Chapter XIV: Appendix: I. Additions and Corrections 499 (14)

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.

=52763=, ♂. ½
=52763=, ♂. ½
=52763=, ♂. ¼

_Buteo zonocercus._]

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.