in regard to the number of eggs, which is probably never more than two, these observations substantially correspond with other accounts of their breeding. In Jamaica, Mr. Gosse mentions that the situations usually selected by the Turkey-Buzzard of that island for laying and hatching its eggs are hollows and ledges of rocks in secluded places or inaccessible crags and cliffs. A little dry trash, he adds, or decaying leaves, are all the apology for a nest. On the island of Galveston, where this Vulture was plentiful, Mr. Audubon several times found its nest on a level part of the salt marshes, either under the widespread branches of cactuses, or among tall grass growing beneath low bushes. Mr. T. H. Jackson found this Vulture nesting in Maryland, with fresh eggs, from April 10 to May 1.

Dr. C. Kollock, of Cheraw, S. C., informs me that in his neighborhood both this species and the Black Vulture frequent places in the interior of swamps and thick woods, generally called Buzzards’ roosts. They congregate there through the year in large numbers, and usually breed in the immediate vicinity. Mr. Audubon visited one of these roosts, near Charleston, S. C., which extended over two acres of ground, and was entirely destitute of vegetation.

Mr. Dresser, who found this species one of the most common birds of Southern Texas, gives a somewhat different account of their nesting. He found them breeding all through the country on the banks of streams where the timber afforded a secure shelter. He saw many nests on the banks of the Medina, Altacosta, and San Antonio Rivers; and these, he states, were large and bulky, composed of sticks, and generally placed at some height on a cypress or an oak near the river-bank.

Captain C. C. Abbott states (Ibis, 1861, p. 149) that in the Falkland Islands they lay their eggs, two in number, but sometimes three, under a high bank amongst bushes, or on the top of a dead balsam log, without constructing any nest. The time of their laying was the first week of November. The young birds have the bare space of the head and neck of a bluish color, as also the feet. The old birds go in pairs the whole year.

The eggs exhibit slight deviations in size, and occasionally the nature of their markings, yet for the most part preserve specific characteristics. The following are the proportions of four specimens, which will represent their usual variations: 2.81 inches by 1.94; 2.75 by 1.87; 2.94 by 1.87; 2.62 by 1.94. These were from New Jersey, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Tamaulipas (Mexico). The more common varieties have a ground of a light cream-color, marked with large confluent spots of reddish-brown or chocolate, chiefly predominating at the larger end, but also sparsely scattered over the entire egg. Intermixed with these are less frequent markings of a light purplish or lilac shade of drab. These are often so faint as only to be perceptible on a close examination. An egg taken some years since in New Jersey, by Alexander Wilson, and somewhat faded, is marked over the entire shell with confluent spots of a dark greenish-brown, with no perceptible shades of red or purple. Another variety from Cheraw, S. C., has a ground of nearly pure white, is very nearly unspotted, and is only marked with a few small dots and lines of red and indistinct purple at the larger end.

GENUS CATHARISTA, VIEILLOT.

Catharista, VIEILL. 1816. (Type, Vultur atratus, BARTRAM.) Coragypys, I. GEOFFROY, 1854. Cathartes, AUCT. (in part).

GEN. CHAR. Size of Rhinogryphus, but more robust, with shorter wings, and very different flight. Wings with the remiges abbreviated, the primaries scarcely reaching to the middle of the tail. Tail even, or faintly emarginated. Head and upper portion of the neck naked, the feathers extending farther up behind than in front; naked skin of the side of the neck transversely corrugated; no bristles before the eye. Nostril narrow, occupying only about the posterior half of the nasal orifice, its anterior end contracted and acute. Cere not contracted anteriorly, but the upper and lower outline parallel; much depressed, or broader than deep. Plumage beginning gradually on the neck with normal, or broad and rounded, feathers. Fourth or fifth quill longest; outer five with inner webs sinuated. Tarsus longer than middle toe.

This well-marked genus is composed of a single species, which is confined to the tropical and warm temperate portions of America. The difference from the other Vultures which this bird exhibits in its habits, and especially in its flight, is very striking, and furnishes additional characters distinctive of the genus.

Catharista atrata (BARTRAM).

CARRION CROW; BLACK VULTURE.

Vultur atratus, BARTRAM, Trav. Carol. 285, 1792.—MEYER, Zool. Ann. I, 290.—ORD (WILS.) Am. Orn. pl. lxxv, f. 2.—AUD. Birds Am. pl. cvi.—BREWST. Ed. Journ. Sc. Ser. 1, VI, 156. Cathartes atratus, LESS. Man. Orn. I, 73, 1828.—RICH. & SWAINS. F. B. A. II, 6, 1831.—DARW. Journ. Res. p. 68; Zool. Beag. pt. iii, p. 7.—SWAINS. Classif. B. II, 206.—JAMES. (WILS.) Am. Orn. I, 10.—BREWER (WILS.) Am. Orn. Synop. Birds Am. p. 682.—IB. N. A. Oölogy.—AUD. Synop. Birds Am. p. 3.—BRIDG. Proc. Zoöl. Soc. pt. xi, p. 108; Am. Nat. Hist. XIII, 498.—BONAP. Consp. p. 9.—DE KAY, Zoöl. N. Y. II, 3.—REICH. Prakt. Nat. Vög. p. 27.—CASS. Bird N. Am. 1858, 5.—COUES, Key, 1872, 222. Catharista atratus, GRAY, Hand List, I, 1869, 3, No. 16. Vultur aura niger β, KERR, Transl. Gmel. 473, 1792. Vultur aura (not of Linn.!), DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, 19 (quotes Pl. Enl. 187, 1800). Vultur urubu, VIEILL. Ois. Am. Sept. pl. ii, 1807.—LATH. Gen. Hist. I, 14. Cathartes urubu, LESS. Tr. Orn. p. 27, 1831.—D’ORB. Voy. Am. Mérid. Ois. p. 31, pl. i. Percnopterus urubu, STEPH. Zoöl. XIII, 7, pl. xxxi, 1826. Vultur iota, JARD. (WILS.) Am. Orn. III, 226, 1832.—ORD (WILS.) Am. Orn. (ed. 2). Neophron iota, CUV. Règ. An. (ed. 2), I, 317, 1829. Cathartes iota, BONAP. Ann. Lyc. N. B. p. 23; Isis, 1832, p. 1135; List, p. 1.—KING, Voy. Beag. I, 532.—NUTT. MAN. I, 46.—PEALE, U. S. Expl. Exp. VIII, 59. Cathartes fœtens, ILLIG. Mus. Berol.—LICHT. Verz. Doubl. p. 63, 1823.—GRAY, Gen. B. sp. 1, pl. i, f. 3.—MAX. Beitr. III, 58.—RICH. SCHOMB. Faun. Brit. Guian. p. 742.—CAB. Av. Consp. Wieg. Archiv, 1844, 262; Faun. Per. Orn. p. 71.—HARTL. Syst. Ind. Azar. p. 1.

SP. CHAR. Form heavy; the wings and tail short, the latter square; the remiges and rectrices very hard and stiff. Bill strong, the mandibles broader than deep, and of about equal depth, the terminal hook well developed; upper and lower outlines of the cere parallel, and nearly straight. Nostril narrow, its anterior end contracted and pointed. Wing, 17.00–17.50; tail, 7.50–8.50; culmen, .90–.95; tarsus, 3.00; middle toe, 2.90; outer, 1.90; inner, 1.50; posterior, .75.

Adult. Bill blackish, the point horny white; naked skin of the head and upper part of the neck blackish. Entire plumage continuous, perfectly uniform dull black; primaries becoming grayish basally (more hoary whitish on their under surface), their shafts pure white for their whole length.

♂ (11933, St. Simon’s Island, Georgia; Dr. Wilson). Wing, 17.50; tail, 8.25.

HAB. Tropical and warmer portions of America, especially near the sea-coast.

HABITS. The Black Vulture or Carrion Crow of the Southern States, though found in a much less extended area than the Turkey Vulture, has yet a very wide distribution. It is quite common along our Atlantic and Gulf coasts from North Carolina to Mexico. It does not occur on the Pacific coast of the United States, though given by Douglas as being abundant on the Columbia River; indeed, it has not, that I am aware of, been detected west of the Rocky Mountains. It is, however, as Dr. Gambel states, very common about the Gulf of California, and at Mazatlan, particularly, he saw it around the town in large companies. On the Atlantic coast it is not often met with farther north than Wilmington, N. C. I could not detect it near Norfolk, Va., nor could I ascertain that it was known ever to occur there. Accidental specimens have been taken, two on the coast of Massachusetts and one in the Bay of Fundy; but such occurrences are very rare. Along the coast of all the Southern States, from North Carolina to Texas, it is much more abundant than its kindred species, even where, in the interior of the same State, it is far less frequent. Along the banks of the Mississippi and its tributaries, as far as Ohio to the east and Illinois to the north, it is found more or less abundantly at certain seasons. It is met with in several of the West India Islands, though rare in Jamaica. It is abundant throughout Central America, and occurs in nearly all parts of South America. Specimens were brought from Chile by Lieutenant Gilliss, obtained near Santiago, where it was not common, and only found in the mountainous regions of the interior. Darwin fixes its extreme southern limit in latitude 41° south, near the Rio Negro, and he did not meet with any in Chile or Patagonia.

Mr. E. C. Taylor, in his paper on the Birds of the West Indies, mentions the great abundance of Black Vultures at Port of Spain, in Trinidad. They swarmed over the town, covered the roofs of the houses, and lived on the best terms with the poultry. So tame and familiar were they that he often poked them with his stick or umbrella as he walked through the streets. At night they roosted in the trees in the gardens and squares of the town. They were very abundant all over Trinidad and in the parts of Venezuela he visited, but he found none in any of the islands from Trinidad to St. Thomas. This species was not found in Jamaica by Mr. Gosse, but Mr. March afterwards reported it as a “recent settler.”

Mr. G. C. Taylor (Ibis, 1860, p. 22) found the Black Vulture very abundant in Honduras, where it is always to be seen in the villages, sitting on the roofs of the houses, wheeling in flocks high in the air, or feeding on the offal in the streets. They were very tame and very numerous, forty or fifty being frequently seen in a single company. They abounded in all parts of Central America that he visited.

With the exception of Quiscalus macrurus, Mr. Salvin regards this species as the most familiar bird in Guatemala. At night they retired to the forests, and in the early morning trooped back to their posts in the streets and lanes, and about the tops of the houses and churches. They generally nested in the forests, though in Antigua Guatemala they were said to use the ruins of the old churches for that purpose.

Mr. Dresser found this Vulture about equally common with the R. aura on the Lower Rio Grande, but much less common near San Antonio. He usually found the two species in company, attended also by the Polyborus auduboni and Craxirex harrisi. They were found breeding among the rocks at Systerdale, where they were said to be the only species found.

Dr. Coues did not meet with any in Arizona, nor were any taken on the survey of the Mexican boundary. In South Carolina he considered it chiefly confined to the lower country, while the C. aura is more generally distributed over the State. The two meet together freely, and as they circle about in each other’s company they afford an excellent opportunity of noticing the great differences in their mode of flight and in the outline of their bodies and wings. On the other hand, Wilson, Ord, and others deny that the two kinds live together.

In the Southern Atlantic cities, especially Charleston and Savannah, the Black Vulture is a semi-domestic bird, and is very abundant. It is also to be found in the interior, but is neither so common nor so tame.

The Catharista atratus is said to be much more sensitive to cold than the aura, and when the weather is at all unfavorable they cower around the tops of chimneys to enjoy the heat. Though tolerated and even protected by law, their filthy habits render them a source of annoyance to those whose houses they frequent. Their value as scavengers and the services they render in the removal of offal render them almost a necessity in Southern cities.

Both in their mode of flight and in their movements upon the ground this species differs materially from the Turkey-Buzzard. The latter walks steadily while on the ground, and when it mounts does so by a single upward spring. The Black Vulture is ill at ease on the ground, moves awkwardly, and when it essays to fly upward takes several leaps in a shuffling sidelong manner before it can rise. Their flight is more labored, and is continued by flapping several times, alternating with sailing a limited distance. Their wings are held at right angles, and their feet protrude beyond their tail-feathers. In all these respects the differences between the two birds are very noticeable, and plainly mark the species.

Mr. Audubon states that at the commencement of the mating-season, early in February, the gesticulations of the males are very conspicuous. They strut in the manner of a Turkey-cock, open their wings, lower their heads, and utter a puffing sound that is anything but musical.

Alexander Wilson describes with great minuteness a scene he witnessed near Charleston, where the carcass of a horse was devoured by these birds, the ground for hundreds of yards around being black with them. He counted at one time two hundred and thirty-seven, while others were in the air flying around. He ventured within a few yards of the horse without their heeding his presence. They frequently attacked one another, fighting with their claws and striking with their open wings, fixing their claws in each other’s head. They made a hissing sound with open mouths, resembling that produced by thrusting a red-hot poker into water, and occasionally a snuffling noise, as if clearing their nostrils. At times one would emerge with a large fragment, and in a moment would be surrounded by several others, who would tear it in pieces and soon cause it to disappear.

The Black Vulture breeds on or near the ground in the same manner as the Turkey-Buzzard, in hollow logs, decayed trunks of trees, and stumps, and also without this protection, the bare earth only being made use of. It is said to make no nest. The eggs seldom, if ever, exceed two in number. These are greater, both in their length and capacity, than those of the Turkey-Buzzard, although the measurements of the birds themselves would seem to show the latter to be apparently the larger bird. The average weight of the Black Vulture’s egg, however, is about one pound, or fifteen per cent greater than that of the Buzzard. Three from Charleston, Galveston, and the Rio Grande furnish the following measurements: 3.81 inches by 1.94; 3 by 2.06; 3.06 by 1.94. The principal difference between the eggs of this and the preceding species is in regard to their size. Their ground-color is the same, or nearly the same,—a yellowish-white or cream-color, almost never a pure white, and only in exceptional cases. The eggs are more elongate in their shape, and the blotches are usually larger. These are of a dark reddish-brown, confluent, and chiefly distributed around the larger end. There are also markings, smaller and less frequent, of lilac and purplish-drab, similar to those noticed in the eggs of C. aura. An egg from the Rio Grande is marked with small spots of reddish-brown and obscure lilac, equally distributed over the whole surface on a ground of cream-color.

Mr. Audubon is positive that this Vulture never breeds in trees, and that they never build any nest, but deposit their eggs on the ground, on a dead log, or in a hollow tree. Twenty-one days are required for hatching their eggs, on which the male and female sit by turns and feed each other. The young are covered with a light cream-colored down, and are fed with regurgitated food, in the manner of Pigeons. As soon as they are able, they follow their parents through the woods, at which period their entire head and neck, which afterwards become bare, are covered with feathers.

NOTE.

The following figures are given to illustrate some of the cranial and sternal peculiarities of the Cathartidæ.

FAMILY COLUMBIDÆ.—THE PIGEONS.

CHAR. The basal portion of the bill covered by a soft skin, in which are situated the nostrils, overhung by an incumbent fleshy valve, the apical portion hard and convex. The hind toe on the same level with the rest; the anterior toes without membrane at the base. Tarsi more or less naked; covered laterally and behind with hexagonal scales.

The bill of the Columbidæ is always shorter than the head, thinnest in the middle; the basal half covered by a soft skin; the apical portion of both jaws hard; the upper one very convex, blunt, and broad at the tip, where it is also somewhat decurved. There is a long nasal groove, the posterior portion occupied by a cartilaginous scale, covered by a soft cere-like skin. The nostrils constitute an elongated slit in the lower border of the scale. The culmen is always depressed and convex. The bill is never notched in the true Doves, though Didunculus shows well-defined serrations. The tongue is small, soft, and somewhat fleshy.

The wing has ten primaries, and eleven or twelve, rarely fifteen, secondaries; the latter broad, truncate, and of nearly equal length. The tail is rounded or cuneate, never forked.

The tarsus is usually short, rarely longer than the middle toe, scutellate anteriorly, and with hexagonal plates laterally and behind; sometimes naked. An inter-digital membrane is either wanting entirely, or else is very slightly indicated between the middle and outer toes.

The valuable monograph of Bonaparte in the second part of Conspectus Avium renders the task of arranging the American Columbidæ in proper sequence and of determining their synonomy comparatively easy. He divides the family into Lopholæminæ, Columbinæ, Turturinæ, Zenaidinæ, and Phapinæ, the second and fourth alone occurring in North America. They may be briefly distinguished as follows:—

=Columbinæ.= Tarsus shorter than the lateral toe; feathered above.

=Zenaidinæ.= Tarsus longer than the lateral toes; entirely bare of feathers.

SUBFAMILY COLUMBINÆ.

CHAR. Tarsi stout, short, with transverse scutellæ anteriorly; feathered for the basal third above, but not at all behind. Toes lengthened, the lateral decidedly longer than the tarsus. Wings lengthened and pointed. Size large. Tail-feathers twelve.

This section of doves embraces the largest North American species, and among them the more arboreal ones. The genera are as follows:—

=Columba.= Head large; tail short, broad, and rounded.

Outer toe much longer than the inner; bill rather short, stout …

Columba.

Outer toe scarcely longer than the inner; bill lengthened, compressed …

Patagiœnas.

=Ectopistes.= Head very small; tail much lengthened, cuneate.

GENUS COLUMBA, LINNÆUS.

Columba, LINNÆUS, Syst. Nat. 1735. (Type, Columba livia, L.)

GEN. CHAR. Bill stout and rather short; culmen from the base of the feathers about two fifths the head. Lateral toes and claws about equal, reaching nearly to the base of the middle claw; the claws rather long, and not much curved. Tail rather short, rounded, or nearly even; as long as from the carpal joint to the end of secondaries in the closed wing. Second and third quills longest.

The genus Columba, as characterized above, includes the C. livia, or domestic Pigeon, the differences between it and the American forms being very slight. Reichenbach and Bonaparte separate the North American birds from Columba, under the name of Chlorœnas, while C. leucocephala and a near ally of the West Indies (C. corensis) have been placed in the subgenus Patagiœnas, Reichenbach.

The variations of form among the numerous American members of Columba are more with the species, however, than with groups, and withal are so exceedingly slight that an attempt at subdividing the genus is scarcely justifiable. They may be arranged by the style of coloration as follows. None of the American species have the forepart of the neck metallic, as in the European species, or Columba proper, as restricted, and in which these metallic feathers have the fibres loose and blended, instead of being compact; the feathers also have a well-defined squamate arrangement in nearly or quite all the American Columbæ.

Species and Varieties.

=A.= Tail with a broad terminal band abruptly lighter in color than the basal portion, and with a more or less well-defined blackish band across the middle. Nape with metallic reflections.

a. A narrow nuchal band of white; the metallic feathers beneath this, with their outlines distinct, producing a squamate appearance.

1. =C. fasciata.= Blackish band across the middle of the tail narrow, and badly defined, and concealed by the coverts; terminal portion of the tail much lighter than the basal part. Bill yellow; crissum whitish; hood and anterior lower parts ashy vinaceous-purple; dorsal region ashy.

Bill tipped with black; wing-coverts conspicuously edged with white; back with an olivaceous cast. Wing, 8.80; tail, 6.10; culmen, .75; tarsus, 1.13; middle toe, 1.37; outer, 1.05; inner, .94. Hab. Pacific Province of the United States, south to Guatemala …

var. fasciata.

Bill entirely yellow; wing-coverts not distinctly edged with white; back with a bluish cast. Wing, 8.30; tail, 6.20; culmen, .80; tarsus, 1.04; middle toe, 1.27; outer, 1.00; inner, .88. Hab. Costa Rica …

var. albilinea.[99]

2. =C. araucana.=[100] Black band across the middle of the tail as broad as the terminal lighter one, and wholly exposed; terminal portion not lighter than the base. Bill black; crissum deep slate; hood and lower parts deep purplish-vinaceous; dorsal region like the breast. Wing, 8.35; tail, 6.20; culmen, .58; tarsus, 1.13; middle toe, 1.26; outer, .90; inner, .77. Hab. Chile.

b. No nuchal bar of white; metallic feathers of the nape with their fibres blended, producing a soft even surface.

3. =C. caribæa.=[101] Tail much as in C. fasciata, but with a much greater contrast between the nearly equal dark basal and light terminal portions; the former more uniformly dusky, not showing any distinct darker intermediate band. Bill black; hood and lower parts light ashy-pinkish vinaceous; crissum white; dorsal region ashy. Wing, 8.70; tail, 6.90; culmen, .81; tarsus, 1.05; middle toe, 1.28; outer, .90; inner, .88. Hab. Jamaica.

4. =C. rufina.=[102] Terminal light band of the tail narrow, badly defined. Bill black. Forehead, dorsal region, lesser wing-coverts, neck and breast, deep chocolate-purple; forepart of the back with a violet reflection. Other portions mainly ashy. Wing, 7.50; tail, 5.00; culmen, .68; tarsus, .97; middle toe, 1.13; outer, .89; inner, .78. Hab. Brazil, north to Guatemala.

=B.= Tail of a uniform shade throughout.

a. A metallic “cape” on the nape, each feather bordered with black, producing a conspicuously squamate appearance; above this, a broad, transverse, crescentic patch of dark maroon color. No vinaceous tints on the body.

5. =C. leucocephala.= Hood white; metallic cape brassy-green; throat, cheeks, etc., dark plumbeous-slate, like the rest of the plumage. Bill yellow only at the tip. Wing, 7.70; tail, 5.50; culmen, .66; tarsus, 1.00; middle toe, 1.25; outer, .85; inner, .83. Hab. Cuba, and south Florida.

6. =C. corensis.=[103] Hood, with remaining portions of head and neck, purplish-vinaceous; metallic cape vinaceous-purple. Bill wholly yellow. Wing, 8.00; tail, 5.70; culmen, .63; tarsus, 1.05; middle toe, 1.25; outer, .86; inner, .83. Hab. Porto Rico; St. Thomas; Santo Domingo; Santa Cruz.

b. No metallic reflections on the nape.

Head and neck, all round, lower parts to the anal region, and a patch on the lesser wing-coverts, reddish chocolate-purple. Rest of plumage slaty-blue, darker on tail and primaries, and more olivaceous on the dorsal region.

7. =C. flavirostris.= Feathers of the forehead reaching forward to the anterior end of the nasal lobe, and wholly covering the cere on top. Culmen much arched. Bill and claws yellow. Wing, 7.80; tail, 5.40; culmen, .52; tarsus, 1.03; middle toe, 1.15; outer, .82; inner, .75. Hab. Middle America, and southern borders of Middle Province of United States, from Arizona and the Rio Grande; south to Costa Rica.

8. =C. inornata.=[104] Feathers of the forehead reaching forward to only about the middle of the nasal lobe, leaving the top of the cere naked; culmen only moderately arched. Bill and claws black. Wing, 9.20; tail, 6.60; culmen, .75; tarsus, 1.16; middle toe, 1.47; outer, 1.18; inner, .97. Hab. Jamaica.

[Plate: PLATE LVII.

1. Ortalida maccalli. Ad., Texas. 2. Columba fasciata. ♂ Cal., 33661. 3. Columba leucocephala. ♂ Fla., 8662. 4. Ectopistes migratoria. ♂ 7115. 5. Columba flavirostris. ♂ Mazatlan, 30893.]

Columba fasciata, SAY.

BAND-TAILED PIGEON.

Columba fasciata, SAY, Long’s Exped. R. Mts. II, 1823, 10.—BON. Amer. Orn. I, 1825, 77, pl. viii.—WAGLER, Syst. Av. 1827, Columba, No. 47.—NUTTALL, Man. I, 1832, 624.—AUD. Orn. Biog. IV, 1838, 479, pl. ccclxvii.—IB. Syn. 1839, 191.—IB. Birds Amer. IV, 1842, 312, pl. cclxxix.—TSCHUDI, Fauna Peruana, 1844–46, No. 261.—NEWBERRY, Zoöl. Cal. & Or. Route, Rep. P. R. R. VI, IV, 92.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 597.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 506. Chlorœnas fasciata, BONAP. Consp. II, 1854, 51. Columba monilis, VIGORS, Zoöl. Beechey’s Voyage, 1839, 26, pl. x. Chlorœnas monilis, REICH. Icones Av. ccxxvii, fig. 2481.

SP. CHAR. Above ash, inclining to olivaceous on the back, and with a fine bluish cast on the rump, under surface of wings, and sides. The primaries and basal portion of the tail dusky. Larger wing-coverts and secondaries, with primaries, distinctly edged with white; terminal third of tail of nearly the same tint as the wing-coverts, but the basal portion much darker, with a rather indistinct, narrow dusky band between the two shades, a little beyond the tips of the upper coverts. Whole head, lateral and front part of neck, and lower parts to the anal region, ashy vinaceous-purple, lighter, and more pinkish on the abdomen; chin considerably lighter; anal region and crissum white. A narrow half-collar of white across the upper portion of the nape; feathers beneath this dull metallic golden-green, with an occasional bronzy reflection, the feathers somewhat squamate. Bill and feet yellow, the former black at the end; iris red. Length, about 15.00; wing, 8.80; tail, 6.10. Female smaller, and less deeply colored, the purplish tint more ashy; sometimes with the nuchal white band obsolete or wanting; the abdomen whitish, etc.

HAB. Pacific Province of United States, and table-lands of Mexico, to Guatemala. Oaxaca (SCL. 1858, 304); Xalapa, 1859, 369 (CORDOVA, 1856, 359); Guatemala (SALVIN, Ibis, II, 276); Fort Whipple, Arizona (COUES, P. A. N. S. 1866, 93); Vera Cruz, alpine region (SUM. M. Bost. Soc. I, 562).

Specimens—even those from the same locality—vary a great deal in size, particularly as to the bill, and there is also considerable variation in the shade and depth as well as the extent of the purplish tint; this varies from a purplish-chocolate tint to nearly violaceous, and sometimes tinges the ends of the lower tail-coverts; sometimes the back has faint bronzy reflections. Guatemalan skins have the white edgings to the wing-coverts less conspicuous than in northern ones, showing an approximation to the features of var. albilinea of Costa Rica; they also have a shorter bill than California specimens. Oregon birds, on the other hand, have longer bills than the California, and are considerably darker in color.

HABITS. The Band-tailed Pigeon was first met with in Long’s expedition to the Rocky Mountains, and described by Say in 1823. It is found from the northern Rocky Mountains westward to the Pacific, and from Central America northward along the whole of the Pacific Coast as far to the north as Washington Territory, and probably portions of British Columbia.

Mr. Townsend, quoted by Audubon, noticed this Pigeon from the eastern spurs of the Rocky Mountains across to the Columbia River, where it was very abundant. He noticed their arrival in very great numbers on the 17th of April, and they continued in large flocks even while breeding. Their breeding-places were on the banks of the river, the eggs were placed on the ground, under small bushes without any nest, where numbers congregated together. The eggs were two in number, and are described as of a yellowish-white color, some inclining to a bluish-white with minute white dots at the larger end.

These birds feed on the berries of the black-elder and the buds of the balsam poplar. When sitting on the trees, they huddle close together in the manner of the Carolina Parrot, and many may be killed at a single discharge. Their flesh is said to be tender, juicy, and fine eating.

Mr. Nuttall states that this Pigeon is always in flocks, and in Oregon keeps only in the thick forests of the Columbia and the Wahlamet, and during the summer is more particularly abundant in the alluvial groves of the latter river, where he constantly heard its cooing, and saw it in large flocks, feeding on the berries of the elder, the Cornus nuttalli, and the seed-germs and young pods of the balsam poplar. Its call is somewhat similar to that of the Carolina Dove, but is readily distinguishable, is uttered at the usual intervals, and is repeated an hour or two at a time, chiefly in the morning and evening. It remains on the lower part of the Columbia nearly the whole year, feeding on the berries of the tree cornel, moving south only in the severity of winter.

Mr. Salvin found this Pigeon at Volcan de Fuego, in Guatemala, at an elevation of six thousand feet, and at Coban. It was quite common in the high forests of the Volcano.

Dr. Woodhouse met with small flocks of these Pigeons in different parts of New Mexico, and especially in the San Francisco Mountains, now included within the limits of Arizona.

This species was found at Los Nogales, in Mexico, July, 1855, by Dr. Kennerly, and at New Leon by Lieutenant Couch. Dr. Kennerly states that these beautiful birds were often observed in the valleys of the Santa Cruz and Los Nogales Rivers, as well as among the oaks on the adjacent hills. In the month of June they were found in small flocks of four or five, rarely more. When flying, the wings often caused a flapping noise, similar to that made by the domestic Pigeon.

Dr. Newberry, in his Report on the zoölogy of Colonel Williamson’s route, states that he met with this Pigeon at several points of his journey. He speaks of it as an attractive bird, about the size and with many of the habits of the domestic Pigeon. At McCumbers, northeast of Fort Reading, the first individual was seen and killed by one of his party. In that region they were not rare, and during the season of acorns they subsist on those of the scrub-oak, which abounds in that vicinity. On the Columbia they were seen in pairs, and near the Dalles might readily be mistaken for domestic doves.

Dr. Suckley found this Pigeon a very common bird in Washington Territory, especially west of the Cascade Mountains. He saw but a single flock containing five individuals east of those mountains. In 1856, the first birds of this species that arrived in the spring made their appearance about the 15th of May, which he found to be their customary time of arrival. One or two individuals were first seen, and within two or three days thereafter the main body of the migration followed. A small number remained throughout the summer to breed, the rest proceeded farther north. Those that remained generally made their nests in the thick fir forests near water. During the summer they subsisted on wild cherries and other berries, and later in the season, in the settled parts of the country, on grain. About the first week in September large flocks congregated on the stubble-fields in the vicinity of Fort Steilacoom, and for two or three weeks thereafter their numbers were daily augmented by arrivals from the north. Some of the flocks that he saw in September, he states, must have contained at least a thousand individuals. He was told that on the cultivated districts on Cowlitz River, at the same season, they were in still greater numbers. By the 5th of October all had suddenly disappeared, except a few stragglers, generally young birds. In their flights, Dr. Suckley states, they are not quite as compactly crowded as in the case of the Passenger Pigeon. During the summer, while they were breeding, their cooing and calls could be heard quite a long distance. The name of this bird in the Nisqually language is “Hubboh,” in imitation of their call. In the autumn these birds are said to be excellent eating.

According to Dr. Cooper, these Pigeons arrive at the Columbia River in April, and frequent all the forests of the Territory until the end of October, when they retire south. They keep about the borders of prairies and clearings, and frequently do much damage to fields of grain, though never found in such immense numbers as the common Passenger Pigeon east of the Mississippi. In June they lay two white eggs about the size of those of the House Pigeon, on the ground near streams or openings, and without constructing any nests. During the summer they were observed to feed upon wild peas, wild cherries, and other wild fruits and berries, which are very abundant. Later in the season they seem to depend upon acorns and other nuts. Their cooing is very much like that of the common Pigeon. He saw none east of the Cascade Range.

Mr. Ridgway did not meet with this Pigeon in his route from the Sierra Nevada eastward to the Rocky Mountains, along the line of the 40th parallel, and it is supposed not to occur in that latitude except near the Pacific Coast.

An egg of this Pigeon, given me by Dr. Holden, of Stockton, and obtained in the Coast Range, is oval in shape, equally rounded at either end, and of a dull white. It measures 1.49 inches in length by 1.15 in breadth. Another, in the Smithsonian collection, measures 1.55 by 1.20 inches.

Columba leucocephala, LINN.

WHITE-HEADED PIGEON.

Columba leucocephala, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1758, 164.—BONAP. J. A. N. S. Ph. V, 1825, 30; Syn. 119; Am. Orn. II, 1828, 11, pl. xv.—NUTT. Man. I, 1832, 625.—AUD. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 443; V, 557, pl. clxxvii; Birds Am. IV, 1842, 315, pl. cclxxx.—TEMM. Pig. et Gallin. I, 459.—GOSSE, Birds Jam. 1847, 299.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 599.—MARCH, P. A. N. S. 1863, 301 (says there are two species). Patagiœnas leucocephalus, REICHENB. Syst. Av. 1851, xxv; Ic. Av. tab. 223 and 255.—BONAP. Consp. II, 1854, 54.—GUNDL. Caban. Journ. 1856, 107.—REICH. Handb. 64, tab. 223, f. 1257, 1258, 255, 2863, 2864.

SP. CHAR. General color very dark slate-blue, primaries and tail darker. Upper half of the head, from the bill to the nape, pure white, not reaching the edge of the eyelids; a triangular patch of dark maroon-purple on the occiput, and below it a semicircular “cape” covering the nape, of metallic brassy-green, each feather distinctly bordered externally with velvety-black, producing a squamate appearance. Bill deep purple, the end light blue; iris white; legs deep lake-red. In skins the bill dusky tipped with yellowish, the feet yellow. Sexes similar. Length, 13.50; wing, 7.00; tail, 5.80.

HAB. Southern Keys of Florida (including Indian Key) and West Indies generally. Honduras (MOORE, P. Z. S. 1859, 61); Santa Cruz (NEWTON, Ibis, I, 253); Cuba (CAB. J. IV, 107); Bahamas (BRYANT, Pr. Bost. Soc. VII, 1859); Jamaica (GOSSE, B. J. 299); Porto Rico (TAYLOR, Ibis, 1864, 171); Cuba (GUNDL. Repert. I, 1866, 298); Santa Bartholemy (SUND. Ofv. 1869, 585).

HABITS. The White-headed Pigeon occurs in the more southern of the keys of Florida, but, so far as I am aware, has never been taken on any part of the mainland. It is an abundant species in Cuba, Jamaica, and in most of the other West India Islands.

This Dove, according to Audubon, arrives on the southern keys of Florida about the 20th of April, sometimes not until the first of May. On the 30th of April he shot several just after their arrival from across the Gulf Stream. He noticed them as they approached the shore, skimming along the surface of the water, and flying with great rapidity, in the manner of the House Pigeon. As they approached the land they rose to about a hundred yards, flying in circles as if to survey the country. To procure specimens, it was necessary to force them out from the dark retreats in which they had alighted. They were at all times exceedingly shy and wary, probably on account of the war that is incessantly waged against them, their flesh being very juicy and finely flavored. This shyness is only partially abated even during the breeding-season, as they will silently slide from their nest when sitting, if it is approached, and retreat to the dark shade of the mangroves, and do not return for an interval to their charge. They were more abundant in the more southern keys, except the sterile Tortugas.

According to Mr. March, there are two varieties of this Pigeon, known as the Baldpate in Jamaica, distinguished as the Mountain and the Mangrove Baldpate. The latter he has never met with in the mountains, but both kinds resort at all times to the lowlands and mangrove-swamps along the coasts, and to the neighboring islands and keys (Pigeon Island and the two Goat Islands in particular), where they breed in numbers, making their nests in trees, some at high elevations, others so low as to be within reach of a person standing, according to the convenience of the site. Large numbers of squabs are often taken from these places and brought into the towns for sale. They feed in company in the morning and afternoon, and as they often feed at a distance from their roosting-places, large flocks are sometimes seen in the early morning and evening passing and repassing overhead, sometimes in high, at other times in low flight, going to and returning from the feeding-ground or convenient watering-place. Their food is grain, fruit, and berries, nuts and seeds; and they commit serious depredations on the Guinea-corn fields, not only by the quantity they devour, but by breaking down the brittle cornstalks with the weight of their bodies. They are easily kept in confinement, and often breed and become quiet and contented, but take the earliest opportunity of emancipation. The nest is a platform of sticks and twigs loosely put together, and bedded with softer materials, with a slight hollow in the centre. The eggs are two, glarish-white in color, varying in form and dimensions, but usually long oval, measuring 1.63 inches in length by 1.13 in breadth.

According to Mr. Leyland (Ibis, I, p. 222) this Pigeon inhabits the keys or small islands on the coast of Honduras.

It was found at St. Croix by Professor Alfred Newton, frequenting the hills in the north of the island, and occasionally in the brush-land on the south side. It was not very common, and was said to be a visitor from Porto Rico; but it undoubtedly breeds on the island of St. Croix, as Professor Newton obtained a young bird, shot July 28, which could not have left the nest many days. A caged specimen of this bird, that had been in the possession of Dr. Carden of St. Croix several years, was given to Professor Newton by that gentleman, and presented to the Zoölogical Society of London.

Mr. Audubon found the nests placed high or low according to circumstances, but never saw two on the same tree. He has met with them on the top of a cactus, only a few feet from the ground, or on a low branch of a mangrove almost touching the water. They are said to resemble that of the common Passenger Pigeon, but are more compact and better lined; the outer part being composed of small dry twigs, the inner of fibrous roots and grasses. The eggs are two, of an opaque white, roundish, and as large as those of the common Pigeon. Mr. Audubon thinks that these birds may have several broods in a season. None were known by him to visit the mainland of Florida.

In captivity these birds may be easily managed, and breed readily, as Mr. Audubon witnessed in the aviaries of Dr. Wilson and Rev. Dr. Bachman of Charleston, S. C.

In confinement they are said never to lay more than a single egg. The measurement of their eggs, as given by Mr. Audubon, is 1.31 inches in length by 1.06 in breadth. Eggs in my cabinet from Cuba measure 1.40 by 1.03 inches. They are of a pure but not a brilliant white color, equal at either end and oval in shape.

Columba flavirostris, WAGLER.

RED-BILLED DOVE.

Columba flavirostris, WAGLER, Isis, 1831, 519.—LAWRENCE, Annals N. Y. Lyc. V. May, 1851, 116.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 598, pl. lxi.—IB. Mex. B. II, Birds 21, pl. xxiii.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 508. Chlorœnas flavirostris, BONAP. Consp. Av. II, 1854, 52.—REICHENB. Handb. 61. ? Columba solitaria, MCCALL, Pr. A. N. Sc. Phila. III, July, 1847, 233 (Rio Grande, Texas. Description referring probably to this species).

SP. CHAR. Second and third quills equal, and decidedly longer than the first and fourth, also nearly equal. Tail truncate, slightly rounded. Head and neck all round, breast, and a large patch on the middle and lesser wing-coverts, light chocolate-red, the latter deeper and more opaque red; the middle of the back, scapulars, and tertials olive; the rest of body, wings, and tail very dark slaty-blue; the inferior and concealed surfaces of the latter black. Bill and legs yellow in the dried skin, said to be purple in life; eyes purple. Length, 14.00; wing, 8.00; tail, 5.70.

HAB. Lower Rio Grande, and Mexico, south to Costa Rica. Oaxaca (SCL. 1859, 391); (Cordova, 1856, 309); Honduras (TAYLOR, Ibis, II, 226; SALV. Ibis, III, 355); City of Mexico (SCL. P. Z. S. 1864, 178); Southeastern Texas, breeding (DRESSER, Ibis, 1866, 23); Costa Rica (LAWR. IX, 134).

There is no trace of any metallic scale-like feathers on the neck of this species. The wing-feathers, including the greater coverts, are whitish on their external border. There is sometimes a tinge of the red on the inside of the wing.

The C. inornata of Jamaica (see synopsis) is wonderfully similar, except in the form and color of the bill; the plumage of the two does not differ in the minutest particular. The West Indian bird is much the larger, however, the bill black, and very differently shaped.

The Columba solitaria of McCall appears to be closely related to this species, but, judging from the description, seems to differ in having the head and neck bluish rather than red. It may possibly be the female of C. flavirostris, as this sex usually has a bluish tinge instead of red; the smaller size, too, would favor this supposition.[105]

=Habits.= The Red-billed Dove claims a place in the North American fauna only as a resident in the valley of the Lower Rio Grande River. It appears also to be found on and near the gulf-coast of Mexico and Central America.

It was taken at New Leon, Mexico, in March, 1853, by Lieutenant Couch, and on the Rio Grande by Mr. A. Schott. It was first seen by the former in the thick woody bottoms of the San Juan, New Leon. The birds were quite common, but remained very secluded. They are said to be of very rapid flight.

Mr. G. C. Taylor (Ibis, 1860, p. 226) mentions finding these birds not uncommon on Tigre Island, in Honduras, but did not meet with them in the interior. He speaks of them as very handsome birds, but gives no account of their habits.

Mr. Henry E. Dresser found the Red-billed Dove quite common near Matamoras, and breeding there. During the autumn great quantities, as well as of the leucoptera and the carolinensis, are brought to the market for sale. At Brownsville, also, these birds were not uncommon, but were found for only a short distance towards the interior of Texas, and none were seen higher up the Rio Grande than Roma. A Mexican, who shot doves for the market, informed Mr. Dresser that he had found this species breeding near the town of Matamoras, and that it builds a nest somewhat similar to that of Z. carolinensis, but that its two eggs are somewhat larger. Their stomachs were found filled with a kind of blueberry.

Eggs in the Berlandier collection are oval in shape, equal and slightly tapering at either end, and of a creamy-white color. They measure 1.18 inches in length by .90 of an inch in breadth.

GENUS ECTOPISTES, SWAINSON.

Ectopistes, SWAINSON, Zoöl. Jour. III, 1827, 362. (Type, Columba migratoria, L.)

GEN. CHAR. Head very small. Bill short, black; culmen one third the rest of the head; feathers of the chin running very far forward; gonys very short. Tarsi very short, half covered anteriorly by feathers. Inner lateral claw much larger than outer, reaching to the base of the middle one. Tail very long and excessively cuneate; above as long as the wings. First primary longest. Black spots on scapulars; a black and a rufous spot on inner webs of tail-feathers.

This genus is readily distinguished from the other Columbinæ by the excessively lengthened and acute middle feathers. It formerly included the Columba carolinensis, but this, with more propriety, has been erected into a different genus, and will be found in the next section.

The Ectopistes migratoria is blue above, the male purplish-red beneath, the female brownish-ashy, passing into whitish behind. The wing above and scapulars are spotted with bluish-black, the sides of the neck with metallic gloss of solferino-purple; the inner webs of tail-feathers have each a rufous and a black spot.

Ectopistes migratoria, SWAINSON.

WILD PIGEON; PASSENGER-PIGEON.

Columba migratoria, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 285.—GM. I, 389.—FORSTER, Phil. Trans. LXII, 1772, 398.—WILSON, Am. Orn. I, 1808, 102, pl. xliv.—WAGLER, Syst. Av. 1827, No. 91.—AUD. Orn. Biog. I, 1831, 319; V, 561, pl. lxii. Ectopistes migratoria, SWAINSON, Zoöl. Jour. III, 1827, 355.—IB. F. Bor. Am. II, 1831, 363.—BON. Consp. Av. II, 1854, 59.—AUD. Syn. 1839, 194.—IB. Birds Amer. V, 1842, 25, pl. cclxxxv.—“REICH. Icones Av. tab. 249, figs. 1377, 1379.”—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 600.—MAX. Cab. J. VI, 1858, 424.—LORD, Pr. R. A. I. IV, 122 (British Columbia, from coast; nest on ground).—COOPER & SUCKLEY, 218.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 509. Columba canadensis, LINNÆUS, Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 284.—GM. I, 1788, 785. Female or young. (Prior name ?) Columba americana, “KALM, It. II, 527.” Passenger Pigeon, PENNANT, II, 322.—LATH. Syn. II, II, 661.

SP. CHAR. Tail with twelve feathers. Upper parts generally, including sides of body, head, and neck, and the chin, blue. Beneath, purple brownish-red, fading behind into a violet tint. Anal region and under tail-coverts bluish-white. Scapulars, inner tertials, and middle of back with an olive-brown tinge; the wing-coverts, scapulars, and inner tertials with large oval spots of blue-black on the outer webs, mostly concealed, except on the latter. Primaries blackish, with a border of pale bluish tinged internally with red. Middle tail-feather brown; the rest pale blue on the outer web, white internally; each with a patch of reddish-brown at the base of the inner web, followed by another of black. Sides and back of neck richly glossed with metallic golden-violet or reddish-purple. Tibiæ bluish-violet. Bill black. Feet lake-red. The female is smaller, much duller in color, more olivaceous above; beneath, pale ash instead of red, except a tinge on the neck; the jugulum tinged with olive, the throat whitish. Length of male, 17.00; wing, 8.50; tail, 8.40.

HAB. North America to high Central Plains; West Humboldt Mountains, Nevada (September; RIDGWAY). Cuba (GUNDL. Rep. I, 1866, 302; CAB. J. IX, 112).

The blue of the side of the head extends to the throat and chin. The upper part of the back and lesser coverts are of a darker blue than the head and rump. The inner primaries are more broadly margined with light blue, which tapers off to the end. The axillars and under surface of the wing are light blue. The longest scapulars have the black on both webs. There is no blue on the outer web of the first tail-feather, which is white, as is the inferior surface of the tail generally.

In some specimens the entire head all round is blue.

The immature male varies in having most of the feathers of the head and body margined with whitish.

HABITS. The common Passenger Pigeon of North America is found throughout the continent in great abundance, from the Atlantic to the great Central Plains, and from the Southern States, in which it only occasionally occurs, to at least the 62d parallel of northern latitude, in the interior.

Richardson states that this Pigeon arrives in the fur countries in the latter part of May and leaves in October. On the coast of Hudson’s Bay it reaches no farther than the 58th parallel, and only in very fine summers, but in the interior or in the warmer central districts it attains to the 62d degree. Mr. Hutchins mentions, as a remarkable occurrence, that a flock of these Pigeons visited York Factory and remained two days.

It is not found on the Pacific coast. Dr. Suckley only met with a single bird in immature plumage on a branch of Milk River, in Nebraska, about one hundred and seventy-five miles east of the Rocky Mountains; he thinks the eastern base may be considered their western limit. Dr. Cooper has seen it at Fort Laramie, but has never seen nor heard of it in Oregon, though Townsend mentions it as found there.

Dr. Woodhouse found these Pigeons common throughout the Indian Territory in the spring and fall, during their migrations.

Captain Blakiston noticed the first arrival of the Passenger Pigeons at Fort Carlton, on the 23d of May. By the middle of June numerous flocks were moving northward. These could, at a long distance, be readily distinguished from flocks of water-fowl or waders, by their flight being in no particular order. On the Mackenzie, Mr. Ross observed these birds as far north as Fort Norman in latitude 65°, while on the coast of Hudson’s Bay they are only found as far as 58°, even in warm summers.

The Wild Pigeon appears to be almost entirely influenced in its migrations by the abundance of its food, excepting in those parts of the country in which it has not been known to remain during winter. Even in these movements it is largely influenced by instinctive considerations of food. Evidently the temperature has but little to do with their migrations, as they not unfrequently move northward in large columns as early as the 7th of March, with a thermometer twenty degrees below the freezing-point. In the spring of 1872 a large accumulation of these birds took place early in March, in the eastern portion of New York. They were present in the forests about Albany, and were taken in such immense numbers that the markets of New York and Boston were very largely supplied with them.

As early as the 10th of March they were ascertained to have in their ovaries full-grown eggs, ready for exclusion. In Kentucky they have been known, according to Audubon, to remain summer and winter in the same districts for several successive years, in consequence of the great abundance of food, while in other parts of the State none were to be met with. They suddenly disappeared as soon as the beech-mast had become exhausted, and did not return for a long period.

The Wild Pigeons are capable of propelling themselves in long-continued flights, and are known to move with an almost incredible rapidity, passing over a great extent of country in a very short time. It is quite a common and well-ascertained fact that Pigeons are captured in the State of New York with their crops still filled with the undigested grains of rice that must have been taken in the distant fields of Georgia or South Carolina, apparently proving that they must have passed over the intervening space within a very few hours. Audubon estimates the rapidity of their flight as at least a mile a minute.

The Wild Pigeons are said to move, in their flight, by quickly repeated flaps of the wings, which are brought more or less near to the body, according to the degree of velocity required. During the love-season they often fly in a circling manner, supporting themselves with both wings angularly elevated. Before alighting, they break the force of their flight by repeated flappings.

Their great powers of flight, and the ability thus given to change at will their residence, and their means of renewing a supply of food, are also thought to be seconded by a remarkable power of vision, enabling them to discover their food with great readiness. Mr. Audubon states that he has observed flocks of these birds, in passing over a sterile part of the country, fly high in the air, with an extended front, enabling them to survey hundreds of acres at once. When the land is richly covered with food, or the trees well supplied with mast, they fly low in order to discover the part most plentifully supplied.

Several writers, who have witnessed the occasionally enormous flights of these Pigeons, have given very full and graphic accounts of their immense numbers that seem hardly credible to those who have not seen them. Mr. Audubon relates that in 1813, on his way from Henderson to Louisville, in crossing the barrens near Hardensburg, he observed these birds flying to the southwest in greater numbers than he had ever known before. He attempted to count the different flocks as they successively passed, but after counting one hundred and sixty-three in twenty-one minutes he gave it up as impracticable. As he journeyed on, their numbers seemed to increase. The air seemed filled with Pigeons, and the light of noonday to be obscured as by an eclipse. Not a single bird alighted, as the woods were destitute of mast, and all flew so high that he failed to reach any with a rifle. He speaks of their aerial evolutions as beautiful in the extreme, especially when a Hawk pressed upon the rear of a flock. All at once, like a torrent, and with a noise like that of thunder, they rushed together into a compact mass, and darted forward in undulating lines, descending and sweeping near the earth with marvellous velocity, then mounting almost perpendicularly in a vast column, wheeling and twisting so that their continued lines seemed to resemble the coils of a gigantic serpent. During the whole of his journey from Hardensburg to Louisville, fifty-five miles, they continued to pass in undiminished numbers, and also did so during the three following days. At times they flew so low that multitudes were destroyed, and for many days the entire population seemed to eat nothing else but Pigeons.

When a flight of Pigeons discovers an abundant supply of food, sufficient to induce them to alight, they are said to pass around in circles over the place, making various evolutions, after a while passing lower over the woods, and at length alighting; then, as if suddenly alarmed, taking to flight, only to return immediately. These manœuvres are repeated with various indications of indecision in their movements, or as if apprehensive of unseen dangers. During these manœuvres the flapping of their many thousand wings causes a reverberation suggestive of distant thunder. When at last settled upon the ground, they industriously search among the fallen leaves for the acorns and the beech-mast, the rear flocks continually rising, passing over the main body, and realighting. These changes are so frequent that at times the whole collection appears to be in motion. A large extent of ground is thus cleared in a surprisingly short space of time, and cleared with a completeness that is described as incredible. They are usually satiated by the middle of the day, and ascend to the trees to rest and digest their food. On these occasions the Pigeons are destroyed in immense numbers, and their abundance in large extents of the country has been very sensibly reduced.

In its movements on the ground, as also when alighted on the branches of trees, the Wild Pigeon is remarkable for its ease and grace. It walks on the ground and also on the limbs of trees with an easy, graceful motion, frequently jerking its tail and moving its neck backward and forward.

Mr. Audubon states that in Kentucky he has repeatedly visited one of the remarkable roosting-places to which these birds resort at night. This one was on the banks of Green River, and to this place the birds came every night at sunset, arriving from all directions, some of them from the distance of several hundred miles, as was conjectured from certain observations. This roost was in a portion of the forest where the trees were of great magnitude. It was more than forty miles in length, and averaged three in breadth. It had been occupied as a roost about a fortnight when he visited it. Their dung was several inches deep on the ground, covering the whole extent of the roosting-place. Many trees, two feet in diameter, had been broken down by their weight, as well as many branches of the largest and tallest trees. The forest seemed as if it had been swept by a tornado. Everything gave evidence that the number of birds resorting to that part of the forest must be immense. A large number of persons collected before sunset to destroy them, provided with torches of pine-knots, and armed with long poles and guns. The Pigeons began to collect after sunset, their approach preceded, even when they were at a distance, by a noise like that of a hard gale at sea sounding in the rigging of a vessel. As the birds passed over him, they created a strong current of air. The birds arrived by thousands, fires were lighted, and the work of destruction commenced. Many were knocked down by the pole-men. In many cases they collected in such solid masses on the branches that several of their perches gave way and fell to the ground, in this way destroying hundreds of the birds beneath them. It was a scene of great confusion and continued until past midnight, the Pigeons still continuing to arrive. The sound made by the birds at the roost could be heard at the distance of three miles. As day approached, the noise in some measure subsided; and long before objects were distinguishable the Pigeons began to move off, and before daylight all that were able to fly had disappeared. The dead and wounded birds were then collected and piled into heaps by those who had assembled for the purpose.

Though for the most part living, moving, and feeding together in large companies, the Wild Pigeon mates in pairs for purposes of breeding. They have several broods in the season, and commence nesting very early in the spring, the time being considerably affected by the amount of food. In the spring of 1849 an immense number of these birds collected on Fayston Mountain, near Montpelier, Vt., although at the time of their coming the weather was very cold and the ground covered with snow. There they seemed to find a great abundance of food, berries of the mountain-ash and such other fruit as they could procure, and there they remained, breeding in great numbers, until late in the summer. They were still collected in June, although the whole neighborhood was warring upon them for many miles around, and the markets of Boston and other places were largely supplied with them.

In the extensive forests of Kentucky, Mr. Audubon found them usually collecting and breeding in trees of great height, and always at a convenient distance from water, resorting thither in countless myriads. Their note, during breeding, is described as a short coo-coo, much briefer than in the domestic Pigeon, while their usual call-note is a repetition of the monosyllables kee-kee-kee, the first note being louder and the last fainter than the rest. In the love-season the male puts on the pompous manners peculiar to all Pigeons, and follows the female with drooping wings and expanded tail, the body being held in an elevated attitude and the throat swollen. Occasionally they caress one another in the same manner in which they feed their young, by introducing the bill of one into that of the other and disgorging the contents of their crops.

Their nests are composed of a few dry twigs laid crosswise, and built upon the branches of trees. From fifty to a hundred were seen by Audubon in the same tree, and were said to be frequently at a considerable height. The few I have seen were in low trees, and not more than ten feet from the ground. The eggs are never more than two in number, pure white, and of a broadly elliptical form. During incubation the male bird feeds the mate and afterwards assists in supplying the young birds, and both birds are conspicuous in their demonstrations of affection, both to each other and to their offspring. The young brood, usually both sexes in one nest, leave their parents as soon as they are able to shift for themselves.

In the New England States and in the more cultivated part of the country these birds no longer breed in large communities. The instance near Montpelier, in 1849, is the only marked exception that has come within my knowledge. They now breed in isolated pairs, their nests being scattered through the woods and seldom near one another.

The Wild Pigeon has been successfully kept in aviaries, and has occasionally bred in confinement.

Wilson’s account of the habits of these Pigeons is substantially corroborative of that of Audubon. He witnessed their migrations in vast numbers, in various parts of the country,—in Western New York, in Pennsylvania, in various parts of Virginia, where he beheld their immense flocks with amazement, but where they were mere straggling parties compared with the congregated millions he saw in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. He also noted their habit of frequenting the same roosting-place night after night, even when they were compelled to fly sixty or eighty miles each day to their feeding-places. His account of their roosting-places is similar to that of Audubon, corroborating the accumulation of the dung covering the surface of the ground and destroying all the grass and underbrush, the breaking down of large limbs, and even of small trees, by the weight of the birds clustering one above another, and the trees themselves at last killed as completely as if girdled by an axe.

One of the breeding-places visited by Wilson, not far from Shelbyville, Ky., stretched through the forest in nearly a north and south direction. This was several miles in breadth, and upwards of forty miles in extent. In this immense tract nearly every tree was furnished with nests wherever there were branches to accommodate them. He was informed by those who had sought to plunder the nests of the squabs, that the noise in the woods was so great as to terrify their horses, and that it was difficult for one person to hear another speak. The ground was strewed with broken limbs, eggs, and young Pigeons. Hawks were sailing about in great numbers, while from twenty feet upwards to the tops of the trees there was a perpetual tumult of crowding and fluttering multitudes of Pigeons, their wings resounding like thunder, and mingled with the frequent crash of falling trees. In one instance he counted ninety nests in a single tree.

When on his way from Shelbyville to Frankfort, Wilson witnessed an immense flight of these birds, and was astonished at their appearance. They were flying with great steadiness and rapidity in several strata deep and very close together. From right to left, as far as the eye could reach, this vast procession extended its immense breadth, seeming everywhere equally crowded. For more than an hour by the watch he stood and observed this prodigious procession, which, instead of diminishing, seemed rather to increase both in numbers and rapidity. Three hours later, as he was entering Frankfort, the living torrent above his head was as numerous and extended as when first observed. Wilson computed the number of Pigeons in this flight at over two thousand two hundred millions.

The most southern point at which this Pigeon is known to breed, as given by Wilson, was in the Choctaw country, in Mississippi, in latitude 32°.

Mr. Ridgway obtained a single specimen of this species in the West Humboldt Mountains, in September, 1867. It was a young bird, and had been feeding on the berries of a species of Cornus.

The eggs of the Wild Pigeon vary considerably in length, and also somewhat in breadth. They average about 1.45 inches in length and 1.05 in breadth. They are white in color, have an oval shape, and are equally rounded at both ends.

SUBFAMILY ZENAIDINÆ.

CHAR. Tarsi stout, lengthened; always longer than the lateral toes, and entirely without feathers; the tibial joint usually denuded. Tarsus sometimes with hexagonal scales anteriorly. Tail-feathers sometimes fourteen.

This subfamily is readily distinguished from the preceding by the longer and more denuded tarsi, the feet being much better fitted for a terrestrial life. The following sections belong to it:—

=Zenaideæ.= Size moderate. Wings lengthened, acute, the primaries much longer than the secondaries. Tarsus scutellate anteriorly. A blackish spot beneath the auriculars; tail-feathers tipped with white, and with a blackish subterminal bar. Sides of the neck with a metallic gloss.

Bill lengthened, much depressed. A white patch on the wing; no black spots on the scapulars; plumage ashy, lighter beneath. Tail of twelve feathers, rounded …

Melopelia.

Bill smaller, more compressed. No white patch on the wing; scapulars with black spots. Above olivaceous, beneath vinaceous.

Tail of twelve feathers rounded …

Zenaida.

Tail of fourteen feathers, graduated or cuneate …

Zenaidura.

=Chamæpelieæ.= Size very small. Wings rounded, the primaries scarcely longer than the tertials. Tarsus scutellate anteriorly. No blackish spot beneath the auriculars; no metallic gloss on sides of the neck.

Tail of twelve feathers, lengthened (much longer than wings), doubly rounded, the lateral feathers much shorter; the three outer pairs with white terminally …

Scardafella.

Tail of twelve feathers, short (much less than wings), simply rounded, the lateral feathers only slightly shorter; outer feathers without white terminally, or with only a slight edging. Wing-coverts with oblique black spots, and body without transverse blackish bars.

Outside of the tarsus with a narrow feathered strip; lining of the wing blackish …

Talpacota.

Outside of the tarsus without a feathered strip; lining of the wing wholly rufous …

Chamæpelia.

=Starnœnadeæ.= Size moderate (generally a little larger than Zenaida); form robust, or quail-like. Legs very stout; tarsi decidedly longer than the middle toe, variously scaled anteriorly. Wings short, very broad, and much rounded, but the primaries decidedly longer than the secondaries.

Legs very stout; tarsi covered with hexagonal scales; crown blue; a black gular patch, bordered below by white …

Starnœnas.

Legs moderate; tarsi covered anteriorly with transverse scutellæ. Crown never blue, and throat without black or white markings …

Geotrygon.

The genera characterized above are all more or less nearly related to others belonging to South America, and many of these apparently form connecting links between the several North American ones. Thus, “Columbina” picui, Gray (of Chili), and C. strepitans (of Paraguay), are almost exactly intermediate between Scardafella and Chamæpelia, both in form and colors. “Leptoptila” is in reality scarcely more than a very large Chamæpelia with an approach to Zenaida in more lengthened primaries, and to Geotrygon in the lengthened tarsus.

“Peristera” cinerea is again a slightly enlarged reproduction of Chamæpelia, with the same pattern of coloration, but without rufous on the inside of the wing.

Starnœnas and Geotrygon are nearly connected by the G. chiriquensis, which agrees with the genus to which it is referred in the scutellate tarsi, and with Starnœnas in the peculiar structure of the feathers of the neck, which have, as in that “genus,” a stiff, compact structure, and rather raylike arrangement.

GENUS MELOPELIA, BONAP.

Melopelia, BONAP. Consp. II, Dec. 1854, 81. (Type, Columba leucoptera, L.)

GEN. CHAR. Similar to Zenaida; the orbital region and lore more naked; the bill longer; the middle toe longer; the hinder shorter. Tarsal scutellæ in a single series anteriorly. First quill nearly as long as the second and third. A large white patch on wing-coverts, lower parts light ashy.

This genus, like nearly all the North American ones, is represented by but a single species in the United States.

Melopelia leucoptera, (LINN.) BONAP.

WHITE-WINGED DOVE.

Columba leucoptera, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1758, 164 (Jamaica).—GM. Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 773.—WAGL. Syst. Av. 1827, Columba, No. 71.—MCCALL, Pr. A. N. Sc. Phil. IV, 1848, 64. Zenaida leucoptera, GRAY, Gen. B. Turtur leucopterus, GOSSE, B. Jam. 1847, 304. Melopelia leucoptera, BONAP. Consp. Av. II, 1854, 81.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 603.—REICHENB. Handb. Taub. 22, tab. 254, f. 1417; 255, f. 2869.—MARCH, P. A. N. S. 1863, 302.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 515. ? Columba hoilotl, GM. S. N. I, 1788, 777. Columba trudeaui, AUD. Birds Am. VII, 1843, 352, pl. ccccxcvi.

SP. CHAR. General color fine ashy, with an olivaceous cast on upper surface, the middle tail-feathers being decidedly brownish; secondaries and primaries blackish. Beneath paler ashy, with a light drab cast anteriorly (lightest on the throat), the abdomen and sides with a fine light-bluish cast; anal region white, crissum more bluish. Occiput with a purplish tinge. A spot of black, with steel-blue reflection below the ears; a large patch of white on the wing, covering the lower coverts from the elbow to the secondaries; secondaries margined terminally with white. Terminal fourth of tail-feathers, except the two medial, ashy-white, preceded by a subterminal blackish band. Male with faint purplish-golden reflections on the sides of the neck, and the throat and jugulum inclining to ochrey-vinaceous; the occiput and nape decided purplish. Female with this scarcely apparent. Male: wing, 6.80; tail, 5.10; culmen, .84; tarsus, 1.06; middle toe, 1.10. Female slightly smaller.

HAB. Southern border of United States, from Texas to Arizona and Lower California; Mexico, south to Costa Rica, Cuba and Jamaica, Oaxaca, highlands (SCL. 1858, 305); Cordova (1856, 309); Jamaica (GOSSE, B. J. 304); Honduras (TAYLOR, Ibis, II, 227); City of Mexico (SCL. P. Z. S. 1864, 178); Southeastern Texas, breeding (DRESSER, Ibis, 1866, 24); Cuba (GUNDL. Rep. I, 1866, 301); Fort Whipple, Arizona (COUES, P. A. N. S. 1866, 93); Costa Rica (LAWR. IX, 139); Yucatan (LAWR. IX, 207).

However remarkable and exceptional the distribution of this species may appear in occurring in Cuba and Jamaica and in Mexico, from the Atlantic coast to Cape St. Lucas, and north to Santa Fé, New Mexico, we have yet been unable to find any tangible differences in specimens from these extreme localities. The Jamaica bird has rather a more decided wash of brown on the neck and forehead, the toes apparently shorter; but as specimens from the same locality vary in this respect, it is probable that in a large series such differences will disappear in the average.

HABITS. This species is found on the Lower Rio Grande, in Arizona, and, according to Dr. Cooper, in California. It also occurs in Mexico, and was taken in Tamaulipas by Lieutenant Couch, March, 1858. It has also been met with in several of the West India Islands and in Central America.

This species is abundant in Jamaica, where, according to Mr. March, it is more a lowland than a mountain Dove. They are said to be gregarious, usually keeping in flocks of from ten to twenty, but in January and in February, in the Guinea-corn season, and at other times when the Cerei are in fruit, they congregate in large flocks, often of several hundreds. Their food is principally grain and seeds, but they are equally fond of the ripe fruit of the different species of Cereus abounding on the savannas and salines during the summer. Inland, the White-wings, in the same manner as the Baldpate, breed in solitary pairs; but in the mangrove swamps, and in the islands along the coast, they breed in company, many in the same tree. The nest is a frail platform of sticks, with a slight hollow lined with leaves and bark, and sometimes a few feathers. The eggs are two, of an oblong-oval shape, glarish-white in color, measuring 1.31 inches in length by .94 of an inch in breadth. Mr. March adds that the White-wing is often kept in confinement, where it occasionally breeds. It is at first quite wild, fluttering in alarm at the approach of any person, but afterwards becomes quite docile if attended with care. It has been known to cross and mate with the Turtur risorius, a bird which has been introduced into Jamaica. Mr. March had, at the time his paper appeared, a male White-wing mated with a female Ringdove.

This species was found at Omoa, Honduras, by Mr. Leyland, and by Mr. Salvin about Dueñas, Guatemala, where it was one of the common Doves. It was found on the ground, in the open savannas.

Mr. G. C. Taylor (Ibis, 1860) found this bird abundant in Central America, especially on the Pacific coast and in the environs of Comayagua. He adds that he found this species most plentiful in the vicinity of houses and cornfields, while the Z. carolinensis seem to prefer the woods and open plains. Both were easily shot, and were found to be excellent eating.

Mr. Dresser found this species very common near Matamoras and Brownsville, and as far into the interior of Texas as Sal Colorado, after which it becomes rare, and he never saw any farther east or north than the Rio Nueces. It is not uncommon at Eagle Pass, where he saw many in cages in the huts of the Mexicans. Their stomachs were found to contain maize and caterpillars.

Mr. Xantus, in his notes upon the birds of Cape St. Lucas, mentions finding several of the nests and eggs of this Dove. All the nests mentioned contained two eggs. One was in the fork of a leafless tree, about ten feet from the ground; another was about six feet high and placed on a small dwarf-oak; and a third, found May 20, was in a thorn-bush, about ten feet from the ground. In one instance a single egg, already incubated, was found on the top of a large cactus trunk, but without any indication of a nest.

The eggs of this species are oval in shape, white, of equal size at either end, and measure 1.35 inches by .92.

GENUS ZENAIDA, BONAP.

Zenaida, BONAPARTE, Geog. & Comp. List, 1838. (Type, Columba zenaida, BP.)

GEN. CHAR. Bill black; the culmen about two fifths the rest of the head. Tarsi a little shorter than the middle toe and claw, but considerably longer than the lateral toes. Tarsus with broad scutellæ anteriorly, those on the lower half bifid, making two hexagonal series. Inner lateral toe a little the longer. Hind toe and claw as long as the inner lateral without claw. Wings lengthened; second and third quills longest. Tail short, about two fifths the wings, rounded or a little graduated. Orbits feathered, especially anterior to the eye; the lids bare.

But one species of this genus belongs to our fauna, and this is probably but an occasional visitor.

Zenaida amabilis, BONAP.

ZENAIDA DOVE.

Columba zenaida, BONAP. J. A. N. Sc. V, 1825, 30.—IB. Am. Orn. II, 1828, pl. xv.—WAGLER, Isis, 1829, 744.—NUTTALL, Man. I, 1832, 625.—AUD. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 354; V, 558, pl. clxii.—IB. Birds Am. V, 1842, 1, pl. cclxxxi. Zenaida amabilis, BON. List, 1838.—IB. Consp. II, 1854, 82.—GOSSE, Birds Jam. 1847, 307.—REICHENBACH, Icones Av. “tab. 255.”—GUNDLACH, Cabanis’s Journ. 1856, 111.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 602.—REICH. Handb. Taub. 21, tab. 255, f. 2867, 2868; 254, f. 1412.—MARCH, P. A. N. S. 1863, 352. Zenaida aurita, GRAY, not Columba aurita of Lichtenstein (Z. maculata), nor of Temminck (Z. martinicana), fide Bonaparte.

SP. CHAR. Wings very long, reaching to the terminal third of the tail. Above reddish-olive, variously glossed with gray; the top of the head and the under parts violet-purplish red, paler on the chin and throat. Inside of wings, and sides of body, blue; greater wing-coverts tinged with the same. Quills dark brown; the secondaries tipped with white. Inner tail-feathers like the back; the others blue above; all with a subterminal bar of black, beyond which the blue is lighter, assuming a whitish tint on the exterior feathers. Wing-coverts with concealed spots of black, which are more visible on the tertials; a spot of the same below the ear. Bill black. Feet yellowish. Length, 10.00; wing, 6.00; tail, 4.00.

HAB. Florida Keys. Chiefly on or near Indian Key and the West Indies. Santa Cruz (NEWTON, Ibis, I, 253, eggs); Cuba (CAB. J. IV, III; GUNDL. Rep. I, 1866, 301); Bahamas (BRYANT, Pr. B. VII, 1859); Jamaica (GOSSE, B. J. 317); Sombrero (LAWR. VIII, 99); Porto Rico (BRYANT, B. P. 1866).

Among many specimens of this species before us is one from Mr. Audubon’s collection, probably procured in Florida. It must be much rarer now than formerly on the keys, as several collections of birds made on Indian Key do not include any specimens.

The Z. hypoleuca, Gray,[106] of South America, is very similar, but lacks any trace of the broad white bar at the end of the secondaries. There is more white on the tail, the feathers of which are narrower at the ends; besides, the colors generally are lighter, the crissum being creamy-white.

HABITS. The Zenaida Dove was found by Mr. Audubon to be a transient visitor of the keys of East Florida, where, according to his observations, they made their first appearance among the islands around Indian Key about the 15th of April. There they continued to increase in numbers until October, when they all returned to the West India Islands, whence they came, and where they are most numerous. The males were observed to reach the keys in which they passed the summer to breed before the females, and were heard cooing, as if in search of their mates, at least a week before the arrival of the latter. They begin to lay their eggs about the first of May. When they leave, in their autumnal migrations, they depart in small groups by families.

These birds are said by Mr. Audubon to be Ground Doves in habit. Their flight resembles that of the so-called Ground Dove, and is seldom higher than the tops of the mangroves, and never to any considerable distance except during their migrations. Though they alight on trees with ease, and can walk well among their branches, they spend the greater portion of their time on the ground, and walk well there, walking or running in search of food with lightness and celerity, and invariably roost on the ground.

Their flight is similar to that of the Carolina Dove in the firm movements of the wings, though they do not produce the same whistling sounds. In flying over the water they keep near its surface; and when started from the ground they only fly to a short distance, and realight in the grass or a thicket. They are extremely gentle, so much so that Mr. Audubon has occasionally approached so near as to almost touch them with his gun as they stood gazing at him, apparently devoid of all fear.

They breed in the few keys that are covered with grass and low shrubs. They always place their nest on the ground, often with so little concealment that it may be easily discovered by any one searching for it. Occasionally it is placed between tufts of grass, the tops of which bend over and conceal it. A small hole is scooped in the sand in which a slight nest, composed of matted blades of dry grasses, is placed, circular in form, and embedded in an outer collection of dry leaves and twigs. The whole fabric is said to be more compact than the nest of any other Pigeon. The eggs, always two, are described as pure white and translucent.

When sitting on her eggs or on her young, the female rarely moved from them except when an attempt was made to catch her, which she always evaded with great dexterity, gliding with great quickness to a short distance, and watching the movements of the intruder with drooping wings and an air of deep sorrow, her whole frame trembling as if with intense cold.

Mr. Audubon took alive two of the young birds, which he fed from his mouth with Indian-corn meal. This they ate with avidity, until placed under the care of a common tame Pigeon, that at once fostered them. They lived, and were taken to Dr. Bachman in Charleston.

Their notes are said to closely resemble the cooing of the Carolina Dove, but are somewhat more soft and tender. During midday, when the heat in the central parts of the keys is intense, these birds are silent.

Their flesh was found to be excellent, and they were generally very fat. They fed on grass seeds, on the leaves of certain aromatic plants, and on various kinds of berries,—among others, one highly poisonous to man,—and mingle with their food particles of shells and gravel. They have two broods in a season.

According to Mr. Audubon, their eggs measure 1.25 inches in length by .87 of an inch in breadth, and are abruptly pointed at one end. He states that they propagated readily in the aviary of the Earl of Derby, some being let loose in the hope of introducing them into England.

This species, known in Jamaica as the Pea Dove, is not, according to March, gregarious, and, although terrestrial in habits, is often seen and heard on trees, and also roosts there. It nests indiscriminately on the ground or in trees, making a slight platform of sticks and twigs, loosely put together. The eggs are two, oval or roundish-oval in shape, and white. They measure from 1.20 to 1.32 inches in length by an inch in breadth. It is a favorite cage-bird, and though apparently very timid and restless, becomes very tame and docile, and will take grain from the hand or lips of its feeder.

In Santa Cruz it is known as the Mountain Dove, and was there found very common by Mr. Newton. It afforded excellent sport and was very good eating. It was not only numerous on the hills, but was likewise plentiful in all parts of the island sufficiently overgrown with brush. Mr. Newton did not find it so terrestrial in its habits as it is stated to be by some writers. Its flight is said to be remarkably rapid. It breeds from April to the end of July, and is said to build the ordinary Pigeon’s nest,—a mere platform of twigs in a bush or tree at any height from a few feet to twenty. It lays two eggs, which, in Santa Cruz, were found by Mr. Newton to be perfectly white, and not of a drab hue, as stated by Mr. Gosse. The young birds are often taken from the nest and brought up without much difficulty. The cooing of this Dove is stated to much resemble the noise made by sounding a conch-shell.

The eggs of the Zenaida Dove are more rounded in their shape than those of most of our Pigeons, are white, equally obtuse at each end, and measure 1.30 inches in length by .90 in breadth.

GENUS ZENAIDURA, BONAP.

Zenaidura, BONAP. Consp. Avium, II, 1854, 84. (Type, _Columba carolinensis_, L.) Perissura, CAB. Jour. für Orn. IV, 1856, 111. (Same type.)

GEN. CHAR. Bill weak, black; culmen from frontal feathers about one third the head above. Tarsus not quite as long as middle toe and claw, but considerably longer than the lateral ones; covered anteriorly by a single series of scutellæ. Inner lateral claw considerably longer than outer, and reaching to the base of middle. Wings pointed; second quill longest; first and third nearly equal. Tail very long, equal to the wings; excessively graduated and cuneate, of fourteen feathers.

The fourteen tail-feathers render this genus very conspicuous among the North American doves. It was formerly placed with the Passenger-Pigeon in Ectopistes, but has nothing in common with it but the lengthened tail, as it belongs to a different subfamily. At present three species are known, two of them recently described. Unless Z. yucatanensis proves to be a hybrid between Zenaida amabilis and Zenaidura carolinensis, it may be expedient to merge Zenaida and Zenaidura into one, since, if yucatanensis prove to be a permanent form, the additional pair of tail-feathers is all that is left to characterize Zenaidura; and when we consider that the wedge-tailed Haliætus pelagicus has fourteen tail-feathers, while the round-tailed species have only twelve, it seems reasonable to consider the difference as merely specific in this case also.

=A.= Secondaries broadly tipped with white.

=Z. yucatanensis.=[107] Beneath entirely deep purplish-vinaceous. Wing, 6.00; tail, 4.90; culmen, .58; tarsus, .85; middle toe, .90. Hab. Yucatan.

=B.= Secondaries not tipped with white.

=Z. carolinensis.= Beneath light purplish-vinaceous anteriorly; crissum nearly white. Wing, 5.90; tail, 6.00; culmen, .50; tarsus, .86; middle toe, .82. Hab. Whole of North America, south to Panama; West Indies.

=Z. graysoni.=[108] Beneath entirely uniform deep reddish-cinnamon. Wing, 6.00; tail, 5.15; culmen, .84; tarsus, 1.08; middle toe, .97. Hab. Socorro Island, western coast of Mexico.

Zenaidura carolinensis, BONAP.

CAROLINA OR COMMON DOVE.

Columba carolinensis, LINNÆUS, Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 286, No. 37.—LATHAM, Ind. II, 1790, 613.—WILSON, Am. Orn. V, 1812, 91, pl. xliii.—AUD. Orn. Biog. I, 1831, 91; V, 1839, 555, pl. xvii.—NUTTALL, Man. I, 1832, 626. Turtur carolinensis, BRISSON, I, 110, pl. viii. Ectopistes carolinensis, RICH. List, 1837.—BON. Birds Amer. V, 1842, 36, pl. cclxxxvi. Zenaidura carolinensis, BONAP. Consp. Av. II, 1854, 84 (type).—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 604.—REICHENB. Handb. Taub. 19, tab. 249, f. 1380–82.—COOP. & SUCKL. 218.—COOP. Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 512. Perissura carolinensis, CAB. Cab. Jour. 1856, 111, 112 (type). Columba marginata, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 286, No. 40 (best description).—WAGLER, Syst. Av. 1827, No. 91.—IB. Isis, 1831, 519. Ectopistes marginata, GRAY, List, Br. Mus. ? Ectopistes marginellus, WOODHOUSE, Pr. A. N. Sc. VI, June, 1852, 104.—IB. Expl. Zuñi & Color. 1853, 93; Birds, pl. v (Canadian river, Ark. Immature bird). ? Zenaidura marginalla, BONAP. Consp. Av. II, 1854, 85.

SP. CHAR. Tail-feathers fourteen. Above bluish, although this is overlaid with light brownish-olive, leaving the blue pure only on the top of the head, the exterior of the wings, and the upper surface of the tail, which is even slightly tinged with this color. The entire head, except the vertex, the sides of the neck, and the under parts generally, light brownish-vinaceous, strongly tinged with purple on the breast, becoming lighter behind, and passing into brownish-yellow or creamy-ochraceous on the anal region, tibiæ, and under tail-coverts. Sides of the neck with a patch of metallic purplish-red. Sides of body and inside of wings clear light blue. Wing-coverts and scapulars spotted with black, mostly concealed, and a small oblong patch of the same, with a steel-blue reflection, below the ear. Tail-feathers seen from below blackish, the outer web of outermost white, the others tipped with the same, the color becoming more and more bluish to the innermost, which is brown. Seen from above there is the same gradation from white to light blue in the tips; the rest of the feather, however, is blue, with a bar of black anterior to the light tip, which runs a little forward along the margin and shaft of the feather. In the sixth feather the color is uniform bluish, with this bar; the seventh is without a bar. Bill black, the angle of the mouth carmine. Female smaller, and with less red beneath. Length of male, 12.85; wing, 5.75; tail, 6.70. Bare orbits pale blue, with a green tint; iris dark brown; feet lake-red. Young with the feathers of upper parts and jugulum margined with paler; the tints more brownish.

HAB. Throughout United States from Atlantic to Pacific. Cuba; Middle America to Panama. Localities: Oaxaca (SCL. 1859, 391); Cordova (1856, 359); Guatemala (Ibis, I, 222); Cuba (CAB. J. IV, III; GUNDL. Rep. I, 1866, 301); Honduras (TAYLOR, Ibis, II, 227); Southeastern Texas (DRESSER, Ibis, 1866, 24, breeds); Fort Whipple, Arizona (COUES, P. A. N. S. 1866, 93); Costa Rica (LAWR. IX, 139); Yucatan (IX, 207).

Specimens from the whole of North America, south to Costa Rica and the West India Islands, are identical in colors and proportions.

Specimens from Cuba, Jamaica, and other West India Islands, resemble examples from the eastern United States, but are considerably smaller, the wing measuring less than 5.50 inches. The dark blotches on the wings appear of unusual size, the rufous tinge on the back is more decided, and the under parts are more deeply colored. In these respects they resemble somewhat skins from Cape St. Lucas, collected by Mr. Xantus.

HABITS. The Carolina Dove is found throughout the United States, in nearly all parts, from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada, and from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific. It occurs also in the West Indies, in Mexico, and in Central America. It is found in the southern part of Maine as far to the eastward as Calais, but was not collected by Mr. Verrill at Norway, and is not known to occur in the northern part of that State. Farther west, it is met with to the Canada line; a few being known to breed near Hamilton, and others to pass the winter near Salt Springs, according to Mr. McIlwraith. They occur with more or less abundance in different parts of Massachusetts, but are generally quite rare except in one or two localities. In nearly all the rest of the United States they are widely and generally distributed, and often abundant. In some parts of the country they are cherished for their confiding trust in the protection of man; while in others they are hunted on account of their delicacy as food, and are very shy and difficult of approach. In Carlisle, Penn., I found them one of the most common birds, frequenting the gardens and orchards, and breeding often in close proximity to the houses. In Western Massachusetts, on the other hand, where they were once quite abundant, they have been so persistently hunted that they are very shy, and have become quite rare.

In Kansas and in Colorado they were frequently found by Mr. Allen, and in the latter region also by Messrs. Aiken and Holden. On the Plains, in the absence of any trees in which to build, they were in the habit of constructing their nests on the ground, in some instances depositing their eggs in a mere depression in the sand, with hardly any pretence for a nest.

This bird was obtained in Tamaulipas, Mexico, by Lieutenant Couch; at Ringgold Barracks, Texas, by Mr. J. H. Clark; near San Elizario, by Dr. Kennerly; and on the Colorado, by Mr. Schott. Mr. Clark found the vicinity of Ringgold Barracks a great resort for many birds of this family for the purpose of nesting; the luxuriant development of the Opuntia, and other vegetation equally impassable, affording the means of defence. Hundreds of at least half a dozen species were to be seen every evening on the banks of the river after water. Lieutenant Couch found it in great numbers from the Rio Grande to beyond the Sierra Madre, generally near the ranches, though often in the forests. It seemed inclined to court the society of man for protection and food. It was also very abundant, according to Dr. Kennerly, in the vicinity of San Elizario, banding in large flocks, and feeding in the wheat and corn fields. It was also observed as far west as Santa Cruz, in Sonora.

Dr. Newberry met with this Dove in all parts of California and Oregon visited by him. Dr. Suckley mentions it as very abundant throughout Washington Territory and Oregon. At Fort Steilacoom it arrives and departs at about the same time as the Columba fasciata. Dr. Cooper states it to be common about prairies and farms of the interior, and probably some remain all winter in the Territory, though they rarely appear at any time near the coast border.

Dr. Kennerly found this species about Bill Williams Fork, in New Mexico, and also in the vicinity of San Antonio, Texas, and along the Gulf coast; but travelling west about two hundred miles from the former place, they seemed suddenly to disappear.

According to Mr. Salvin, this Dove was very abundant about Dueñas, inhabiting only the open districts. It congregated in flocks, and was resident. Mr. G. C. Taylor frequently met with it in Honduras, where they were generally seen in small flocks of from six to ten.

Dr. Woodhouse mentions that the mournful notes of these birds were to be heard continually throughout the Indian Territory and the greater part of Texas and New Mexico, in all of which countries it breeds.

Mr. Dresser found this Dove a familiar resident in every part of Texas and Mexico that he visited. He saw many of their nests, all slightly built of sticks placed on the branch of a mesquite tree or bush, containing two pure-white eggs. In two instances the nests were on the ground. He met with one nest with fresh eggs as late as September 7.

These birds are migratory in the Northern States, and partially so in the Middle States, their movements being irregular, and evidently dependent upon the abundance of their food. In North and South Carolina, and in other parts of the country south of Pennsylvania, they collect together in the winter months in considerable numbers. Wilson states that on the 2d of February he saw a flock of many hundreds of these birds near Newbern, N. C.; and near the Savannah River, in Georgia, the woods were swarming with them. They return to the North in March or early in April, and disperse very generally over the country in pairs, rarely more than two or three of these being seen together. They are then occasionally to be seen in roads, dusting themselves or procuring gravel. Where not molested, they often visit the farm-yards, and even occasionally feed with the poultry, take water from the drinking-places of the cattle, and become partially domesticated.

When their breeding-season is over, usually early in August, they again collect in small flocks, which unite in larger collections when they move southward in their migrations.

Their flight is rapid, vigorous, and strong, and the flapping of their wings is accompanied by a peculiar whistling sound. They can fly with great swiftness, can readily alight on trees, and move with facility among the branches.

Their love-notes, which commence in the early spring, are celebrated for their peculiarly sad and touching plaintiveness of sound, though the birds themselves exhibit in their appearance and manners at this time anything but an appearance of grief or mourning, being exceedingly lively and sportive in their endearments. These notes are repeated almost continually, in a succession of four or five notes sounding like ah-coo-roo-coo or ah-cōō-rōō-cōō-rōō.

This Pigeon feeds on seeds, grain, buckwheat, Indian corn, the berries of various shrubs and plants, and the smaller acorns of the live-oak and other oaks. They are also accused of visiting the gardens and consuming peas. They swallow great quantities of gravel.

In Pennsylvania they are said to nest as early as the first of May. They probably have more than one brood in a season, as the nests found at Carlisle about the middle of June were found to contain perfectly fresh eggs. Their nest is a rudely constructed fabric of small twigs laid together in an inartistic manner, and lined with a few finer stems and rootlets, and is placed on the horizontal branch of a tree, in a vine or evergreen, or even on the ground. The last was the general position of their nests on the Plains, and occasionally is noticed at the East. Wilson found nests thus placed in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.

Dr. Coues mentions this bird as an abundant summer resident in Arizona, where it arrives the last week in April and remains into October. The presence of this bird on the dry sandy wastes of that Territory always proved a sure indication of the presence of water, the nature of its food, consisting ordinarily of dry hard seeds, rendering an abundant supply of water necessary to its existence.

Mr. Audubon states that these birds breed in Louisiana in April, and sometimes as early as March, and have there two broods. They roost at night on the ground, among the long grasses found growing in abandoned fields; and occasionally they resort to the dead foliage of trees, and to various kinds of evergreens. Their flesh is said to be remarkably fine, tender and juicy, especially when the birds are fat, and by some is regarded as superior to that of either the Snipe or the Woodcock.

This Dove can easily be induced to breed in aviaries, even though caught when old, and will have several broods in a season.

In Southern Illinois they have been observed by Mr. Ridgway to breed in various situations, either on the ground in grain-fields, on the tops of stumps, or the top of a rail fence, as well as in trees and bushes. They nest from the beginning of April to the middle of September. They were also remarkably abundant along the line of the 40th parallel, according to Mr. Ridgway, even in the most desert tracts.

The eggs of this species measure 1.15 inches in length by .86 in breadth; they are of an oblong-oval shape, white in color, and nearly equal at either extremity.

GENUS SCARDAFELLA, BONAP.

Scardafella, BON. Conspectus, II, 1854, 85. (Type, Columba squamosa, TEMM.)

GEN. CHAR. Bill lengthened; culmen more than half the length of the head measured from frontal feathers. Feet as in Chamæpelia. Wing with the tertials nearly as long as the primaries; shorter, however, than the first primary. Tail considerably longer than the wing, of twelve feathers, of peculiar shape; the ten middle feathers nearly even, or very slightly decreasing toward the sides, but the intermediæ considerably shorter, while the lateral pair are much the shortest; the feathers are narrow, especially toward the end, but the tip is obtuse.

Two species are known; one North American, the other confined to South America.

Species and Varieties.

COMMON CHARACTERS. Brownish-gray above, paler, and with a vinaceous cast anteriorly, beneath. Each feather with a terminal dusky crescentic bar, producing a squamate appearance; inner webs of quills chestnut; axillars black; about terminal half of three outer tail-feathers white.

=S. squamosa.=[109] A white patch on the wing-coverts and secondaries; abdomen and crissum white. Black crescentic bars very heavy. Wing, 3.90; tail, 4.10. Hab. Brazil, Ecuador.

=S. inca.= No white patch on wings; abdomen and crissum pale ochraceous. Black bars very faint on breast, obsolete on throat. Wing, 3.75; tail, 4.40. Hab. Mexico and Guatemala; Rio Grande of Texas.

Scardafella inca, BONAP.

SCALY DOVE.

Scardafella inca, (BONAP.) SCL. P. Z. S. 1859, 391.—REICHENB. Handb. 19, tab. 250, f. 1393; tab. 253, f. 1410.—ELLIOT, Illust. II, pl. xxxvii.—COOP. Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 519. Scardafella squamosa (“TEMM.”) WAGL. Isis, 1831, 519 (not of Temminck!).—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 605.

SP. CHAR. Above ashy-brown, becoming purer and lighter ashy on the wings. Beneath pale ashy-lilaceous, with a pinkish tinge anteriorly, becoming pale ochraceous on the abdomen, tibiæ, and crissum. Outer webs and ends of primaries, and tail-feathers (except the intermediæ), dusky. Every feather (except rectrices and primaries) terminated with a crescentic bar of dusky; these bars heaviest on the mantle, upper tail-coverts, and on the sides and flanks, faintest on the jugulum, obsolete on throat. Primaries and lining of wing mostly deep chestnut; axillars black; lateral tail-feather with the terminal half white, on both webs; second and third feathers with a gradually decreasing amount of white. Sexes similar. Young similar, but feathers faintly mottled, and markings less sharply defined. Wing, 3.75; tail, 4.40; culmen, .47; tarsus, .57; middle toe, .58. Female a little smaller.

HAB. Rio Grande Valley, south to Guatemala. Arizona (Tucson, Bendire); Oaxaca (SCL. 1859, 391, eggs); Cordova (1856, 309); Guatemala (Ibis I, 223); Honduras (TAYLOR, Ibis, II, 227); City of Mexico (SCL. P. Z. S. 1864, 178.)

Specimens from Nicaragua to Texas and Mazatlan do not vary appreciably.

HABITS. Our information in regard to the distribution and habits of this species is quite incomplete. It was met with near Cadereita, in the State of New Leon, Mexico, by Lieutenant Couch, who procured a specimen April 18, 1853.

It was also found in flocks in company with Chamæpelia rufipennis, near San Pedro and Peten, Honduras, by Leyland. Mr. Salvin met with only a single specimen at Dueñas. On the coast it was more numerous, resembling in its habits the common species of the district, Chamæpelia passerina.

The “Long-tailed Ground Dove” is said by Mr. G. C. Taylor to be very common in Honduras, where it is generally seen in pairs. They were found to be very good eating, but too small to repay their cost where ammunition was so scarce.

It was found breeding near Laredo, Texas, by Dr. H. B. Butcher, July 1, 1866. The nest (S. I. 12,896) is said to have been built in the fork of a small mesquite-tree, and to have contained two eggs. The eggs are similar to those of the Chamæpelia passerina, white, of an oval shape, nearly equally obtuse at either end.

Mr. Xantus found this Dove breeding abundantly at Cape St. Lucas. The maximum number of eggs was invariably two. One nest was found in a leafless acacia about six feet from the ground; another, found May 26, was about five feet high, in a small thorn-bush; a third was at the height of eight feet, and also placed in a bush; others were placed in small oaks, in cacti, in opuntia, and other situations, all above the ground at heights varying from five to eight feet.

The eggs of this Dove are of a white color, are oval in their shape, of about equal size at either end, and measure .91 of an inch in length by .70 in breadth.

GENUS CHAMÆPELIA, SWAINSON.

Chamæpelia, SWAINSON, Zool. Jour. III, 1827, 361. (Type, Columba passerina, L.)

GEN. CHAR. Size very small. Bill slender, elongated. Culmen more than half the head measured from frontal feathers. Legs stout. Tarsi longer than lateral toes; equal to the middle without its claw; covered anteriorly by a single series of scutellæ. Wings broad; the tertials excessively lengthened, nearly as long as the primaries, quite equal to the first primary. Tail nearly as long as the wings; rounded laterally.

This group embraces the most diminutive Doves known to naturalists. A single species is found abundantly in the southern United States; another is found in northern South America. They may be distinguished as follows:—

=C. passerina.= Feathers of jugulum with a dusky central spot; occiput and nape squamated with dusky. Hab. Southern Atlantic and Gulf States, whole of Mexico (including Lower California), Central America, New Granada, Venezuela, and West Indies.

=C. griseola.=[110] No central dusky spot to feathers of jugulum, and no scale-like markings on occiput or nape. Hab. Brazil and New Granada.

Chamæpelia passerina, SWAINSON.

GROUND DOVE.

Columba passerina, LINNÆUS, Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 285.—LATHAM, Ind. Orn. II, 1790, 611.—WILSON, Am. Orn. IV, 1811, 15, pl. xlvi.—WAGLER, Syst. Av. Columba, No. 88.—AUD. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 471; V, 1839, 558, pl. clxxxii.—IB. Birds Amer. V, 1842, 19, pl. cclxxxiii.—SUND. Ofv. 1869, 586 (St. Bartholemy.) Columba (Goura) passerina, BONAP. Obs. Wils. 1825, No. 181.—NUTTALL, Man. I, 1832, 635. Chæmepelia passerina, SWAINSON, Zool. Jour. III, 1827, 358. Chamæpelia passerina, BONAP. List, 1838.—IB. Conspectus, II, 1854, 77.—GOSSE, Birds Jamaica, 1847, 311.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 606.—SCL. P. Z. S. 1859, 391 (Oaxaca); 1857, 205 (Xalapa); Ibis, I, 223 (Guatemala); P. Z. S. 1864, 178 (City of Mexico).—CAB. J. IV, III (Cuba).—BRYANT, B. Pr. 1866 (Porto Rico).—LAWR. Ann. Lyc. IX, 134 (Costa Rica), 207 (Yucatan).—MARCH, P. A. N. S. 1863, 302 (Jamaica).—COOPER, Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 516. Pyrgitænas passerinus, REICHENB. Handb. Taub. 13 (1861 ?), tab. 266, f. 2875–78; tab. 256, f. 1419, 1420. Chamæpelia granatina, BONAP. Consp. II, 77 (Bogota). Chamæpelia albivitta, BONAP. Consp. II, 77 (Carthagena). Chamæpelia var. pallescens, BAIRD, P. A. N. S. Philad. 1859 (Cape St. Lucas).—COOPER Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 517.

SP. CHAR. Back, rump, exposed surface of tertials, and tail above, uniform grayish-olive; neck above and occiput tinged with bluish; forehead, sides of head, and neck, under parts generally, and lesser upper wing-coverts, light purplish-red, tinged with dusky towards the tail. Feathers of the head, neck, and fore-breast, margined with a darker shade of the ground-color; the forehead and chin, only, nearly uniform. Feathers of the breast dusky-brown in the centre, this most conspicuous on the jugulum. Under wing-coverts, axillars, and quills, brownish-orange; the latter margined externally and tipped with dusky-brown, the tertials almost entirely of this color. Middle tail-feathers like the back; the others mostly black, the outer one edged towards the tip with white. The exposed surface of the wing variously marked with blotches exhibiting black, steel-blue, and violet. Bill and feet yellow; the former tipped with brown. Female with little or none of the purplish-red. Young duller than the adult female, the feathers of upper parts with a narrow terminal bar of white. Length, 6.30; wing, 3.50; tail, 2.80.

HAB. South Atlantic and Gulf coasts; very rarely as far north as Washington. Southern and Lower California; whole of Middle America, to New Granada and Venezuela; West Indies.

Specimens vary considerably in the depth of the vinaceous tints, but the variation is nearly as much with the individual as with the locality. As a rule, Florida and West India skins are most deeply colored, those from Mexico (particularly from Cape St. Lucas and Orizaba) being much paler in all the tints (var. pallescens, Baird); but specimens from Guatemala and Costa Rica are undistinguishable from the average of the Florida series. Specimens from New Granada (labelled C. granatina, Bonap.), Venezuela (labelled C. albivitta), and the Amazons, are more like Cape St. Lucas specimens, differing from them only in slightly smaller size, the colors being the same in the minutest particulars, except that the crissum is perhaps more whitish, the dusky centres of the feathers being more concealed. These generalizations are based on fifty-six specimens in the Smithsonian Museum.

HABITS. According to Mr. Audubon, this Dove is found from the lower parts of Louisiana to Cape Hatteras, following the coast quite round Florida, but is seen very seldom to any distance in the interior. He met with none in the State of Mississippi. They were more abundant among the sea-islands of Georgia and the middle portions of the coast of East Florida than anywhere else.

This bird has also been taken at Monterey, California, by W. Hutton, and a single accidental specimen has been obtained near Washington, D. C.

Specimens were obtained near Matamoras, in Tamaulipas, by Dr. Berlandier, and subsequently by Lieutenant Couch, who generally found them in the forests or open fields at a distance from dwellings. They were observed to fly low, and only for short distances, and to spend most of their time on the ground.

In Jamaica, according to Mr. March, the Ground Dove sometimes perches, and always roosts, on low trees; but is otherwise generally found in pairs, feeding on the ground on small grain and seeds. Several pairs may be seen feeding together, but they do not associate. It is said to be very tame, and to be found about homesteads and in streets and roads. It also breeds in low trees, the cashew and the dogwood seeming to be preferred. It is very rarely kept as a cage-bird, as its note is a plaintive mournful coo, and there is a Creole superstition that misfortune will happen to any one so treating it. The nest is slightly made of twigs, lined with grass, and built in a fork or hollow. The eggs are two, of a rounded oval, white, .87 of an inch by .69.

According to Mr. Salvin, this Dove is one of the most familiar birds of the central region of Guatemala, where it is the only small Ground Dove found. In the coast region its place was supplied by at least two other species. It is abundant at Dueñas, residing all the year, and breeding in the cochineal plantations, where it deposits its eggs, two in number, on the ground under the rows of “nopal.” It is called Tortolita by the inhabitants. He found its nests both on the ground and elevated a few feet above it.

Mr. Dresser found these birds common near Matamoras, and generally noticed them on the road between Matamoras and Brownsville, as well as on a sand-plain close to Fort Brown, on the Texan side of the river. In the interior of Texas he did not meet with any, except once, in April, on the Medina near San Antonio.

Mr. Audubon describes the flight of this Dove as low, easy, and accompanied by a whistling sound, produced by the action of the wings when the bird is surprised and forced to fly. it is less protracted than that of most other species, and seldom extends more than a hundred yards at a time. It seems much attached to its chosen locality, and almost immediately returns to it after having been driven away. While it alights on trees and moves with ease among the branches, and mostly nests in low trees or bushes, the ground is its usual place of resort, where it runs with facility, and in moving always keeps its tail considerably elevated. It appeared to be fond of alighting on fences, where it can be heard cooing for half an hour at a time.

These Pigeons are met with in groups of four or five, and seldom more than ten or twelve are seen together. They appear to prefer the thinly grassed sandy portions of cotton-fields, pea-patches, and similar places. In East Florida they may even be seen in the villages, resorting to the orange-groves and breeding in them. At St. Augustine they are often found within the inner court of the old Spanish fort, rising almost perpendicularly in order to escape above the parapets. They are easily caught, and readily become domesticated. A pair taken when their young were quite small, and placed in an aviary, continued to nourish them until full-grown, and afterwards raised a second brood from the same nest. They were fed on rice and other small grain.

The nest of this species is described as compact, and as large for the size of the bird. It is composed of dry twigs externally, and within is made of dry grasses disposed in a circular form. This is usually built in hedges or low bushes, and among the branches of orange-trees. The eggs are two, pure white, and with one end usually much more obtuse than the other. They are two in number, but, as Mr. Audubon states, occasionally the nest contains three. Two broods are raised in a season.

In the vicinity of Charleston these birds were observed to remain all the year, though the greater proportion retired south or to the sea-islands.

In the Florida Keys Mr. Audubon met with them among the islands resorted to by the Zenaida Doves, and also on Sandy Island, near Cape Sable. In the latter place they were so gentle that he approached to within two yards of them. Their nest was on the top of a cactus, not more than two feet from the ground.

Their food, in a wild state, consists of grass-seeds and various small berries, with which they swallow a large proportion of gravel to assist digestion. They are extremely fond of dusting themselves in the sand, lying down in it in the manner of various gallinaceous birds.

The eggs of this species are of a uniform bright white color, are slightly more pointed at one end than at the other, and measure .85 of an inch in length by .63 in breadth.

This species was found in abundance at Cape St. Lucas by Mr. Xantus. They were nesting from April 15 until August 29, and evidently had two or more broods in a season. Their nests were usually placed in low cactuses, near the ground, or in small shrubs. Their nests, eggs, and general habits, so far as we can gather them from the meagre notes of Mr. Xantus, are in no wise different from those of the more eastern birds.

[Plate: PLATE LVIII.

1. Oreopeleia martinica. ♂ Jamaica. 2. Zenaidura carolinensis. ♂ N. C., 55569. 3. Zenaida amabilis. ♂ Jamaica, 24406. 4. Melopeleia leucoptera. ♂ Mazatlan, 34009. 5. Starnoæna cyanocephalus. ♂ Jamaica, ? 12541. 6. Chamæpelia passerina. ♂ 28281. 7. Scardafella inca. ♂ Texas, 45465.]

GENUS OREOPELEIA, REICHENBACH.

Oreopeleia, REICHENBACH, Handbuch der speciellen Ornithol. I, i, 1851, page xxiv. (Type, Columba martinica, L.)

GEN. CHAR. Bill lengthened, slender; culmen half the rest of the head from the frontal feathers. Feet large, stout; tarsi longer than the middle toe and claw, covered anteriorly by transverse scutellæ. Inner lateral claw longer than outer; reaching beyond the base of the middle one, the outer falling short of it. Hind toe and claw more than half the middle. Quills and tail-feathers very broad; the wings rounded; second and third quills longest, the first intermediate between the fourth and fifth. Tail suborbicular, the shafts convex outwardly; the feathers rounded, and a little graduated.

Of this genus, which is peculiar to America, two well-marked species, may be distinguished.

=O. martinica.= Above chestnut-rufous, the crown and nape with purplish-green, the lower part of nape with golden-green, the back with violet, the other upper parts with bright purplish-red reflections; beneath pinkish-white, more purplish on the jugulum. A distinctly marked light stripe on the cheek, bordered below by one of purplish-red. Length, 10.70; wing, 6.20; tail, 5.75. Hab. Key West, Florida (?) Cuba, and Martinique.

=O. montana.=[111] Above deep orange-rufous, without bright reflections, but with an opaque gloss of reddish-purple on the back and nape. Beneath ochraceous, inclining to vinaceous on the jugulum. Cheeks without distinct whitish bar bordered below by reddish. Wing, 5.70. Hab. Atlantic region of Middle America from Xalapa to Brazil; West Indies.

Oreopeleia martinica, REICH.

KEY WEST PIGEON.

Columba martinica, GMELIN, I, 1788, 781 (not of Temminck). Geotrygon martinica, BONAP. Consp. Av. II, 1854, 74.—CAB. Jour. IV, 1856, 108. Oreopeleia martinicana, REICH. Syst. Av. 1851, page xxv.—IB. “Icones Avium, tab. 257, fig. 1431.” Columba montana, AUD. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 382, pl. clxvii.—IB. Syn. 1839, 191.—IB. Birds Am. V, 1842, 14, pl. cclxxxii.—NUTTALL, Man. I, (2d ed.,) 1840, 756 (not of Linnæus). Zenaida montana, BONAP. Geog. & Comp. List, 1838. “Columbigallina montana, TEMMINCK.” “Columba mystacea, LEMBEYE,” BONAP. (not of Temminck). Oreopeleia martinica, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 607.—CAB. J. IV, 109 (Cuba).—GUNDL. Repert. Cub. I, 1866, 299 (Cuba).—REICH. Handb. Taub. 31, tab. 257, fig. 1432.

SP. CHAR. Ground-color of the upper parts, including wing (both surfaces), and tail-feathers, chestnut-rufous; the upper part of head and neck with metallic reflections of green and purple; the back, rump, and wing-coverts, with reflections of metallic light-purplish or violet. There is a white band from the lower mandible along side of the head, bordered below by purplish-red, like the forehead, and a similar band through the eyes, which are without metallic lustre. The breast is very light purplish-red, fading to white towards the tail and chin. The feathers of the under tail-coverts are dusky-brown at the base. Length, 10.70; wing, 6.00; tail, 5.75.

HAB. Key West, Florida; Cuba and Martinique, perhaps elsewhere in the West Indies.

HABITS. The Key West Pigeon is found within the fauna of the United States only in the extreme southern portion of Florida, and, so far as known, only on the island of Key West, where Mr. Audubon met with them, and enjoyed a limited opportunity of observing their habits. He describes the flight as low, swift, and protracted, as he saw them passing from Cuba to Key West. They moved in loose flocks of from five or six to a dozen, and so very low as to almost seem to touch the surface. They were fond of going out early in the morning from their thickets to cleanse their plumage in the shelly sand, but on the least approach of danger would fly back to the thickest part of the woods, throw themselves on the ground, and run off with great rapidity. Their movements of the tail and neck are similar to those of the Carolina Dove. Their coo is said to be neither so soft nor so prolonged as that of the common Dove, and may be represented by the syllable whoe-whoe-oh-oh-oh. When suddenly approached, they utter a guttural gasping sound. They are said to alight on the lower branches of shrubby trees, and to delight in the neighborhood of shady ponds, always inhabiting by preference the darkest solitudes. Whatever may have been their abundance on Key West, in Mr. Audubon’s time, it is certain that they are very rare there now, as I am not aware of their having been taken of late years by any of the numerous collectors who have visited South Florida since Mr. Audubon’s time.

The nest is described as formed of light dry twigs, in shape much resembling that of the Carolina Dove. Occasionally it is placed on the ground, and is then less elaborate. Some are placed on large branches near the ground, while others are built among slender twigs.

Towards the middle of July, according to Mr. Audubon, they become so abundant that sportsmen are able to shoot a score or more in a day. They feed on berries and the seeds of various plants, and are especially fond of the fruit of the sea-grape.

GENUS STARNŒNAS, BONAPARTE.

Starnœnas, BONAPARTE, Geog. & Comp. List, 1838. (Type, Columba cyanocephala, L.)

GEN. CHAR. Bill short; culmen about one third the rest of head, measured from the frontal feathers. Legs very stout and large; tarsus bare on the entire tibial joint, and covered with hexagonal scales, largest anteriorly, longer than the middle toe and claw. Inner lateral claw the larger, reaching the base of the middle claw; all the claws short, thick, and blunt. Hind toe and claw short; half the middle. Wings short, broad, and concave; much rounded. Tail short, broad, nearly even, but slightly vaulted.

The single species of Dove composing the genus in many respects resembles the Partridges or Quails, both in external appearance and in manners.

Starnœnas cyanocephala, BON.

BLUE-HEADED PIGEON.

Columba cyanocephala, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 282.—GMELIN, Syst. I, 1788, 778.—WAGLER, Syst. Avium, 1827, Columba, No. 112.—AUD. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 441; V. 1839, 557, pl. clxxii. Starnœnas cyanocephala, BONAP. List, 1838.—IB. Consp. II, 1854, 69.—AUD. Syn. 1839, 193.—IB. Birds Amer. V, 1842, 23, pl. cclxxxiv.—GUNDLACH, Cab. Journ. IV, 1856, 108.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 608.—CAB. J. IV, 108 (Cuba).—GUNDL. Repert. Cub. I, 1866, 299.—REICHENB. Handb. Taub. 30, tab. 257, f. 1431; 266, f. 2879–81. Starnœnas cyanocephala, REICHENBACH, Systema Av. 1851, p. xxv, pl. xxiii.—IB. Icones Av. tab. 260 and 266. Geophilus? cyanocephala, SELBY, Pigeons, Jard. Nat. Lib. V, 216, pl. xxvii. Columba (Lophyrus) cyanocephala, NUTTALL, Man. I, (2d. ed.,) 1840, 769. Columba tetraoides, (SCOPOLI,) GMELIN, I, 772. Blue-headed Turtle, LATHAM, Syn. II, II, 651.

SP. CHAR. Bill blue, the fleshy part at the base carmine. Iris brown, scales of feet carmine, the interspaces white. Above and on sides glossy dark chocolate-olivaceous; beneath brownish-red, lighter centrally. Chin and throat black, with a narrow border of white below. A white line begins in the chin, and passes under the eye to the occiput. Sides of head above this and forehead black; crown blue. Length, 10.70; wing, 5.40; tail, 4.35.

HAB. West India Islands; according to Audubon found occasionally at Key West, Florida, and other southern keys.

The axillars and under surface of the wings are like the belly. The crissum is most like the back. The outer tail-feathers have a bluish tinge above.

The hind toe in this species is not strictly in the same plane with the others, but placed a little above their point of insertion.

HABITS. This handsome Pigeon belongs to the fauna of the West India Islands, and is only an occasional visitant of Key West and other southern keys of Florida. They are a common species in Cuba, from which island a few are stated by Mr. Audubon to migrate each year to certain of the keys of Florida, where, however, they are rarely seen on account of their living only in the most tangled thickets. Mr. Audubon saw a pair on the western side of Key West. They were near the water picking gravel, but they would not suffer a near approach. He saw a pair, also, that had been taken, when young, on “Mule Keys.” These fed well on cracked corn and rice, but he was unable to obtain any further information in respect to them.

Though abundant in Cuba this species does not appear to have been found in Jamaica, except as an imported bird from the former island, contrary to the assertions of various writers, as Temminck, Brisson, and others. Mr. Gosse was not able to trace its presence, though its existence among the precipitous woods on the north side of that island he regards as quite possible.

Like Oreopeleia martinica and Zenaida amabilis, this species, though described by Audubon as not being rare on the keys of South Florida, has not been met with in that State by later explorers.

An egg of this species laid in confinement in the aviary of Dr. Bachman, in Charleston, S. C., is of a rounded-oval shape, and of a uniform creamy-white color; it measures 1.43 inches in length by 1.10 in breadth.

FAMILY CRACIDÆ.—THE CURASSOWS.

CHAR. Body large, but rather slender; bill more or less arched; tail lengthened; legs long, robust, without any spur. Toes moderate, slender, the hinder scarcely elevated. Naked spaces frequently occurring on the head and throat.

Messrs. Sclater and Salvin, in their masterly and model monograph of Cracidæ (Pr. Zoöl. Soc. 1870, 504), define the subfamilies as follows:—

=A.= Post-acetabular area narrow; upper mandible higher than broad; culmen compressed …

I. Cracinæ.

=B.= Post-acetabular area broad; upper mandible broader than high; culmen depressed.

Top of head covered with feathers; space between the nostrils naked; nostrils exposed …

II. Penelopinæ.

Top of head with a bony tubercle; internasal space densely feathered; nostrils concealed …

III. Oreophasinæ.

By the term “post-acetabular area” is understood that portion of the dorsal aspect of the pelvis which is bounded in front by a line drawn through the acetabula.

The Cracinæ, or Curassows, are found in Mexico, in Central and in South America; the Oreophasinæ are represented by a single species, Oreophasis derbianus, a bird nearly as large as a Turkey, occurring in the wooded region of the Volcan de Fuego, Guatemala, at an altitude of 10,000 feet. Of the Penelopinæ one species only is found in the United States.

SUBFAMILY PENELOPINÆ.

This is the most extensive section of Cracidæ, embracing, according to Sclater and Salvin, no less than thirty-nine species. The genera indicated are as follows:—

=A.= A central fold of skin on the throat.

Outer quills narrow, but entire.

Throat feathered …

1. =Stegnolæma.=

Throat naked.

Sexes similar …

2. =Penelope.=

Sexes different …

3. =Penelopina.=

Outer quills emarginated.

Gular fold short …

4. =Pipile.=

Gular fold lengthened; linear …

5. =Aburria.=

=B.= No central gular fold.

Throat feathered; outer quills emarginated …

6. =Chamæpetes.=

Throat naked; with a central line of bristly feathers; outer quills entire …

7. =Ortalida.=

GENUS ORTALIDA, MERREM.

Ortalida, MERREM, Av. rar. Icones et Desc. II, 1786, 40 (GRAY). (Type, Phasianus motmot, L.)

Of Ortalida, as characterized above, Messrs. Sclater and Salvin enumerate eighteen species; like the rest of the family, all American. Of these only one has so far been detected within our limits, although it is by no means improbable that the O. poliocephala, Wagler (Sclater and Salvin, Pr. Zoöl. Soc. 1870, 537), may yet be detected in New Mexico or Arizona.[112]

Ortalida vetula, var. maccalli, BAIRD.

THE TEXAS CHACALACCA.

Ortalida vetula, LAWRENCE, Ann. N. Y. Lyc. V, 1851, 116. (Not Penelope vetula, WAGLER, Isis, 1830, 1112, and 1831, 517.)—SCL. & SALV. P. Z. S. 1870, 538. (Considers it the same as P. vetula, WAGLER). Ortalida poliocephala, CASSIN, Illust. I, IX, 1855, 267, pl. xliv. (Not Penelope poliocephala, WAGLER, Isis, 1830, 1112.) Ortalida maccalli, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 611.—IB. M. Bound. II, Birds, 22.—DRESSER, Ibis, 1866, 24 (S. E. Texas, breeding).—LAWR. Ann. N. Y. IX, 209 (Yucatan).—SCL. & SALV. P. Z. S. 1870, 538 (Honduras, Vera Cruz, Guatemala).—REICHENB. Handb. der sp. Orn. Lief, VIII, 145. (Describes more adult specimens.)

SP. CHAR. Body above dark greenish-olive; beneath brownish-yellow, tinged with olive. Head and upper part of neck plumbeous. Tail-feathers lustrous green, all tipped with white, except the middle one. Feathers along the middle of the throat black; outer edge of primaries tinged with gray. Eyes brown. Bill and feet lead-colored. Length, 23.50; wing, 8.50; tail, 11.00.

HAB. Valley of the Rio Grande, and southward to Guatemala.

This form is distinguishable from O. vetula, as restricted, of which it is the northern representative, by the paler and less fulvous colors, and lighter—often nearly white—tips to the tail-feathers, besides other minor differences in coloration. The two cannot be separated specifically, however, since they undoubtedly grade into each other.

HABITS. This very remarkable bird, belonging as it does to a form peculiar to this continent, is the only species found within the limits of the United States, and only within a quite restricted area in the valley of the Rio Grande. Numerous species of this family are found in the warmer countries of America, especially Mexico and Central America, all or nearly all of which appear to be capable of domestication, and some of which, including the present species, have, in repeated instances, been quite as completely domesticated as our common Turkey.

Birds of the family to which the Texan species belongs differ in a very marked manner, in habits, from most Gallinaceæ, inasmuch as they not only live almost exclusively in deep forests, but are also remarkable for habitually frequenting trees, feeding upon their foliage, and building their nests within their branches, more in the manner of the smaller birds. They are all said to have loud and discordant voices, and are generally of a black or dark plumage.

Specimens of this bird were taken at Boquillo, in New Leon, in the spring of 1853, by Lieutenant Couch, who speaks of them as gregarious and as seeking their food wholly or in part on trees. According to Mr. Clark, they do not occur higher up the Rio Grande than the vicinity of Ringgold Barracks, inhabiting the deepest chaparrals, which they never quit. They are inactive, and for the most of the time sit about in flocks in these thickets, feeding on leaves. The Mexican name of Chacalacca is supposed to be derived from the noise with which at times they make the valleys ring, and which may be well imitated in kind, but not in strength, by putting the most stress upon the last two syllables. No sooner does one take up the song than others chime in from all quarters, till, apparently exhausted, the noise gradually dies off into an interlude, only to be again renewed. These concerts take place in the morning and evening. The birds are quite gentle, are easily tamed, and are said to cross with the common domestic fowl.

Mr. Dresser states that the Chacalacca is very common near Matamoras and Brownsville, and that in the autumn great numbers are exposed for sale in the market of the latter place. The Mexicans are said to hold it in high esteem for its fighting qualities, and often keep it in a domesticated state and cross it with the common fowl, making use of the hybrid for cock-fighting. Mr. Dresser was so informed by many Mexicans, upon whose word he placed reliance, and was an eyewitness of a fight in which one of these hybrids was engaged. Mr. Dresser had a tame one, when at Matamoras, that became so familiar that he could hardly keep it out of his room. This bird would occasionally go away for a day or two, and pay a visit to the poultry belonging to a neighbor; whenever he missed it, he had only to go to a poultry-yard near the house, where it could generally be found.

This species was first taken within the United States by Colonel McCall, who obtained it in Texas, and who enjoyed and improved unusually good opportunities to observe the habits and manners of this bird. From his notes, quoted by Mr. Cassin, we give the following:—

“This very gallant-looking and spirited bird I saw for the first time within our territory in the extensive forests of chaparral which envelop the Resaca de la Palma. Here, and for miles along the Lower Rio Grande, it was abundant; and throughout this region the remarkable and sonorous cry of the male bird could not fail to attract and fix the attention of the most obtuse or listless wanderer who might chance to approach its abode. By the Mexicans it is called Chiac-chia-lacca, an Indian name, without doubt derived from the peculiar cry of the bird, which strikingly resembles a repetition of these syllables. And when I assure you that its voice, in compass, is equal to that of the Guinea-fowl, and in harshness but little inferior, you may form some idea of the chorus with which the forest is made to ring at the hour of sunrise. At that hour, in the month of April, I have observed a proud and stately fellow descend from the tree on which he had roosted, and, mounting upon an old log or stump, commence his clear, shrill cry. This was soon responded to in a lower tone by the female, the latter always taking up the strain as soon as the importunate call of her mate had ceased. Thus alternating, one pair after another would join in the matutinal chorus, and, before the rising sun had lighted up their close retreat, the woods would ring with the din of a hundred voices, as the happy couples met after the period of separation and repose. When at length all this clatter had terminated, the parties quietly betook themselves to their morning meal. If surprised while thus employed, they would fly into the trees above, and, peering down with stretched necks, and heads turned sideways to the ground, they would challenge the intruder with a singular and oft-repeated croaking note, of which it would be difficult to give any adequate idea with words alone.”

Colonel McCall adds that the volubility and singularity of its voice is its most striking and remarkable trait. While on his march from Matamoras to Tampico he had encamped, on the 30th of December, at the spring of Encinal, whence, a short time before sunset, he rode out in search of game. Passing through a woodland near the stream, his ears were saluted with a strange sound that resembled somewhat the cry of the panther (Felis onca). He was at a loss to what animal to ascribe it, and, dismounting, crawled cautiously through the thicket for some distance, until he came upon an opening where there were some larger trees, from the lower branches of one of which he ascertained that the sound proceeded. There he discovered a large male bird of this species, ascending towards the top of the tree, and uttering this hitherto unheard sound, as he sprang from branch to branch in mounting to his roost. In a few moments his call was answered from a distance, and soon after he was joined by a bird of the year. Others followed, coming in from different quarters, and there were in a little while five or six upon the tree. One of these discovered the intruder and gave the alarm. The singular cry of the old bird ceased, and they all began to exhibit uneasiness and a disposition to fly, whereupon Colonel McCall shot the old bird.

Colonel McCall also states that the eye is a remarkable feature in the living birds of this species, being full of courage and animation, equal, in fact, in brilliancy to that of the finest gamecock. He frequently noticed this bird domesticated by the Mexicans at Matamoras, Monterey, etc., and going at large about their gardens. He was assured that in that condition it not unfrequently crossed with the common fowl.

In the wild state the eggs are said to be from six to eight, never exceeding the last number. They are white, without spots, and rather smaller than a pullet’s egg. The nest is usually on the ground, at the root of a large tree or at the side of an old log, where a hole several inches deep is scratched in the ground; this is lined with leaves, and the eggs are always carefully covered with the same when the female leaves them for the purpose of feeding. If disturbed while on her nest, she flies at the intruder with great spirit and determination.

Eggs of this species, from Matamoras, are of an oblong-oval shape, equally pointed at either end, and measure 2.35 inches in length by 1.65 in breadth. They are of a dirty-white color with a light tint of buff, and have a slightly roughened or granulated surface.

FAMILY MELEAGRIDÆ.—THE TURKEYS.

CHAR. Bill moderate; the nasal fossæ bare. Head and neck without feathers, but with scattered hairs, and more or less carunculated. An extensible fleshy process on the forehead, but no development of the bone. Tarsus armed with spurs in the male. Hind toe elevated. Tail nearly as long as the wing, truncate, of more than twelve feathers.

The family Meleagridæ, or Turkeys, as at present known, is entirely confined to North and Middle America, and represented only by the genus Meleagris. It forms, in combination with the Guinea-fowls (Numididæ), the Pheasants and common fowls (Phasianidæ), and the Grouse and Partridges (Tetraonidæ), a peculiar group, to which the name Alecteropodes has been given by Professor Huxley; this group is well distinguished from the Cracidæ and the Megapodidæ (which form together an opposed group, called Peristeropodes), in addition to the characters enumerated under the family names, by salient characters developed in the sternum. In the present family and its relations, as all may recall from experience at the dinner-table, the sternum, or breast-bone, is divided into a long narrow keel (lophosteon) extending far backwards; while towards the front, from each side, and separated by a very deep notch from the median portion, a wing (pleurosteon) originates obliquely, and, soon splitting in two, extends also far backwards; in front, two processes (called costal) project well forwards. In the Cracidæ and Megapodidæ, on the contrary, the sternum is not so split, the keel and wing, as above, being more continuous and the notch comparatively shallow; the costal processes are also comparatively small and obtuse.

Externally the Turkeys have considerable resemblance to the Guinea-fowls (Numididæ), but they differ from them in having a backward process of the second metacarpal bone, and in the form of the costal processes of the sternum and of the acromial process of the scapular; while they are distinguished from the Guinea-fowls and all others by the form of the pelvis (the post-acetabular area is greater than the pre-acetabular, and is also longer than broad), and by the furcula (wish-bone), which is very weak and straight, with its point (hypocleidium) straight and rod-like. To Professor Huxley we are indebted for having first pointed out most of these characters.

Although the number of known species of Meleagridæ as we understand them, is limited to two now living, the family was apparently well represented in former geological periods, no less than three having been already described from more or less perfect remains; of these, two have been found in the post-pleiocene of New Jersey, one of which (Meleagris altus, Marsh, or M. superbus, Cope) was taller than the common Turkey, while the other (Meleagris celer, Marsh) was much smaller. The third species (Meleagris antiquus, Marsh) lived at a still earlier date, its remains having been obtained in the miocene beds of Colorado.

GENUS MELEAGRIS, LINNÆUS.

Meleagris, LINNÆUS, Syst. Nat. 1735. (Type, Meleagris gallopavo, LINN.)

GEN. CHAR. Legs with transverse scutellæ before and behind; reticulated laterally. Tarsi with spurs. Tail rounded, rather long, usually of eighteen feathers. Forehead with a depending fleshy cone. Head and the upper half of the neck without feathers. Breast of male in most species with a long tuft of bristles.

Species and Varieties.

=M. gallopavo.= Head livid blue, legs red, general color copper-bronze, with copper and green reflections, each feather with a velvet-black margin; all the quills brown, closely barred with white. Tail-feathers chestnut, narrowly barred with black; the tip with a very broad, subterminal black bar.

Tail-coverts dark purplish-chestnut throughout, with the tips not lighter. Tip of tail-feathers scarcely paler chestnut than the ground-color. Hab. Eastern Province of United States …

var. gallopavo.

Tail-coverts chestnut, the tips much paler, sometimes almost white. Tip of tail-feathers light brownish-yellow or white; sometimes with the coverts broadly whitish. Hab. Southern portion of Western Province of United States, from Texas to Arizona. Table-lands of Mexico, south to Orizaba, Mirador, etc. …

var. mexicanus.

The M. ocellatus[113] of Honduras and Yucatan is a very distinct species, and one which vies with the Phasianidæ of Asia in the brilliancy of its coloring. It is very rare in collections, and has a very restricted distribution.

Meleagris gallopavo, var. gallopavo, LINN.

WILD TURKEY.

Meleagris gallopavo, LINNÆUS, Syst. Nat. I, 1758, 156.—GMELIN, I, 1788, 732.—LATHAM, Ind. Orn. II, 1790, 618.—STEPHENS, in Shaw’s Zoöl. XI, i, 1819, 156 (domestic bird).—BONAP. Am. Orn. I, 1825, 79, pl. ix.—AUD. Orn. Biog. I, 1831, 1 and 33; V, 1839, 559, pl. i.—IB. Birds Amer. V, 1842, 42, pl. cclxxxvii, cclxxxviii.—NUTTALL, Man. I, 1832, 630.—REICHENBACH, Systema Av. 1851, pl. xxvi.—IB. Icones Av. tab. 289.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 615.—DRESSER, Ibis, 1866, 25 (Southeastern Texas, breeds).—MAX. Cab. J. VI, 1858, 426. Meleagris americana, BARTRAM, Travels, 1791, 290. Meleagris sylvestris, VIEILL. Nouv. Dict. IX, 447. Gallopavo sylvestris, LECONTE, Pr. A. N. Sc. Phil. 1857, 179. Meleagris fera, VIEILLOT, Galerie Ois. II, 1824, 10, pl. x.—GRAY. Cat. Gall. V, 42, 1867.—Wild Turkey, CLAYTON, Philos. Trans. XVII, 1693, 992.—PENNANT, Philos. Trans. LXXI, 1781, 67.—IB. Arctic Zoöl. No. 178. American Turkey, LATHAM, Syn. II, ii, 676. Gallopavo sylvestris, Novæ Angliæ, RAY, Syn. 51. Gallopavo sylvestris, CATESBY, Carol. I, 1730, App. p. xliv.—BRISSON, Orn. V, 1760, 162.

SP. CHAR. The naked skin of the head and neck is blue; the excrescences purplish-red. The legs are red. The feathers of the neck and body generally are very broad, abruptly truncate, and each one well defined and scale-like; the exposed portion coppery-bronze, with a bright coppery reflection in some lights, in the specimens before us chiefly on the under parts. Each feather is abruptly margined with velvet-black, the bronze assuming a greenish or purplish shade near the line of junction, and the bronze itself sometimes with a greenish reflection in some lights. The black is opaque, except along the extreme tip, where there is a metallic gloss. The feathers of the lower back and rump are black, with little or no copper gloss. The feathers of the sides behind, and the coverts, upper and under, are of a very dark purplish-chestnut, with purplish-metallic reflections near the end, and a subterminal bar of black; the tips are of the opaque purplish-chestnut referred to. The concealed portion of the coverts is dark chestnut barred rather finely with black; the black wider than the interspaces. The tail-feathers are dark brownish-chestnut, with numerous transverse bars of black, which, when most distinct, are about a quarter of an inch wide and about double their interspaces; the extreme tip for about half an inch is plain chestnut, lighter than the ground-color; and there is a broad subterminal bar of black about two inches wide on the outer feathers, and narrowing to about three quarters of an inch to the central ones. The innermost pair scarcely shows this band, and the others are all much broken and confused. In addition to the black bars on each feather, the chestnut interspaces are sprinkled with black. The black bands are all most distinct on the inner webs; the interspaces are considerably lighter below than above.

There are no whitish tips whatever to the tail or its coverts. The feathers on the middle of the belly are downy, opaque, and tipped obscurely with rusty whitish.

The wing-coverts are like the back; the quills, however, are blackish-brown, with numerous transverse bars of white, half the width of the interspaces. The exposed surfaces of the wing, however, and most of the inner secondaries, are tinged with brownish-rusty, the uppermost ones with a dull copper or greenish gloss.

The female differs in smaller size, less brilliant colors, absence generally of bristles on the breast and of spur, and a much smaller fleshy process above the base of the bill.

Male. Length, 48.00 to 50.00; extent, 60.00; wing, 21.00; tail, 18.50. Weight, 16 to 35 lbs. Female. Weight about 12 lbs.; measurements smaller in proportion.

HAB. Eastern Province of the United States, and Canada. West along the timbered river-valleys towards the Rocky Mountains; south to the Gulf coast.

There is some question as to the names to be applied to the two races of Northern Meleagris, and especially as to which is entitled to bear the name of gallopavo. The original description of M. gallopavo quotes the New England Turkey as described by Ray, but as far as the characters given go refers rather to the domestic form, which is equivalent to M. mexicana of Gould. In this state of the case we therefore think it as well to use gallopavo for the eastern race, although the arguments of Major Leconte and others in favor of applying it to the wild Mexican, and its derivative the domestic variety, are not without much weight.

HABITS. The Wild Turkey is found throughout eastern North America, from South Carolina northward, and from the Atlantic to Texas and Arkansas. It has probably become an extinct species in New England, though within a few years individuals have been shot in Montague, Mass., and in other towns in Franklin County. The construction of railroads, however, and the settlement of the country, have probably led to their final extermination; at least, I have known of none being taken within the limits of Massachusetts for several years.

In the unsettled portions of the Southern and Western States, and in the country watered by the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers and their affluents, these birds are comparatively plentiful, though the question of their final extinction is probably only one of time, and that not very distant. In Audubon’s day they were to be found along the whole line of the Alleghanies, where they still occur, but have become very wary and to be approached only with the greatest difficulty. In Louisiana and in Kentucky, Audubon found them most abundant, and in these States he enjoyed the most favorable opportunities for observing their very remarkable habits in regions then comparatively undisturbed by the intrusion of civilized man. They are said to be not uncommon in Virginia, and are not unfrequently met with even in the vicinity of Washington.

Dr. Woodhouse found this species abundant throughout the wooded portions of the Indian Territory and Texas. While in the Creek country his party killed numbers of them daily. Many of them were very large, and weighed upwards of nineteen pounds each, although at that time they were in poor condition. They were quite abundant along the Rio San Pedro in Texas.

Mr. Dresser found the Wild Turkey common in all the portions of Texas and Mexico that he visited, and particularly so on the rivers between San Antonio and the Rio Grande. His first Turkey hunt was on the Upper Medina River, about forty miles from San Antonio. It proved to be wary and difficult to approach in the daytime; but by watching to see where they roosted, and visiting them by moonlight, one or two could generally be secured. They generally preferred roosting in high cottonwood-trees, on the banks of a stream, perching as high up as possible. He once saw eleven Turkeys on one large bough of a cottonwood-tree on the Medina. When the pecan-nuts are ripe the Turkeys become very fat, as they are extremely fond of these nuts, which are very oily. One very plump bird was found, after it had been dressed, to weigh sixteen pounds. Mr. Dresser was informed by the hunters, that, for a nest, the Turkeys scratch a hole in the ground, or make a sort of nest in the grass under a bush, and that the eggs resemble those of the tame Turkey, except in being smaller and more elongated in form. The Mexicans, on the Upper Rio Grande, sometimes domesticate the Wild Turkey, and at Piedras Negras Mr. Dresser saw two that had been caught when quite young and had become very tame. The female was then sitting, and the eggs, when examined, were found to agree with the account given him by the hunters.

Mr. Audubon, in his very full and minute account of their habits, speaks of them as irregularly migratory and gregarious, their migrations having reference only to the abundance of food, and the meeting together in the same localities being to a large degree caused by the same source of attraction,—the supply of mast in certain regions. In this way they desert sections where the supply is exhausted, and advance towards those where it is more plentiful.

Late in October these birds assemble in flocks in the rich bottom-lands of the Western rivers, the male birds associating in parties of from ten to a hundred, and keeping apart from the females. The latter are simultaneously moving into the same regions, but only in small family groups, each leading its own flock, then nearly grown. Gradually they unite with other families, forming at length parties of seventy or eighty. They are said to avoid very carefully the old males, who have the very unparental disposition to destroy the young birds even when nearly grown. These migrations are made on foot except when they are compelled to cross a stream. On their first coming to the banks of a river they are said to make a pause there of one or two days before they attempt to cross, the old males strutting about up and down the banks, making a loud gobbling, and calling to one another as if to raise their courage to a befitting point. Even the females and the young assume something of the same pompous demeanor, spreading out their tails, running round one another, and making a loud purring noise. At length, after this prolonged preparation for the passage, they all mount to the top of a high tree, and, at a signal given by their leader, take flight for the opposite shore. Occasionally some fall into the water, when these bring the wings close to the body, spread out the tail, and plying their legs with great vigor move rapidly towards the shore, where, by a violent effort, they extricate themselves from the water. After thus crossing a stream of any magnitude, they are often found in a bewildered state, and fall an easy prey to the hunter.

Where their food occurs abundantly they separate into smaller flocks, composed of birds of all ages and sexes. At times they are known to approach farmhouses, associate with the domesticated fowl, and enter the corn-cribs in quest of food, passing the fall and the winter in this manner.

Early in February the love-season is said to commence, the first demonstrations being made by the males, but for some time persistently avoided by the females. At this period the sexes roost apart. When a female utters a call-note, the male birds within hearing return the cry, uttering notes similar to those with which the domestic Turkey greets any very unusual sound. If the call-note has been uttered by a female on the ground, the males fly to the place, spreading and erecting their tails, drawing their heads back on their shoulders, depressing their wings with a quivering motion, and strutting pompously about. At the same time they emit from their lungs a succession of very peculiar puffs. On these occasions the males often encounter each other, and desperate contests ensue, which frequently have a fatal termination, caused by furious blows inflicted on the head. When one Cock-Turkey has thus destroyed its rival, it is said to caress the dead body in an apparently affectionate manner.

When the Turkeys have mated, the connection is supposed to last for that season, though a male Turkey is often known to have more than a single mate; and the hens are said also to keep apart from the males while they are laying their eggs, for the cock would inevitably destroy them. At the end of the love-season the males become emaciated, and cease to gobble. They then separate entirely from the females, and keep apart by themselves until they recover their strength, when they reunite in small flocks.

The female is said to begin to deposit her eggs about the middle of April, selecting for that purpose a place as much concealed as possible from her many enemies. The nest, always on the ground, consists of a few withered leaves in a hollow scratched out by the side of a fallen log, or the top of a prostrate tree, or under a thicket, or within the edge of a cane-brake, but always in a dry place. The eggs sometimes amount to twenty in number, though there are usually from ten to fifteen. They are described as of a dull cream-color, sprinkled with reddish dots. When the female leaves her nest, she is said to be very careful to cover them with leaves, so that it is always difficult for any one to find them. Mr. Audubon observed that Turkey-hens not unfrequently selected small islands in which to deposit their eggs, apparently on account of the great masses of drift-timber which accumulated at their heads, in which they could seek protection and shelter.

If a female is approached while sitting on her eggs, she rarely moves unless she is discovered. Mr. Audubon has frequently approached within a few paces of a nest, the female remaining undisturbed. They seldom abandon their nest when it has been discovered by man, but forsake it if any of the eggs have been destroyed by any kind of animal. If the eggs are taken or destroyed, the female prepares for another nest, but otherwise has only one brood in a season. Audubon also states that he has known several hens associate together, deposit their eggs in the same nest, and rear their broods together, having once found three hens sitting on forty-two eggs in a single nest, one female at least being always present to protect it. When the eggs are near hatching, the female will not leave her eggs under any circumstances, and will suffer herself to be made a prisoner rather than abandon them. The mother assists the young birds to extricate themselves from the egg-shell, caresses and dries them with her bill, and aids them in their first efforts to totter out of the nest. As the brood follow her, she is very watchful against Hawks or other enemies, spreads her wings a little to protect them, and calls them close to her side, keeping them on dry ground and carefully guarding them from wet, which is very injurious to them when young. When two weeks old, they begin to be able to follow their mother, at night to roost in the low limb of some tree, and to leave the woods in the daytime in quest of berries and other food. The young usually feed on various kinds of small berries and insects. The full-grown Turkeys prefer the pecan-nuts and wild grapes to any other kind of food.

They are also said to feed on grass, various kinds of plants, corn, and other grain, seeds, fruit, and also upon beetles, small lizards, tadpoles, etc. In feeding in the woods, they turn over the dry leaves with their feet, and seem instinctively to know the presence of suitable food. They not unfrequently betray their presence in the neighborhood by the bare places they thus leave behind them in the woods where they have been feeding.

After heavy falls of snow and the formation of a hard crust, the Turkeys are said to be compelled to remain several days on their roosts without food thus proving their capability of enduring a continued abstinence.

Turkeys are hunted in various ways and by different expedients to facilitate their destruction. In the spring they are attracted by drawing the air, in a peculiar manner, through one of the second joint-bones of a wing. The sound thus produced resembles the voice of the female, on hearing which the male comes up and is shot. The cry of the Barred Owl is also imitated at night where Turkeys are at roost, who betray the place by their rolling gobble, uttered when alarmed. One of the most common methods of capturing Wild Turkeys is by means of a trap known as a Turkey-pen. A covered enclosure is made, constructed of trees, about four feet high and of various sizes, closed everywhere except at one end, where a small opening is left through which a small trench is dug, sloping very gradually at both ends, into and from the pen. The portion nearest the enclosure is covered. This passage-way, the interior of the pen, and the vicinity of the opening, to some distance into the forest, are strewn with corn. The Turkeys, attracted by the corn, follow it into the pen, and when they wish to leave endeavor to get out by the sides, but have not intelligence enough to escape by the opening through which they entered. In this manner they are sometimes entrapped in great numbers.

In unsettled parts of the country, Wild Turkeys are often known to associate with tame ones, sometimes to fight with them and to drive them from their food.

Mr. Audubon supposed our common tame Turkey to have originated in these birds, yet in his accounts of the habits of the latter he mentions several indications of divergence. A Wild Turkey which he had reared almost from the shell, and which had become very tame, would never roost with the domesticated birds, but always betook itself at night to the roof of the house, where it remained until dawn.

Mr. Bachman states that Wild Turkeys kept in confinement, in a condition of partial domestication, but separate from the domestic birds, lose the brilliancy of their plumage in the third generation, become of a pale brown, and have here and there an intermixture of white feathers. On the other hand, Major Leconte states, most positively, that the Wild Turkey has never been known to become so nearly domesticated as to propagate its race in confinement, notwithstanding the many efforts made to accomplish this result. This statement is, however, negative, and must be taken with reservation. In 1852, in Mr. Barnum’s grounds, near Niagara Falls, I saw Wild Turkeys with broods of young birds, though how far successful this attempt proved in the sequel I do not know, and Dr. Bachman’s statement seems to be quite positive evidence that they can be thus reared.

Mr. Audubon describes the eggs of the Wild Turkey as measuring 2.87 inches in length and 2.00 in breadth, and rather pointed at one end; their ground-color is given as of a uniform pale-yellowish tint, marked all over with pale rusty-brown spots.

Specimens in my collection vary from 2.55 to 2.35 inches in length, and in breadth from 1.85 to 1.75 inches. They are of an elongate-oval shape, are pointed at one end, quite obtuse at the other. The ground is a rich dark cream-color, very generally spotted with rounded blotches of a rare umber-brown.

Meleagris gallopavo, var. mexicana, GOULD.

MEXICAN TURKEY.

Meleagris mexicana, GOULD, Pr. Zoöl. Soc. 1856, 61.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 618.—COUES, P. A. N. S. Philad. 1866, 93 (Fort Whipple, Arizona).—ELLIOT, Illust. II, pl. xxxviii.—BAIRD, Rept. Agricultural Dept. for 1866 (1867) 288.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 523. Meleagris gallopavo, GRAY, Cat. Gallinæ, Brit. Mus. V, 1867, 42.

SP. CHAR. Similar to var. gallopavo, but feathers of the rump, the tail-coverts, and tail-feathers, tipped with whitish, instead of dark rusty; gloss more greenish. ♂ (44,731, Mirador): Wing, 20.50; tail, 18.50; culmen, 1.00; tarsus, 6.50; middle toe, 3.50.

HAB. Rocky Mountains, from Western Texas to Arizona, and south along the table land of Mexico.

Wild Turkeys from the vicinity of the Rocky Mountains differ strikingly from those east of the Mississippi in the feathers of the sides of the body behind, and in the upper and under tail-coverts. These are all tipped with light brownish-yellow for about half an inch, more or less with the region, and the tail is tipped with the same. The chestnut ground of the tail and coverts is also considerably lighter. The gloss on the feathers of the rump is green, not purple. The coverts, too, lack in a measure the purple shade in the chestnut. The metallic reflections generally have rather more green than in the eastern bird.

In one specimen (♀, 10,030, from Fort Thorn) the light edgings are almost white, and so much extended as to conceal the entire rump. All the feathers of the under parts of the body are edged broadly with white, and the tail is tipped with the same for more than an inch. This specimen also has the head considerably more hairy than in the eastern skins, but the others from the same region do not differ so much in this respect from eastern ones.

Two specimens from the Llano Estacado of Texas are exactly intermediate between New Mexican skins and examples from Arkansas, the former being typical mexicana, and the latter slightly different from true gallopavo. These Texan specimens have the tips of the upper tail-coverts pale ochraceous, instead of pure white; in the Arkansas skins these tips are rufous-chestnut, instead of dark maroon-chestnut, as in typical gallopavo from Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Many, or indeed most, specimens of mexicana have the black subterminal zone of the tail with a more or less distinct metallic bronzing, which we have never seen in any specimens of gallopavo.

It is to this race that we are indebted for the origin of our domestic Turkey, and not to that of the eastern parts of North America.

HABITS. There is very little on record as to the possession of distinctive peculiarities by this race of North American Turkeys. If, as is now generally supposed, it be the original source whence the domestic fowl was derived, we are all sufficiently conversant with its performances in the barnyard, and its excellences for the table.

Specimens of its eggs collected in Arizona exhibit no noteworthy differences from the gallopavo.

In the accompanying foot-note we reproduce an article on the origin of the domestic Turkey, by Professor Baird, published in the Report of the Agricultural Department for 1866, which contains some points of interest, bearing on the origin of the domestic Turkey and the habits of the Mexican variety.[114]

FAMILY TETRAONIDÆ.—THE GROUSE.

As already stated, the Tetraonidæ are pre-eminently characterized among gallinaceous birds by their densely feathered tarsi, and by the feathers of the nasal fossa or groove, which fill it completely, and conceal the nostrils. The toes are usually naked (feathered to the claws in the Ptarmigans), and with pectinations of scales along the edges. The tail-feathers vary from sixteen to eighteen and even twenty in number; the tail is rounded, acute, or forked. The orbital region is generally somewhat bare, with a naked stripe above the upper eyelid, beset by short fringe-like processes, while many genera have an inflatable air-sac on the side of the neck.

The following synoptical table will give a general view of the North American Tetraonidæ, although the arrangement is more artificial than natural. The species of Tetrao and Bonasa inhabit wooded regions; Lagopus belongs to the more arctic portions of the continent and the snowy ridges of the Rocky Mountains; the others are found in the great prairies of the West, Centrocercus being confined to the sterile plains covered with sage or wormwood.

The following synopsis is intended to aid in defining the genera, but does not profess to constitute a natural arrangement.

Genera.

=A.= Legs feathered to and on the basal membrane of the toes, which are bare. No ruff on the side of the neck, which, however, has an extensible bare space.

=Canace.= Tail broad, nearly even, or truncate, and rounded laterally, two thirds the wing. Nasal fossæ scarcely half the culmen.

=Centrocercus.= Tail excessively lengthened and cuneate; longer than the wings. Nasal fossæ two thirds the culmen. Shafts of feathers on the lower throat very spinous.

=Pediœcetes.= Tail very short, but graduated, and with the two middle feathers (perhaps tail-coverts) lengthened beyond the rest, and two thirds as long as the wing; the next longest half the wing. Nasal fossæ not half the length of culmen. Shafts of throat-feathers normal.

=B.= Legs feathered to the lower end of tarsus.

=Cupidonia.= Tail very short, truncate, but laterally graduated; half the wings. Sides of neck with long, pointed, or lanceolate, stiff feathers. Nasal fossæ scarcely one third the culmen.

=C.= Legs feathered to the claws.

=Lagopus.= Tail about two thirds the wing, truncate; of sixteen to eighteen feathers. Most species becoming white in winter; none of the other genera exhibiting this peculiarity.

=D.= Lower half of tarsi bare, with two rows of scutellæ anteriorly.

=Bonasa.= Sides of neck with a ruff of broad, truncate, soft feathers. Tail very broad, square, as long as the wings.

GENUS CANACE, REICHENBACH.

GEN. CHAR. Bill smooth, with no lateral groove, depressed, or broader than high. Feathers of the head and neck all normal, i.e. no crest, nor lengthened plumes of any kind. Tail lengthened (i.e. nearly equal to wing), rounded, the feathers broad to the end; consisting of from sixteen to twenty feathers. Toes naked.

Subgenera.

=Canace.= Tail of sixteen feathers; no air-sac on side of the neck. Size small. (Type, T. canadensis, L.)

=Dendragapus.= Tail of twenty feathers; an inflatable air-sac on side of the neck. Size large. (Type, T. obscurus, Say.)

The American species of Wood Grouse appear, on comparison, to be generically distinct from Tetrao, of the Old World, (type, Tetrao urogallus,) and, moreover, are themselves comprised under two definable subgenera. Canace proper has a near relative in Falcipennis, Elliot, (type, Tetrao falcipennis, Hartlaub,) of Siberia, which differs merely in the attenuation of the primaries, and seems to us not separable from Canace. There is no European genus nearly related to our birds. T. urogallus differs very essentially in high, compressed, and light-colored bill, elongated and stiffened feathers of the whole head and neck, metallic colors, etc. T. (Lyrurus) tetrix approaches nearer in the bill, but also has metallic colors and a very peculiarly formed tail. Thus it seems absolutely necessary to adopt the name Canace, of Reichenbach, as a generic term by which to designate the American Wood Grouse.

SUBGENUS CANACE, REICHENBACH.

Canace, REICHENBACH, Av. Syst. Nat. 1851. (Type, Tetrao canadensis, L.)

GEN. CHAR. Tail of sixteen feathers, rounded, the feathers broad to the end. A colored (red or yellow) “comb” of naked skin over the eye. No inflatable air-sac on side of the neck. No crest, nor unusual plumes, about the head or neck.

Species and Varieties.

=T. canadensis.= Above distinctly barred with plumbeous and black; beneath black, with a white border to the throat, a white pectoral band, and white markings on the sides. Female barred with ochraceous, gray and black above, and with orange-ochraceous and black on the lower parts.

Tail rounded, tipped with rufous; upper tail-coverts tipped narrowly with deep ash. Hab. British America, east of the Rocky Mountains, from Alaska (Yukon region) to northern border of United States …

var. canadensis.

Tail nearly even, black to the tip, or else with a narrow white terminal bar; upper tail-coverts broadly tipped with pure white. Hab. Northern Rocky Mountains to the Pacific coast …

var. franklini.

Canace canadensis, var. canadensis, LINN.

SPRUCE PARTRIDGE; CANADA GROUSE.

Tetrao canadensis, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1758, 159.—FORSTER, Phil. Trans. LXII, 1772, 389.—SABINE, Zoöl. App. Franklin’s Exped. 683.—BONAP. Amer. Orn. III, 1830, pl. xxi, f. 2, ♀.—IB. Am. Phil. Trans. III, N. S. 1830, 391.—RICH. F. Bor. Amer. II, 1831, 346, pl. lxii, ♀.—NUTTALL, Man. I, 1832, 667.—AUD. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 437; V, 1839, 563, pl. clxxvi.—IB. Birds Amer. V, 1842, 83, pl. cclxciv.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 622.—MAYNARD, B. E. Mass. 1870, 138 (Massachusetts).—COUES, P. A. N. S. 1861, 226.—GRAY, Cat. Brit. Mus. 1867, 86.—DALL & BANNISTER, Tr. Chicago Ac. I, 1869, 287.—FINSCH, Abh. Nat. Verz. III, 1872, 61. Canace canadensis, REICH. Av. Syst. Nat. 1851, p. xxix. Type, BONAP. Comptes Rendus, XLV, 1857, 428.—ELLIOT, P. A. N. S. 1864, 23.—IB. Monog. Tetraon. pl. Tetrao canace, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 275. Black Spotted Heathcock, EDWARDS, Glean. pl. cxviii. Spotted Grouse, PENNANT.

SP. CHAR. Tail of sixteen feathers. Above black. Feathers above distinctly banded with plumbeous; beneath uniform black, with a pectoral band of white, and white on the sides of the belly. Chin and throat above, black. Tail with a broad brownish-orange terminal band. Length, 16.20; wing, 6.70; tail, 5.44.

Female smaller, but somewhat similar; the black bars above broader, the inner gray bars of each feather, including the tail, replaced by broader ones of brownish-orange. The under parts have the feathers black, barred with the brownish-orange, which, on the tips of the belly-feathers, is pure white. The clear continuous black of the head and breast is wanting. The scapulars, greater coverts, and sides are streaked as in the male.

A female (No. 39,136, G. A. Boardman) from Maine differs from the above description in having the ground of the plumage a bright orange-rufous, the distinct bars of which are broader than the black ones; this is probably an autumnal bird, and represents the peculiar plumage of that season.

Males vary, individually, in the extent or uniformity of the black of the breast.

Specimens from Alaska (Nulato, Kodiak, etc.), Red River, Liard’s River and Fort Liard, Hudson’s Bay Territory, Canada, and Maine, appear to be absolutely identical.

The young in downy state are pale buff-yellow; the head above, with the back and wings, pale fulvous; a black stripe on side of head (from bill to end of auriculars), two spots on crown, and transverse crescentic spots on back and wings, black.

HAB. Spruce forests and swamps of the Northern United States to the Arctic seas; west nearly to Rocky Mountains.

HABITS. This bird, variously known as the Spruce or Wood Partridge, Canada, Black, or Spotted Grouse, is found, in favorable localities, from the Northern United States as far north as the woods extend, to the Arctic Ocean, being found, even in midwinter, nearly to the 70th parallel. Sir John Richardson found all the thick and swampy black-spruce forests between Canada and the Arctic Sea abounding with this species. In winter it descends into Maine, Northern New York, and Michigan. Its migrations are, however, only partial, as it is found in the severest weather of midwinter, in considerable numbers, as far north as latitude 67°. According to Mr. Douglas, west of the Rocky Mountains it is replaced by the T. franklini. This bird is said to perch in trees, in flocks of eight or ten, and is so stupid that it may be taken by slipping a noose, fastened to the end of a stick, over its head. When disturbed, it flies heavily a short distance, and then alights again among the interior branches of a tree. Richardson invariably found its crop filled with the buds of the spruce-trees in the winter, and at that time its flesh was very dark and had a strong resinous taste. In districts where the Pinus banksiana grows it is said to prefer the buds of that tree. In the summer it feeds on berries, which render its flesh more palatable.

Captain Blakiston states that he has found this species as far west as Fort Carlton, and Mr. Ross has traced it northward on the Mackenzie to the Arctic coast.

Mr. Audubon met with it in Maine, in the vicinity of Eastport, where they were only to be met with in the thick and tangled forests of spruce and hackmatack. They were breeding in the inner recesses of almost impenetrable woods of hackmatack or larches. He was informed that they breed in that neighborhood about the middle of May, a full month sooner than they do in Labrador. In their love-season the males are said to exhibit many of the singular manners also noticeable in the other members of this family. They strut before the female on the ground, something in the manner of the common domestic Turkey-cock, occasionally rising in a spiral manner above her in the air; at the same time, both when on the ground and in the air, they beat their wings violently against their body, thereby producing a peculiar drumming sound, which is said to be much clearer than the well-known drumming of the Ruffed Grouse. These sounds can be heard at a considerable distance from the place where they are made.

The female constructs a nest of a bed of dry twigs, leaves, and mosses, which is usually carefully concealed, on the ground and under low horizontal branches of fir-trees. The number of eggs is said to vary from eight to eighteen in number. It is imagined by the common people that where more than ten eggs are found in the same nest they are the product of two females, who aid each other in their charge. The eggs are described by Audubon as of a deep fawn-color, irregularly splashed with different tints of brown. They have but a single brood in a season, and the young follow the mother as soon as they leave the shell.

As soon as incubation commences, the males desert the females and keep in small flocks by themselves, removing to different woods, where they usually become much more shy and wary than at any other season of the year.

In their movements on the ground these birds are said to resemble our common Quail, rather than the Ruffed Grouse. They do not jerk their tails in the manner of the latter bird, as they walk, nor are they known to burrow in the snow; but when they are pursued they invariably take refuge in trees, from which they cannot be readily made to fly. When driven from one place of refuge to another, they accompany their flight with a few clucks, and those sounds they repeat when they alight. When a flock thus alights, it may all be readily secured by a little precaution and pains. It is said that they are so unwary and regardless of the near presence of man, that when thus in the imagined shelter of a tree they will permit themselves to be approached, the whole flock shot, or even knocked down with a stick. Sometimes they may all be taken alive, one after the other, by means of a noose affixed to the end of a long pole.

According to Audubon, the Canada Grouse indicate the approach of rainy weather by retiring to roost at an unusual time in the day, whenever a storm is impending. If observed to fly up to their roost at midday, it rarely fails to rain or snow before the evening; and if, on the contrary, they remain busily engaged in search of food until sunset, the night and the following morning are pretty sure to be fresh and clear.

The young of this Grouse are very strong and active from the moment they are hatched, and are able to fly at a very early age. When in Labrador, Mr. Audubon almost walked, by accident, upon a female Canada Grouse, surrounded by her young brood. This was about the middle of July. The affrighted mother, upon perceiving him, ruffled up all her feathers in the manner of the common Hen, and advanced close to him as if determined to defend her offspring. Her distressed condition claimed his forbearance, and she was allowed to remain in safety. As soon as he retired she smoothed down her plumage and uttered a tender maternal chuck, when the little ones took to their wings with ease, though they appeared to be not more than one week old.

Mr. Audubon found this Grouse moulting as early as the 20th of July. At that period the young were generally already able to fly fully a hundred yards in a single flight. They alighted on low trees and were easily taken alive.

This Grouse feeds, in the summer, on berries of various kinds, as well as upon the buds and leaves of several different kinds of plants and shrubs. In the autumn they gorge themselves with the berries of the Solomon’s Seal. At this season their flesh is much the best. In the winter, when they feed on the buds of the hackmatack and the spruce and firs, and also upon the leaves of the spruces, as stated by Richardson, they have a bitter, disagreeable taste, and are hardly fit to eat.

This Grouse may be readily kept in confinement, and even made to breed there. Mr. Thomas Lincoln, of Dennysville, fed some of them on oats, on which food they appeared to thrive very well.

The eggs of this food vary in length from 1.75 inches to 1.68, and in breadth from 1.22 to 1.20 inches. Eggs taken at Fort Resolution, by Mr. Kennicott, have a ground of a deep dull cream-color, shaded with ochre. They are of an oblong-oval shape, speckled and marked with spots of a dark chestnut-color. In these specimens the spots are larger towards the smaller end.

Canace canadensis, var. franklini, DOUGLAS.

FRANKLIN’S GROUSE.

Tétrao franklini, DOUGLAS, Trans. Linn. Soc. XVI, 1829, 139.—RICH. F. Bor. Am. II, 1831, 348, pl. lxi.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 623.—LORD, Pr. R. A. Inst. IV, 1864, 123 (between Rocky Mountains and Cascades).—GRAY, Cat. Brit. Mus. 1867, 86.—COOPER & SUCKLEY, 261.—COOP. Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 529. Tetrao canadensis, var. BONAP. Am. Orn. III, 1830, 47, pl. xx. ? Tetrao fusca, ORD. Guthrie’s Geog. (2d Am. ed.) II, 1815, 317. (Based on small brown Pheasant of Lewis & Clark, II, 182, which very probably is this species.) _Canace franklini_, ELLIOT, P. A. N. S. 1864.—IB. Monog. Tetraon. pl.

SP. CHAR. Similar to C. canadensis, but with the tail-feathers entirely black, without orange-brown terminal band; the upper tail-coverts broadly tipped with white. The tail less rounded. Wing, 7.35; tail, 5.62.

Hab. Northern Rocky Mountains, near the United States boundary, and west to Coast Range.

The difference from canadensis is very appreciable, though we cannot consider it as of specific importance. This consists chiefly in the rather longer, more even tail, with broader feathers, which are pure black instead of very dark brown, and entirely without the orange terminal band. The white streaks on the scapulars are larger terminally, and much more conspicuous, and the upper tail-coverts are conspicuously barred terminally with white, not seen in the other. The female differs from that of canadensis in the white bars at the ends of the tail-coverts, and in having the tail-feathers tipped with whitish instead of orange-brown.

HABITS. From the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, and from Oregon to high northern latitudes, this variety replaces the common Spruce Partridge of the Eastern Continent. Sir John Richardson, as well as Mr. Drummond, regarded these birds as only a western variety of the canadensis. The latter, who had ample opportunities for studying the manners of both, was unable to perceive any difference between them. Mr. Douglas took a different view, though he admitted that their habits were essentially the same. Swainson also regarded the two birds as distinct species. This variety is stated by Richardson to inhabit the valleys of the Rocky Mountains, from the sources of the Missouri to those of the Mackenzie; and on the authority of Mr. Douglas, it is also to be seen sparingly on the elevated platforms that skirt the snowy peaks of Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens, and of Mount Baker, where it is said to run over the shattered rocks and among the brushwood with amazing speed, only using its wings as a last effort to escape. Mr. Douglas also states that it makes its nest on the ground, of dried leaves and grass, not unfrequently at the foot of decayed stumps, or by the side of fallen timber in the mountain woods. The eggs are incorrectly described as of a dingy whiteness and as smaller than those of the European Columba palumbus.

Dr. Suckley found this Grouse abundant in the Rocky as well as in the Bitterroot and the Cascade Mountains, and in Washington Territory, near the Yakima Passes. It is known to the Indians as the Tyee-kulla-kulla, meaning the gentleman-bird. It was only found plentiful in the eastern portion of Washington Territory. Specimens of this species, sent by Dr. Suckley to the Smithsonian Institution, were procured by Mullan in St. Mary’s Valley, in the Rocky Mountains. They were quite common in that region, and were readily obtainable, as they were very tame and unsuspicious. Mr. George Gibbs informed Dr. Suckley that in November, 1847, he obtained in the Willamette Valley a small Grouse that may probably be referred to this species.

Mr. Lord thinks that this species is rarely found west of the Cascades; but on the eastern side and along the whole district lying between the Cascades and the Rocky Mountains it is common, always keeping among the mountains, to the height of seven thousand feet. He regards them as one of the most stupid of birds. When several are flushed together, they fly up into the nearest pine-tree, from which you cannot frighten them with sticks and stones. He has often shot several in a tree where there were others without the latter attempting to fly away. During the winter they remain in the deep woods and sheltered places, and feed on the buds of the pines. They nest in early May, and have chickens in June and July. He was of the opinion that these birds do not pair; but from the large number of females, as compared with the males, he thinks they are polygamists.

Captain Blakiston considers this variety to be confined to the Rocky Mountains and the country between that range and the Pacific. He met with it for the first time while following an Indian trail through a thick pine woods, from the summit of the Kootenay Pass into the valley of the Flathead River. The bird arose and perched itself on a projecting branch, when he was at once struck with the dissimilarity to the Canada Grouse, which was made still more apparent by the whiteness of its flesh. Afterwards he procured other specimens. He describes them as being quite as unsuspicious and stupid as the Canada Grouse, allowing themselves to be shot on the trees without making any attempt to escape.

SUBGENUS DENDRAGAPUS, ELLIOT.

Dendragapus, ELLIOT, P. A. N. S. Philad. 1864. (Type, Tetrao obscurus, SAY.)

GEN. CHAR. Tail of twenty feathers, rounded, rather large (about two thirds the wing); the feathers broad to the tips, which are almost truncated. A colored (orange or yellow) “comb” of naked skin over the eye, and an inflatable air-sac on side of the neck. No crest or other unusual plumes about the head or neck.

Species and Varieties.

=C. obscurus.= Above nearly uniform plumbeous-dusky, minutely mottled on the wings. Tail uniform black, with or without a lighter terminal band, and sometimes finely and obscurely mottled above. Lower parts nearly uniform clear plumbeous, or blackish-dusky; a dusky half-collar on the throat; chin and throat white, variegated with dusky. Length, about 20.50; wing, 9.40; tail, 7.45. Female smaller, the colors more variegated, with the dusky less continuous, and less in amount.

=A.= Tail rounded, with a distinct terminal band of clear plumbeous.

Above brownish-ashy, minutely mottled (transversely) with dusky and, to a less extent, with yellowish-brown. Beneath fine pure ashy. Hab. Sierra Nevada (from Fort Crook southwards) and Rocky Mountains, from the Hellgate region to New Mexico …

var. obscurus.

Above brownish-black, minutely and sparsely mottled with slate and rusty-brown. Beneath dark plumbeous. (In northern specimens, especially in females from Sitka, much washed with dark castaneous-rusty.) Hab. Northwest coast mountains, from Oregon to Sitka …

var. fuliginosus.

=B.= Tail nearly even, and without any terminal lighter band, or else having it badly defined.

Colors, in other respects, of var. obscurus, but cheeks, etc., less dusky. Hab. Rocky Mountains of British America, south to the Yellowstone and Hellgate region of United States (where grading into var. obscurus) …

var. richardsoni.

[Plate: PLATE LIX.

1. Canace obscurus. ♂ Rocky Mts., 19159. 2. Canace obscurus. ♀ Rocky Mts., 19166. 3. Canace franklini. ♂ Rocky Mts., 398. 4. Canace richardsoni. N. Rocky Mts. 5. Canace canadensis. ♂ Nova Scotia, 12564. 6. Canace canadensis. ♀ Nova Scotia, 12565.]

Canace obscurus, var. obscurus, SAY.

DUSKY GROUSE.

Tetrao obscurus, SAY, Long’s Exped. R. Mts. II, 1823, 14.—BON. Mon. Tetrao, Am. Phil. Trans. III, 1830, 391.—IB. Am. Orn. III, 1830, pl. xviii.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 620.—SCL. P. Z. S. 1858, 1.—GRAY, Cat. Brit. Mus. V, 1867, 86.—COOP. Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 526 (in part). Canace obscura, BONAP. Comptes Rendus, XLV, 1857, 428. Dendragapus obscurus, ELLIOT, P. A. N. S. 1864, 23.—IB. Monog. Tetraon. pl.

SP. CHAR. Male (19,161, Deer Creek, Neb., Feb. 13; G. H. Trook.) Ground-color above slaty-black, but this almost completely overlaid by a minute, transverse mottling of bluish-ash,—pale brown on scapulars and secondaries,—mostly on terminal portion of the feathers. Scapulars with a conspicuous shaft-streak and terminal spot of white. Terminal band of tail sharply and abruptly defined, pure pale bluish-ash, and 1.50 inches in width. Tail slightly rounded (about .80). Lower parts fine bluish-ashy, becoming lighter posteriorly, more plumbeous anteriorly. On the sides of the jugulum the feathers snowy-white beneath the surface, and this much exposed, producing a somewhat broken but conspicuous patch. Throat white, with transverse crescentic bars of dusky; this barred white curving upward to the auriculars, behind a uniformly blackish malar patch; lores and post-ocular region with distinct white spots, producing an inconspicuous stripe from the bill through the eye. All the feathers of the lower parts margined terminally with white, this growing broader on the flanks and crissum, the former of which have a more brownish and mottled ground, and broad white shaft-stripes. Lining of wing almost wholly white. Tarsi ashy-white. Length, 21.00; wing, 10.00; tail, 8.00; tarsus, 1.80; middle toe, 1.80.

Female (58,636, Uintah Mountains, July 5, 1868; R. Ridgway). Somewhat similar to male in pattern. Dusky-black above, much broken by narrow transverse bars of yellowish-brown; these broad, regular, and sharply defined anteriorly, posteriorly broken and mottled. Middle tail-feathers much mottled, obscuring the ashy tip: ash beneath unbroken only on the abdomen; the jugulum, sides, etc., having transverse bars of yellowish-brown. Wing, 8.70; tail, 6.00.

Young (58,658, Uintah Mountains, July 5, 1868; R. Ridgway). Above yellowish-brown, the feathers with conspicuous shaft-streaks and deltoid terminal spots of white; both webs with large, transverse, roundish spots of black; secondaries with six bands of black and white, both broken, however, by coarse mottlings; tail like the secondaries. Beneath dull whitish; jugulum and sides with rounded spots of black, those on opposite webs not joining. Head yellowish-white, crown spotted with black; an indistinct dusky stripe over lores and upper edge of auriculars.

HAB. Rocky Mountain region of the United States, principally south of South Pass, and Sierra Nevada, north to Oregon and south to San Francisco Mountains, New Mexico.

The “Dusky Grouse” figured and described by Mr. Audubon of this species, is not the bird of Say, nor based on specimens collected by Townsend. The figures were probably taken from the skins in possession of Mr. Sabine, referred to by Bonaparte in American Ornithology (Vol. III, 1828, 36), which Sabine proposed to name after Richardson. Douglas, in describing his Tetrao richardsoni, quotes “Sabine MSS.,” but does not describe his specimens, and, as far as his incomplete description goes, seems to have had the true T. obscurus before him. Richardson’s description and figure belong to the second species, the same with Audubon’s. Wilson’s figures, in Illustrations of Zoölogy, 1831 (plates xxx, xxxi), are taken from specimens received from Mr. Sabine, of the same species, but in different and less perfect plumage than Mr. Audubon’s.

HABITS. This species was first discovered and described by Say in 1820, though its existence had previously been known to the fur-trappers. Its food consists of various berries, and the flesh is said to be very palatable.

Dr. Newberry pronounces this Grouse decidedly the handsomest of all the American birds of this family; its flesh white, and fully equal to that of the eastern Ruffed Grouse or Quail. It is said to inhabit the evergreen forests exclusively, and to be found not uncommonly in the Sierra Nevada, as well as in the wooded districts of the country lying between the Sacramento Valley and the Columbia. In the Cascade Mountains Dr. Newberry found it associated with the Ruffed Grouse, which it resembles in habits more than any other species. When on the ground they lie very close, flying up from your very feet as you approach them, and, when flushed, always take to a tree, from which they cannot be dislodged except by shooting them. In the spring the male sits motionless on a branch of a pine or a spruce, and utters a booming call, which, by its remarkable ventriloquial powers, seems rather to mislead than to direct the sportsman, unless he is experienced in shooting this kind of Grouse.

Mr. George Gibbs informed Dr. Suckley that he has met with the Dusky Grouse as far south as the Russian River Mountains, in California, and found it also common on the east side of the Cascades, as far north as the 49th parallel.

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