Chapter VII: Appendix: I. Additions and Corrections 499 (7)

The var. _mexicanus_ and var. _jugger_, which are both much darker, and more uniform in the coloring of the upper parts, than var. _polyagrus_, are more nearly alike; in fact, the only tangible difference that I can find between a specimen of the former in the Museum of the Boston Society of Natural History (No. 1,438, ♂, Juv. Lafr. Collection; “Mexico”) and two examples of the latter in the New York Museum, consist in the larger size of the var. _jugger_ (see synopsis), besides its whiter cheeks and more isolated and distinct “mustache.” A direct comparison of these two races may show other tangible points of distinction, or, on the contrary, may show even these slight distinguishing features to be inconstant. The former result is, however, most reasonably to be expected.

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

National Museum, 9; Boston Society, 2; Philadelphia Academy, 4; Museum Comp. Zoöl. 1; G. N. Lawrence, 2; R. Ridgway, 5. Total, 23.

_Measurements._

+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ |Sex.| Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. |Middle Toe.|Specimens.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♂ |12.00–00.00| 7.60–0.00| .00–.75| .00–2.15| .00–1.70| 6 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♀ |13.25–14.25| 8.00–9.00| .85–.90|2.05–2.40| 1.85–2.00| 12 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+

HABITS. This is an exclusively western species, occurring from the valley of the Mississippi to the Pacific coast. Specimens have been obtained as far east as Illinois. Several others have been taken on the Upper Missouri and the Yellowstone Rivers, in Nebraska, at Fort Thorne, New Mexico, and on the Little Colorado River. A specimen was shot by Dr. Heermann on the Farallones, on the California coast; but Dr. Cooper thinks it rarely visits the coast border, though he several times saw, near San Diego, a bird which he supposed to belong to this species. At Martinez, in December, 1863, he succeeded in shooting one as it flew from its perch at the approach of the wagon in which he was riding.

It is said to extend its migrations in summer to the Upper Columbia, avoiding the densely forest-clad regions. Dr. Heermann saw a young unfledged individual at San Francisco, from which it may be inferred that a few may breed within the State.

The first individual of this species was taken by Dr. Townsend during his trip across the continent, in 1834. It was obtained among the mountainous regions of Oregon, near the sources of the Platte River. Mr. Cassin states that Dr. Heermann procured several specimens in the Sacramento Valley.

Mr. Cassin remarks that this species, except in its greatly superior size and strength, bears a very close resemblance to the well-known Jugger Falcon of India, a bird much used for the purposes of falconry.

Dr. Kennerly, who procured a single specimen of this species while his party was encamped on the Little Colorado, found it busily engaged in seeking its prey among the bushes that grew along the river-bank. It was shy, and was procured with difficulty.

Dr. Suckley speaks of this Hawk as not at all rare in Oregon. He procured a specimen of it at Fort Dalles, in the beginning of the winter of 1854–55, which had been killed in the act of carrying off a barn-yard fowl of about its own weight, and which it had just seized near the door of a dwelling-house,—an act demonstrative of a union of courage, ferocity, and strength inferior to none of its congeners.

Dr. Cooper characterizes this as one of the shyest of Hawks, as it is also one of the swiftest, flying with rapid flappings of the wings. It seems to prefer the borders of prairies, where it catches hares, quails, and even larger game.

Mr. Ridgway informs me that this Hawk was seen by him in Southern Illinois, near Mt. Carmel, September 27, 1871. It had been obtained once before within the limits of Illinois, but in the northwestern part of the State, at Rock Island, by I. Dickenson Sergeant, of Philadelphia, and presented by him to the Academy of Natural Science.

Its nest and eggs were taken in Utah by Mr. Ricksecker. I have no notes in regard to the former. A finely marked specimen of one of the eggs procured by him is in my cabinet. It measures 2.15 inches in length by 1.65 in breadth. It is of a somewhat less rounded-oval shape than are the eggs of the _anatum_. The ground-color is a rich cream, with a slightly pinkish tinge, and is beautifully marked with blotches of various sizes, shapes, and shades of a red-brown tinged with chestnut, and with occasional shadings of purplish. These are confluent about one end, which in the specimen before me chances to be the smaller one. It very closely resembles the eggs of the European _F. lanarius_.

An egg in the Smithsonian Collection (15,596), taken at Gilmer, Wyoming Territory, May 13, 1870, by Mr. H. R. Durkee, has a ground-color of pinkish-white, varying in two eggs to diluted vinaceous, thickly spotted and minutely freckled with a single shade of a purplish-rufous. In shape they are nearly elliptical, the smaller end being scarcely more pointed than the larger. They measure 2.27 by 1.60 to 1.65 inches. The nest was built on the edge of a cliff. Its eggs were also taken by Dr. Hayden while with Captain Raynolds, at Gros Vent Fork, June 8, 1860.

SUBGENUS FALCO, MŒHRING.

_Falco_, MŒHRING, 1752. (Type, _Falco peregrinus_, GM. = _F.
communis_, GM.)
_Rhynchodon_, NITZSCH, 1840. (In part only.)
_Euhierax_, WEBB. & BERTH., 1844. (Type, _Falco_—?)
_Icthierax_, KAUP, 1844. (Type, _Falco frontalis_, DAUD.)

_F. aurantius._]

_F. rufigularis_ (nat. size).]

_F. aurantius._]

_F. aurantius._]

_F. rufigularis_ (nat. size).]

The following synopsis of the three American species of this subgenus may serve to distinguish them from each other, though only two of them (_F. aurantius_ and _F. rufigularis_) are very closely related. The comparative characters of the several geographical races of the other one (_F. communis_), which is cosmopolitan in its habitat, being included under the head of that species, may explain the reasons why they are separated from each other.

Species and Races.

=A.= First and second quills equal and longest; first with inner web
emarginated, second with inner web slightly sinuated. Young with
longitudinal stripes on the lower parts. Adult and young stages very
different.

1. =F. communis.= Wing, 11.50–14.30; tail, 7.00–8.50; culmen,
.72–.95; tarsus, 1.65–2.20; middle toe, 1.80–2.30.[52] Second
quill longest; first shorter than, equal to, or longer than third.
_Adult._ Above plumbeous, darker anteriorly, lighter and more bluish
posteriorly; anteriorly plain, posteriorly with darker transverse
bars, these growing more sharply defined towards the tail. Beneath
ochraceous-white, varying in tint from nearly pure white to deep
ochraceous, those portions posterior to the jugulum transversely
barred, more or less, with blackish or dark plumbeous; anterior
lower parts (from the breast forward) without transverse bars.
_Young._ No transverse bars on the body, above or below. Above
blackish-brown, varying to black, the feathers usually bordered
terminally with ochraceous or rusty; forehead usually more or less
washed with the same. Beneath ochraceous, varying in shade; the
whole surface with longitudinal stripes of blackish. Inner webs of
tail-feathers and primaries with numerous transverse elliptical
spots of ochraceous. _Hab._ Cosmopolitan.

_a._ Young dark brown above, the feathers bordered with rusty or
whitish. Beneath white or ochraceous, with narrow longitudinal
stripes of dusky. Inner webs of tail-feathers with transverse
bars.

Auriculars white, cutting off the black of the cheeks with a
prominent “mustache.”

Beneath pure white, the breast and middle of the abdomen
without markings. Wing, 12.75; tail, 7.30; culmen, .80;
tarsus, 2.00; middle toe, 1.80. _Hab._ Eastern Asia …

var. _orientalist_.[53]

Beneath pale ochraceous, the breast always with longitudinal
dashes, or elliptical spots, of dusky; middle of abdomen
barred. Wing, 11.50–14.30; tail, 7.00–8.50; culmen, .72–.95;
tarsus, 1.65–2.20; middle toe, 1.80–2.30. _Hab._ Europe …

var. _communis_.[54]

Beneath varying from deep ochraceous to nearly pure white,
the breast never with distinct longitudinal or other spots,
usually with none at all. Middle of abdomen barred, or not.
Wing, 11.30–14.75; tail, 6.00–9.00; culmen, .75–1.00; tarsus,
1.60–2.10; middle toe, 1.75–2.20. _Hab._ America (entire
continent) …

var. _anatum_.

Auriculars black, nearly, or quite, as far down as the lower end
of the “mustache.”

Beneath varying from deep ochraceous to white, the breast
streaked or not. Lower parts more uniformly and heavily
barred than in the other races. _Young_ with narrower streaks
beneath. Wing, 11.15–12.60; tail, 6.11–8.00; culmen, .81–.90;
tarsus, 1.60–2.05; middle toe, 1.75–2.15. _Hab_. Australia …

var. _melanogenys_.[55]

_b._ Young unvariegated brownish-black above. Beneath
brownish-black, faintly streaked with white, or nearly
unvariegated. Inner webs of tail-feathers without transverse bars.

Wing, 14.90–15.09; tail, 8.50; culmen, .95–1.00; tarsus,
2.10; middle toe, 2.15–2.21. _Hab._ Northwest coast of North
America, from Oregon to Sitka …

var. _pealei_.

=B.= Second quill longest; first with inner web emarginated, the
second with inner web not sinuated. Young without longitudinal stripes
on lower parts. Adult and young stages hardly appreciably different.

Above plumbeous or black; beneath black from the jugulum to the
tibiæ, with transverse bars of white, ochraceous, or rufous; throat
and jugulum white, white and rufous, or wholly ochraceous, with a
semicircular outline posteriorly; tibiæ, anal region, and crissum
uniform deep rufous, or spotted with black on an ochraceous or a
white and rufous ground. _Adult._ Plumbeous above, the feathers
darker centrally, and with obscure darker bars posteriorly; jugulum
immaculate. _Young._ Black above, the feathers bordered terminally
with rusty, or else dark plumbeous without transverse bars; jugulum
with longitudinal streaks.

2. =F aurantius.=[56] Wing, 9.50–12.00; tail, 5.40–6.25; culmen,
.96; tarsus, 1.50–1.60; middle toe, 1.75–2.10. Second quill
longest; first longer than third. Crissum ochraceous, or white and
rufous, with large transverse spots of black; upper tail-coverts
sharply barred with pure white or pale ash. _Adult._ Above
plumbeous-black, the feathers conspicuously bordered with
plumbeous-blue. Throat and jugulum immaculate; white centrally and
anteriorly, deep rufous laterally and posteriorly. Tibiæ plain
rufous. _Young._ Above uniform dull black, the feathers sometimes
bordered inconspicuously with rusty. Throat and jugulum varying
from white to ochraceous or rufous (this always deepest laterally
and posteriorly). Tibiæ sometimes thickly spotted transversely
with black. _Hab._ Tropical America, north to Southern Mexico.

3. =F. rufigularis.=[57] Wing, 7.20–9.00 (♂, wing, 7.70; tail,
3.95–5.50; culmen, .45–.58; tarsus, 1.20–1.55; middle toe,
1.15–1.40). Second quill longest; first longer than third. Crissum
uniform deep reddish-rufous, rarely barred with white and dusky.
Upper tail-coverts obsoletely barred with plumbeous.

_Adult._ Above plumbeous-black, the feathers lightening into
plumbeous-blue on the edges and ends, and showing obscure bars
on the posterior portions. Throat and jugulum ochraceous-white,
the ochraceous tinge deepest posteriorly and without any streaks.
_Young._ Above plumbeous-black, without lighter obscure bars, or
with a brownish cast, and with faint rusty edges to the feathers.
Throat and jugulum deep soft ochraceous, deepest laterally, the
posterior portion usually with a few longitudinal streaks of
dusky. _Hab._ Tropical America, north to Middle Mexico.

Falco communis, GMEL.

Var. =anatum=, BONAP.

AMERICAN PEREGRINE FALCON; DUCK HAWK.

_? Accipiter falco maculatus_, Briss. Orn. I, 329. _? Falco nævius_,
GMEL. S. N. 1789, 271. _Falco communis_ ζ, and _F. communis_ η, LATH.
Ind. Orn. p. 31. _Falco communis_, COUES, Key, 1872, 213, f. 141.
_Falco peregrinus_, ORD. Wils. Am. Orn. 1808, pl. lxvi.—SAB. L. Trans.
XII, 529.—RICH. Parry’s 2d Voy. App. 342.—IB. F. B. A. II, 1831,
23.—BONAP. N. Y. Lyc. II, 27.—IB. Isis, 1832, 1136; Consp. 1850, 23,
No. 4.—KING, Voy. Beag. I, 1839, 532.—JAMES. Wils. Am. Orn. 677,
Synop. 1852, 683.—WEDDERB. Jard. Contr. to Orn. 1849, 81.—WOODH.
Sitgr. Zuñi, 1853, 60.—GIRAUD, B. Long Island, 1844, 14.—PEALE, U. S.
Ex. Ex. 1848, 66.—GRAY, List B. Brit. Mus. 1841, 51. _Falco anatum_,
BONAP. Eur. & N. Am. B. 1838, 4.—IB. Rev. Zoöl. 1850, 484.—BRIDG.
Proc. Zoöl. Soc. pl. xi, 109.—IB. Ann. N. H. XIII, 499.—GOSSE, B. Jam.
1847, 16.—CASS. B. Cal. & Tex. 1854, 86.—IB. Birds N. Am. 1858, 7.—DE
KAY, Zoöl. N. Y. II, 13, pl. iii, f. 8.—NUTT. Man. 1833, 53.—PEAB. B.
Mass. 1841, 83.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 1855, 83.—BLAKIST. Ibis, III,
1861, 315.—MARCH, Pr. Ac. N. S. 1863, 304. _Falco nigriceps_, CASS.
B. Cal. & Tex. I, 1853, 87.—IB. Birds N. Am. 1858, 8.—STRICKL. Orn.
Syn. I, 85.—COOP. & SUCKL. P. R. R. Rep’t, VII, ii, 1860, 142.—GRAY,
Hand List, I, 1869, 19, No. 166.—SHARPE, Ann. & Mag. N. H. _Falco
orientalis_, (GM.) GRAY, Hand List, I, 1869, 19, No. 165 (in part). _?
Falco cassini_, SHARPE, Ann. & Mag. N. H.

SP. CHAR. _Adult_ (♂, 43,134, Fort Resolution, Brit. N. Am., June; J. Lockhart). Upper parts dark bluish-plumbeous, approaching black anteriorly, but on rump and upper tail-coverts becoming fine bluish plumbeous-ash. On the head and neck the continuous plumbeous-black covers all the former except the chin and throat, and the back portion of the latter; an invasion or indentation of the white of lower parts up behind the ear-coverts separating that of the cheeks from the posterior black, throwing the former into a prominent angular patch; forehead and lores grayish. All the feathers above (posterior to the nape) with transverse bars of plumbeous-black, these most sharply defined posteriorly, where the plumbeous is lightest. Tail black, more plumbeous basally, very faintly paler at the tip, and showing ten or eleven transverse narrow bands of plumbeous, these most distinct anteriorly; the bars are clearest on inner webs. Alula, primary and secondary coverts, secondaries and primaries, uniform plumbeous-black, narrowly whitish on terminal margin, most observable on secondaries and inner primaries. Lower parts white, tinged with delicate cream-color, this deepest on the abdomen; sides and tibiæ tinged with bluish. Chin, throat, and jugulum immaculate; the breast, however, with faint longitudinal shaft-streaks of black; sides, flanks, and tibiæ distinctly barred transversely with black, about four bars being on each feather; on the lower tail-coverts they are narrower and more distant; on the abdomen the markings are in the form of circular spots; anal region barred transversely. Lining of the wing (including all the under coverts) white tinged with blue, and barred like the sides; under surface of primaries slaty, with elliptical spots or bars of creamy-white on inner webs, twelve on the longest. Wing-formula, 2–1–3. Wing, 12.25; tail, 6.00; tarsus, 1.60; middle toe, 1.85; outer, 1.40; inner, 1.20; posterior, .80; culmen, .80.

♀ (13,077, Liberty Co., Georgia; Professor J. L. Leconte). Like the male, but ochraceous tinge beneath deeper; no ashy wash; bands on the tail more sharply defined, about ten dark ones being indicated; outer surface of primaries and secondaries with bands apparent; tail distinctly tipped with ochraceous-white. Inner web of longest primary with thirteen, more reddish, transverse spots. White of neck extending obliquely upward and forward toward the eye, giving the black cheek-patch more prominence. Markings beneath as in the male. Wing-formula the same. Wing, 14.50; tail, 7.00; tarsus, 1.95; middle toe, 2.10; culmen, .95.

_Juv._ (♂, 53,193, Truckee River, Nevada, July 24, 1867; R. Ridgway: first plumage). Above plumbeous-black, tail more slaty. Every feather broadly bordered terminally with dull cinnamon; these crescentic bars becoming gradually broader posteriorly, narrower and more obsolete on the head above. Tail distinctly tipped with pale cinnamon, the inner webs of feathers with obsolete transverse spots of the same, these touching neither the edge nor the shaft; scarcely apparent indications of corresponding spots on outer webs. Region round the eye, and broad “mustache” across the cheeks, pure black, the latter more conspicuous than in the older stages, being cut off posteriorly by the extension of the cream-color of the neck nearly to the eye. A broad stripe of pale ochraceous running from above the ear-coverts back to the occiput, where the two of opposite sides nearly meet. Lower parts purplish cream-color, or rosy ochraceous-white, deepest posteriorly; jugulum, breast, sides, flanks, and tibiæ with longitudinal stripes of plumbeous-black, these broadest on flanks and abdomen, and somewhat sagittate on the tibiæ; lower tail-coverts with distant transverse bars. Lining of the wing like the sides, but the markings more transverse; inner web of longest primary with nine transverse purplish-ochre spots. Wing-formula, 2–1, 3. Wing, 12.50; tail, 7.00. Length, 16.50; expanse, 39.25. Weight, 1½ lbs. Basal half of bill pale bluish-white, cere rather darker; terminal half (rather abruptly) slate-color, the tip deepening into black; iris very dark vivid vandyke-brown; naked orbital space pale bluish-white, with a slight greenish tint; tarsi and toes lemon-yellow, with a slight green cast; claws jet-black.

HAB. Entire continent of America, and neighboring islands.

Localities: Guatemala (SCL. Ibis I, 219); Veragua (SALV. P. Z. S. 1867, 158); Sta. Cruz (NEWTON, Ibis, I, 63); Trinidad (TAYLOR, Ibis, 1864, 80); Bahamas (BRYANT, Pr. Bost. Soc. 1859, VII); Cuba (CAB. Journ. II, lxxxiii); (GUNDL. Repert. 1865, 225); Jamaica, (GOSSE, B. Jam. 16; MARCH, Pr. Ac. N. S. 1863, 304, et Mus. S. I.); Tierra del Fuego (SHARPE, Ann. & Mag. N. H.; “_F. cassini_, SHARPE”).

The young plumage above described corresponds exactly with that of young _peregrinus_ from Europe, a comparison of the specimen above described with one of the same age from Germany (54,064, Schlüter Col.) showing no differences that can be expressed. Many American specimens in this plumage (as 19,397, Fort Simpson) show a wash of whitish over the forehead and anterior part of the crown; having before us but the one specimen, we cannot say whether or not this is ever seen in the European bird. Specimens more advanced in season—perhaps in second year—are colored as follows: The black above is more brownish, the feathers margined with pale brown,—these margins broader, and approaching to white, on the upper tail-coverts; the tail shows the ochraceous bars only on inner webs. The supraoral stripe of the youngest plumage is also quite apparent.

A still younger one from the same locality (No. 37,397) has the upper plumage similar to the last, the pale edges to the feathers, however, more distinct; tail with conspicuous spots. White beneath clearer, and invading the dusky of the head above as far back as the middle of the crown; the supraoral stripe is distinct, scarcely interrupted across the nape.

In the adult plumage the principal variation is in the extent and disposition of the bars beneath. In most individuals they are regularly transverse only laterally and posteriorly, those on the belly being somewhat broken into more irregular cordate spots, though always transverse; in no American specimen, however, are they as continuously transverse as in a male (No. 18,804) from Europe, which, however, in this respect, we think, forms an exception to most European examples, at least to those in the Smithsonian Collection. All variations in the form, thickness, and continuity of the markings below, and in the distinctness of the bars above, are individual.

Very old males (as 49,790, Fort Yukon; 27,188, Moose Factory (type of Elliott’s figure of _F. peregrinus_, in Birds of America); and 42,997, Spanishtown, Jamaica) lack almost entirely the reddish tinge beneath, and have the lateral and posterior portions strongly tinged with blue; the latter feature is especially noticeable in the specimen from Jamaica, in which also the bars are almost utterly wanting medially. Immature birds from this island also lack to a great degree the ochraceous tinge, leaving the whitish everywhere purer.

A female adult European bird differs from the average of North American examples in the conspicuous longitudinal streaks on the jugulum; but in a male these are hardly more distinct than in 13,077, ♀, Liberty Co., Georgia; 11,983, “United States”; 35,456, Peel’s River; 35,449, ♀, and 35,445, ♀, Fort Yukon, Alaska; 35,452, La Pierre’s Hous., H. B. Ter.; 35,459 ♂, Fort Anderson; and 28,099 ♀, Hartford, Conn. In none of these, however, are they so numerous and conspicuous as in a European female from the Schlüter Collection, which, however, differs in these respects only from North American specimens.

A somewhat melanistic individual (in second year? 32,735, Chicago, Ill.; Robert Kennicott) differs as follows: Above continuously pure black; upper tail-coverts and longer scapulars bordered terminally with rusty-whitish. Tail distinctly tipped with white; the inner webs of feathers with eight elliptical transverse bars of pale ochraceous, and indications of corresponding spots of the same on outer webs, forming as many inconspicuous bands. Beneath ochraceous-white; the neck, breast, and abdomen thickly marked with broad longitudinal stripes of clear black,—those on the jugulum cuneate, and on the breast and abdomen broadly sagittate; the tibiæ with numerous cordate spots, and sides marked more transversely; lower tail-coverts with narrow distant transverse bars. On the chin and throat only, the whitish is immaculate, on the other portions being somewhat exceeded in amount by the black. Inner web of longest primary with seven transverse elliptical bars of cream-color. Wing, 12.20; tail, 9.40.

Whether the North American and European Peregrine Falcons are or are not distinct has been a question undecided up to the present day; almost every ornithologist having his own peculiar views upon the relationship of the different forms which have been from time to time characterized. The most favorably received opinion, however, seems to be that there are two species on the American continent, and that one of these, the northern one, is identical with the European bird. Both these views I hold to be entirely erroneous; for after examining and comparing critically a series of more than one hundred specimens of these birds, from every portion of America (except eastern South America), including nearly all the West India Islands, as well as numbers of localities throughout continental North and South America, I find that, with the exception of the melanistic littoral race of the northwest coast (var. _pealei_), they all fall under one race, which, though itself exceedingly variable, yet possesses characters whereby it may always be distinguished from the Peregrine of all portions of the Old World.

There is such a great amount of variability, in size, colors, and markings, that the _F. nigriceps_, Cassin, must be entirely ignored as being based upon specimens not distinguishable in any respect from typical _anatum_. Judging from the characters assigned to the _F. cassini_ by its describer (who evidently had a very small series of American specimens at his command), the latter name must also most probably fall into the list of synonymes of _anatum_.

Slight as are the characters which separate the Peregrines of the New and Old World, i.e. the immaculate jugulum of the former and the streaked one of the latter, they are yet sufficiently constant to warrant their separation as geographical races of one species; along with which the _F. melanogenys_, Gould (Australia), _F. minor_, Bonap. (South Africa), _F. orientalis_, Gmel. (E. Asia), and _F. calidus_, Lath. (Southern India and East Indies), must also rank as simple geographical races of the same species. Whether the _F. calidus_ is tenable, I am unable to state, for I have not seen it; but the others appear to be all sufficiently differentiated. The _F. radama_, Verreaux (Gray’s Hand List, p. 19, No. 170), Mr. Gurney writes me, is the young female of var. _minor_. Whether the _F. peregrinator_, Sundevall (Gray’s Hand List, No. 169), is another of the regional forms of _F. communis_, or a distinct species, I am not able at present to say, not having specimens accessible to me for examination.

Mr. Cassin’s type of “_nigriceps_” (13,856, ♂, July), from Chile, is before me, and upon comparison with adult males from Arctic America presents no tangible differences beyond its smaller size; the wing is a little more than half an inch, and the middle toe less than the eighth of an inch, shorter than in the smallest of the North American series,—a discrepancy slight indeed, and of little value as the sole specific character; the plumage being almost precisely similar to that of the specimen selected for the type of the description at the head of this article. In order to show the little consequence to be attached to the small size of the individual just mentioned, I would state that there is before me a young bird, received from the National Museum of Chile, and obtained in the vicinity of Santiago, which is precisely similar in plumage to the Nevada specimen described, and in size is even considerably larger, though it is but just to say that it is a female; the wing measures 13.25, instead of 12.50, and the middle toe, 2.00, instead of 1.85. No. 37,336, Tres Marias Islands, Western Mexico,—a young male in second year,—has the wing just the same length as in the smallest North American example, while in plumage it is precisely similar to 26,785, of the same age, from Jamaica. No. 4,367, from Puget’s Sound, Washington Territory,—also a young male,—has the wing of the same length as in the largest northern specimen, while the plumage is as usual.

Two adult females from Connecticut (Nos. 28,099 and 32,507, Talcott Mt.) are remarkable for their very deep colors, in which they differ from all other North American examples which I have seen, and answer in every particular to the description of _F. cassini_, Sharpe, above cited. The upper surface is plumbeous-black, becoming deep black anteriorly, the head without a single light feather in the black portions; the plumbeous bars are distinct only on the rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail, and are just perceptible on the secondaries. The lower parts are of a very deep reddish-ochraceous, deepest on the breast and abdomen, where it approaches a cinnamon tint,—the markings, however, as in other examples. They measure, wing, 14.75; tail, 7.50; culmen, 1.05–1.15; tarsus, 2.00; middle toe, 2.30. They were obtained from the nest, and kept in confinement three years, when they were sacrificed to science. The unusual size of the bill of these specimens (see measurements) is undoubtedly due to the influence of confinement, or the result of a modified mode of feeding. The specimens were presented by Dr. S. S. Moses, of Hartford.

An adult male (No. 8,501) from Shoal-water Bay, Washington Territory, is exactly of the size of the male described. In this specimen there is not the slightest creamy tinge beneath, while the blue tinge on the lower parts laterally and posteriorly is very strong. No. 52,818, an adult female from Mazatlan, Western Mexico, has the wing three quarters of an inch shorter than in the largest of four northern females, and of the same length as in the smallest; there is nothing unusual about its plumage, except that the bars beneath are sparse, and the ochraceous tinge quite deep. No. 27,057, Fort Good Hope, H. B. T., is, however, exactly similar, in these respects, and the wing is but half an inch longer. In No. 47,588, ♂, from the Farallones Islands, near San Francisco, California, the wing is the same length as in the average of northern and eastern specimens, while the streaks on the jugulum are nearly as conspicuous as in a male from Europe.

In conclusion, I would say that the sole distinguishing character between the Peregrines from America and those from Europe, that can be relied on, appears to be found in the markings on the breast in the adult plumage; in all the specimens and figures of var. _communis_ that I have seen, the breast has the longitudinal dashes very conspicuous; while, as a general rule, in _anatum_ these markings are entirely absent, though sometimes present, and occasionally nearly as distinct as in European examples. Therefore, if this conspicuous streaking of the breast is found in all European specimens, the American bird is entitled to separation as a variety; but if the breast is ever immaculate in European examples, then _anatum_ must sink into a pure synonyme of _communis_. The var. _melanogenys_ is distinguished from both _communis_ and _anatum_ by the black auriculars, or by a greater amount of black on the side of the neck, and by more numerous and narrower bars on the under surface. In the former feature examples of _anatum_ from the southern extremity of South America approach quite closely to the Australian form, as might be expected from the relative geographical position of the two regions. The var. _minor_ is merely the smaller intertropical race of the Old World, perhaps better characterized than the tropical American form named _F. nigriceps_ by Cassin, the characters of which are so unimportant, and withal so inconstant, as to forbid our recognizing it as a race of the same rank with the others.

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

National Museum, 45; Boston Society, 4; Philadelphia Academy, 22; Museum Comp. Zoöl. 5; New York Museum, 3; G. N. Lawrence, 6; R. Ridgway, 3. Total, 88.

_Measurements._

+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ |Sex.| Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. |Middle Toe.|Specimens.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♂ |11.30–13.00| 6.00–7.50| .75–0.80|1.60–1.90| 1.78–2.05| 29 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♀ |13.00–14.75| 7.30–9.00| .85–1.00|1.95–2.10| 1.95–2.20| 28 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+

Var. pealei, RIDGWAY.

BLACK PEREGRINE FALCON.

_? ? Accipiter falco niger_, BRISS. Orn. I, 337. _? ? Falco niger_,
GMEL. S. N. 1789, 270. _Falco polyagrus_, CASS. B. Cal. & Tex. pl. xvi
(dark figure).

SP. CHAR. In colors almost exactly similar to _F. gyrfalco_, var. _labradora_. Above continuous dark vandyke-brown, approaching brownish-black on the head, which is variegated only on the gular region, and inclining to grayish-brown on the tail; the whole surface entirely free from spots or markings of any kind. Beneath similar in color to the upper parts, but the feathers edged with whitish, this rather predominating on the throat; flanks and tibiæ with roundish white spots; lower tail-coverts with broad transverse bars of white. Lining of the wing with feathers narrowly tipped with white; inner webs of primaries with narrow, transverse elliptical spots of cream-color; inner webs of tail-feathers with badly defined, irregular, similar spots, or else with these wanting, the whole web being plain dusky-brown.

No. 12,022 (♀, Oregon; T. R. Peale). Wing, 15.00; tail, 8.50; culmen, .95; tarsus, 2.10; middle toe, 2.15. (Figured by Cassin as _F. polyagrus_, in Birds of California and Texas, pl. xvi.)

No. 45,814 (♀, Sitka, Alaska, May, 1866; F. Bischoff). Wing, 14.90; tail, 8.50; tarsus, 2.10; middle toe, 2.20. The two similar in color, but in the latter the white streaks on the lower parts a little broader, and the middle of the auriculars slightly streaked.

HAB. Northwest coast of North America, from Oregon to Sitka.

This curious race of _Falco communis_ is a good illustration of the climatic peculiarity of the northwest coast region, to which I have often referred before; the same melanistic tendency being apparent in birds of other species from the same region, as an example of which I may mention the Black Merlin (_Falco æsalon_, var. _suckleyi_), which is a perfect miniature of the present bird.

HABITS. The Great-footed Hawk of North America is very closely allied to the well-known Peregrine Falcon of Europe, and so closely resembles it that by many writers, even at the present day, it is regarded as identical with it. Without doubt, the habits of the two races are very nearly the same, though the peculiarities of the North American bird are not so well known as are those of the European. In its distribution it is somewhat erratic, for the most part confined to the rocky sea-coast, the river-banks, and the high ground of the northeastern parts of America. It is known to breed in a few isolated rocky crags in various parts of the country, even as far to the south as Pennsylvania, and it occurs probably both as migrant and resident in several of the West India Islands, in Central and in South America. A single specimen was taken by Dr. Woodhouse in the Creek country of the Indian Territory. Two individuals are reported by Von Pelzeln as having been taken in Brazil. The Newtons met with it in St. Croix. Mr. Gosse found it in Jamaica, and Dr. Gundlach gives it as a bird of Cuba. Jardine states it to be a bird of Bermuda, and also that it has been taken in the Straits of Magellan. A single specimen was taken at Dueñas, Guatemala, in February, by Mr. Salvin.

On the Pacific coast this Falcon has been traced as far south as the limit of the land. Dr. Cooper met with only two pairs, in March, 1854, frequenting a high wooded cliff at Shoal-water Bay. Dr. Suckley procured a single specimen from Steilacoom. Dr. Cooper states that the habits of these corresponded with those described for the _F. anatum_ and _F. peregrinus_, and that, like these Falcons, it is a terror to all land animals weaker than itself. It is said to breed on the rocky cliffs of the Pacific.

An individual of this bird was taken by Colonel Grayson at the Tres Marias Islands. When shot, it was endeavoring to capture a Sparrow-hawk, indicating its indifference as to the game it pursues. He adds that this bird attacks with vigor everything it sees, from the size of a Mallard Duck down, and is the terror of all small birds. Its range must be very great, as it often ventures far out to sea. On his passage from Mazatlan to San Francisco, in 1858, on the bark Carlota, one of these Falcons came on board more than a hundred miles off the coast of Lower California, and took up its quarters on the main-top yard, where it remained two days, during which time it captured several Dusky Petrels. It would dart headlong upon these unsuspecting birds, seldom missing its aim. It would then return to its resting-place and partly devour its prize. At other times it dropped its victims into the sea in wanton sport. Finally, as if tired of this kind of game, it made several wide circles around the ship, ascended to a considerable height, and departed in the direction of the Mexican shore.

This Falcon is found along the Atlantic coast from Maine to the extreme northern portion, breeding on the high rocky cliffs of Grand Menan and in various favorable situations thence northward. A few breed on Mount Tom, near the Connecticut River in Massachusetts, on Talcott Mountain in Connecticut, in Pennsylvania, and near Harper’s Ferry, in Maryland.

Mr. Boardman has several times taken their eggs from the cliffs of Grand Menan, where they breed in April, or early in May. In one instance he found the nest in close proximity to that of a pair of Ravens, the two families being apparently on terms of amity or mutual tolerance.

For several years two or more pairs of these birds have been known to breed regularly on Mount Tom, near Northampton. The nests were placed on the edges of precipitous rocks very early in the spring, the young having been fully grown by the last of June. Their young and their eggs have been taken year after year, yet at the last accounts they still continued to nest in that locality. Dr. W. Wood has also found this species breeding on Talcott Mountain, near Hartford. Four young were found, nearly fledged, June 1. In one instance four eggs were taken from a nest on Mount Tom, by Mr. C. W. Bennett, as early as April 19. This was in 1864. Several times since he has taken their eggs from the same eyrie, though the Hawks have at times deserted it and sought other retreats. In one year a pair was twice robbed, and, as is supposed, made a third nest, and had unfledged young as late as August. Mr. Allen states that these Hawks repair to Mount Tom very early in the spring, and carefully watch and defend their eyrie, manifesting even more alarm at this early period, when it is approached, than they evince later, when it contains eggs or young. Mr. Bennett speaks of the nest as a mere apology for one.

This Hawk formerly nested on a high cliff near the house of Professor S. S. Haldeman, Columbia, Penn., who several times procured young birds which had fallen from the nest. The birds remained about this cliff ten or eleven months of the year, only disappearing during the coldest weather, and returning with the first favorable change. They bred early in spring, the young leaving the nest perhaps in May. Professor Haldeman was of the opinion that but a single pair remained, the young disappearing in the course of the season.

Sir John Richardson, in his Arctic expedition in 1845, while descending the Mackenzie River, latitude 65°, noticed what he presumed to be a nest of this species, placed on the cliff of a sandstone rock. This Falcon was rare on that river.

Mr. MacFarlane found this species not uncommon on the banks of Lockhart and Anderson Rivers, in the Arctic regions. In one instance he mentions finding a nest on a cliff thirty feet from the ground. There were four eggs lying on a ledge of the shale of which the cliff was composed. Both parents were present, and kept up a continued screaming, though at too great a distance for him to shoot either. He adds that this bird is by no means scarce on Lockhart River, and he was informed that it also nests along the ramparts and other steep banks of the Upper Anderson, though he has not been able to learn that it has been found north of Fort Anderson. In another instance the nest was on a ledge of clayey mud,—the eggs, in fact, lying on the bare ground, and nothing resembling a nest to be seen. A third nest was found on a ledge of crumbling shale, along the banks of the Anderson River, near the outlet of the Lockhart. This Hawk, he remarks, so far as he was able to observe, constructs no nest whatever. At least, on the Anderson River, where he found it tolerably abundant, it was found to invariably lay its eggs on a ledge of rock or shale, without making use of any accessory lining or protection, always availing itself of the most inaccessible ledges. He was of the opinion that they do not breed to the northward of the 68th parallel. They were also to be found nesting in occasional pairs along the lime and sandstone banks of the Mackenzie, where early in August, for several successive years, he noticed the young of the season fully fledged, though still attended by the parent birds.

In subsequent notes, Mr. MacFarlane repeats his observations that this species constructs no nest, merely laying its eggs on a ledge of shale or other rock. Both parents were invariably seen about the spot. In some instances the eggs found were much larger than in others.

Mr. Dall mentions shooting a pair near Nuk´koh, on the Yukon River, that had a nest on a dead spruce. The young, on the 1st of June, were nearly ready to fly. It was not a common species, but was found from Nulato to Sitka and Kodiak.

In regard to general characteristics of this Falcon, they do not apparently differ in any essential respects from those of the better-known _Falco communis_ of the Old World. It flies with immense rapidity, rarely sails in the manner of other Hawks, and then only for brief periods and when disappointed in some attempt upon its prey. In such cases, Mr. Audubon states, it merely rises in a broad spiral circuit, in order to reconnoitre a space below. It then flies swiftly off in quest of plunder. These flights are made in the manner of the Wild Pigeon. When it perceives its object, it increases the flappings of its wings, and pursues its victim with a surprising rapidity. It turns, and winds, and follows every change of motion of the object of pursuit with instantaneous quickness. Occasionally it seizes a bird too heavy to be managed, and if this be over the water it drops it, if the distance to land be too great, and flies off in pursuit of another. Mr. Audubon has known one of this species to come at the report of a gun, and carry off a Teal not thirty steps distant from the sportsman who had killed it. This daring conduct is a characteristic trait.

This bird is noted for its predatory attacks upon water-fowl, but it does not confine itself to such prey. In the interior, Richardson states that it preys upon the Wild Pigeon, and upon smaller birds. In one instance Audubon has known one to follow a tame Pigeon to its house, entering it at one hole and instantly flying out at the other. The same writer states that he has seen this bird feeding on dead fish that had floated to the banks of the Mississippi. Occasionally it alights on the dead branch of a tree in the neighborhood of marshy ground, and watches, apparently surveying, piece by piece, every portion of the territory. As soon as it perceives a suitable victim, it darts upon it like an arrow. While feeding, it is said to be very cleanly, tearing the flesh, after removing the feathers, into small pieces, and swallowing them one by one.

The European species, as is well known, was once largely trained for the chase, and even to this day is occasionally used for this purpose; its docility in confinement, and its wonderful powers of flight, rendering it an efficient assistant to the huntsman. We have no reason to doubt that our own bird might be made equally serviceable.

Excepting during the breeding-season, it is a solitary bird. It mates early in February, and even earlier in the winter. Early in the fall the families separate, and each bird seems to keep to itself until the period of reproduction returns.

In confinement, birds of this family become quite tame, can be trained to habits of wonderful docility and obedience, and evince even an affection for the one who cares for their wants.

This species appears to nest almost exclusively on cliffs, and rarely, if ever, to make any nests in other situations. In a few rare and exceptional cases this Falcon has been known to construct a nest in trees. Mr. Ord speaks of its thus nesting among the cedar swamps of New Jersey; but this fact has been discredited, and there has been no recent evidence of its thus breeding in that State. Mr. Dall found its nest in a tree in Alaska, but makes no mention of its peculiarities.

The eggs of this species are of a rounded-oval shape, and range from 2.00 to 2.22 inches in length, and from 1.60 to 1.90 in width. Five eggs, from Anderson River, have an average size of 2.09 by 1.65 inches. An egg from Mount Tom, Mass., is larger than any other I have seen, measuring 2.22 inches in length by 1.70 in breadth, and differs in the brighter coloring and a larger proportion of red in its markings. The ground is a deep cream-color, but is rarely visible, being generally so entirely overlaid by markings as nowhere to appear. In many the ground-color appears to have a reddish tinge, probably due to the brown markings which so nearly conceal it. In others, nothing appears but a deep coating of dark ferruginous or chocolate-brown, not homogeneous, but of varying depth of coloring, and here and there deepening into almost blackness. In one egg, from Anderson River, the cream-colored ground is very apparent, and only sparingly marked with blotches of a light brown, with a shading of bronze. An egg from the cabinet of Mr. Dickinson, of Springfield, taken on Mount Tom, Massachusetts, is boldly blotched with markings of a bright chestnut-brown, varying greatly in its shadings.

_Subgenus_ ÆSALON, KAUP.

_Æsalon_, KAUP, 1829. (Type, _Falco æsalon_, GMELIN, = _F.
lithofalco_, GM.)
_Hypotriorchis_, AUCT. _nec_ BOIE, 1826, the type of which is _Falco
subbuteo_, LINN.
_Dendrofalco_, GRAY, 1840. (Type, _F. æsalon_, GMEL.)

This subgenus contains, apparently, but the single species _F. lithofalco_, which is found nearly throughout the Northern Hemisphere, and in different climatic regions is modified into geographical races. Of these, North America possesses three, and Europe one; they may be distinguished as follows:—

Species and Races.

=F. lithofalco.= Second and third quills longest; first usually
shorter than, occasionally equal to, or rarely longer than, the
fourth. _Adult female, and young of both sexes._ Above brownish,
varying from pale earth-brown, or umber, to nearly black, plain, or
with obscure transverse spotting of lighter; tail with five to eight
lighter bands, which, however, are sometimes obsolete, except the
terminal one. Beneath ochraceous-white, longitudinally striped with
brown or dusky over the whole surface. _Adult male_ (except in var.
_suckleyi_ and _richardsoni_?). Above plumbeous-blue, with darker
shaft-streaks; tail with more or less distinct bands of black, and
paler tip. Beneath much as in the female and young, but stripes
usually narrower and more reddish. Wing, 7.20–9.00; tail, 4.90–6.30;
culmen, .45–.60; tarsus, 1.30–1.60; middle toe, 1.15–1.51.

_a._ Adult male plumbeous-blue above; sexes very unlike in adult
dress. Female and young without transverse spotting on upper parts.

_Adult male._ Tail deep plumbeous, tipped with ash, with six
transverse series of dusky spots (which do not touch the shaft
nor edge of the feathers) anterior to the subterminal zone, the
black of which extends forward along the edge of the feather.
Inner web of the longest primary with ten transverse spots of
white. Streaks on the cheeks enlarged and blended, forming a
conspicuous “mustache.” Pectoral markings linear black. The
ochraceous wash deepest across the nape and breast, and along
the sides, and very pale on the tibiæ. _Adult female._ Above
brownish-plumbeous, the feathers becoming paler toward their
margins, and with conspicuous black shaft-streaks. Tail with eight
(three concealed) narrow bands of pale fulvous-ashy; longest
primary with ten light spots on inner web. Outer webs of primaries
with a few spots of ochraceous. _Young._ Similar to the ♀ _adult_,
but with a more rusty cast to the plumage, and with more or less
distinct transverse spots of paler on the upper parts. Wing,
7.60–9.00; tail, 5.10–6.30; culmen, .45–.55; tarsus, 1.35–1.47;
middle toe, 1.15–1.35. _Hab._ Europe …

var. _lithofalco_.[58]

_Adult male._ Tail light ash, tipped with white, and crossed by
three or four nearly continuous narrow bands of black (extending
over both webs, and crossing the shaft), anterior to the broad
subterminal zone, the black of which does not run forward along
the edge of the feathers. Inner web of longest primary with seven
to nine transverse spots of white. Streaks on the cheeks sparse
and fine, not condensed into a “mustache.” Pectoral markings broad
clear brown. Ochraceous wash weak across the nape and breast,
and along sides, and very deep on the tibiæ. _Adult female._
Above plumbeous-umber, without rusty margins to the feathers,
and without conspicuous black shaft-streaks. Tail with only five
(one concealed) narrow bands of pale ochraceous; outer webs of
primaries without ochraceous spots; inner web of outer primary
with eight spots of white. _Young._ Like the adult female, but
darker. Wing, 7.90–8.25; tail, 5.15–5.25; tarsus, 1.00; middle
toe, 1.25. _Hab._ Entire continent of North America; West Indies …

var. _columbarius_.

_b._ Adult male not bluish? sexes similar? upper parts with lighter
transverse spots.

_Adult._ Above light grayish-umber, or earth-brown, with more or
less distinct lighter transverse spots; secondaries crossed by
three bands of ochraceous spots, and outer webs of inner primaries
usually with spots of the same. Tail invariably with six complete
and continuous narrow bands of dull white. Beneath white, with
broad longitudinal markings of light brown, these finer and
hair-like on the tibiæ and cheeks, where they are sparse and
scattered, not forming a “mustache.” Top of the head much lighter
than the back. _Young._ Similar, but much tinged with rusty
above, all the white portions inclining to pale ochraceous. Wing,
7.70–9.00; tail, 5.00–6.30; culmen, .50–.60; tarsus, 1.40–1.65;
middle toe, 1.20–1.51. Second and third quills longest; first
equal to fourth, slightly shorter, or sometimes slightly longer.
_Hab._ Interior plains of North America, between the Mississippi
River and the Rocky Mountains, from the Arctic regions to Texas …

var. (?) _richardsoni_.

_c._ Adult male not bluish? sexes similar? upper parts without
transverse spots, and tail without lighter bands, except at the tip.

Above plain brownish-black; the tail narrowly tipped with whitish,
but without other markings; inner webs of the primaries without
lighter spots. Beneath pale ochraceous broadly striped with
sooty-black. Wing, 7.35–8.50; tail, 5.25–5.75; culmen, .50–.55;
tarsus, 1.30–1.62; middle toe, 1.25–1.35. _Hab._ Northwest coast
region from Oregon to Sitka …

var. _suckleyi_.

Falco (Æsalon) lithofalco (GMELIN).

=Var. columbarius=, LINNÆUS.

PIGEON HAWK; AMERICAN MERLIN.

_Falco columbarius_, LINN. Syst. Nat. 1766, p. 128.—GMEL. Syst.
Nat. 1789, p. 281.—LATH. Ind. Orn. I, 44, 1790; Syn. I, 101, sp.
86; Supp. I, 27, 1802; Gen. Hist. I, 278, 1821.—DAUD. Tr. Orn. II,
83, 1800.—SHAW. Zoöl. VII, 188, 1812.—WILS. Am. Orn. pl. xv, fig.
3, 1808.—JARD. (WILS.) Am. Orn. I, p. 254, 1808.—JAMES. (WILS.)
Am. Orn. I, 61.—BREW. (WILS.) Am. Orn. I, 683, 1852.—RICH. Faun.
Bor. Am. II, 35, 1831.—AUD. Syn. B. A. p. 16, 1839; Orn. Biog. I,
466.—BONAP. Ann. Lyc. N. Y. II, 28; Isis, 1832, p. 1136; Eur. & N.
Am. B. p. 4, 1838.—NUTT. Man. I, 60, 1833.—CUV. Règ. An. (ed. 2), I,
322, 1829.—LESS. Tr. Orn. p. 92, 1831.—FORST. Phil. Trans. LXII, 382,
1772.—SWAINS. Classif. B. II, p. 212, 1837.—JARD. Ann. Nat. Hist.
XVIII, 118.—GOSSE, B. Jam. p. 17, 1847.—SAGRA, Hist. Nat. Cuba Ois. p.
23.—WEDDERB. Jard. Cont. Orn. 1849, p. 81.—HURDIS, Jard. Cont. Orn.
1850, p. 6.—DE KAY, Zoöl. N. Y. II, 15, pl. iv, f. 9, 1844.—GIRAUD, B.
Long Isl. p. 17.—BLACKIST. Ibis, III, 315. _Tinnunculus columbarius_,
VIEILL. Ois. Am. Sept. I, pl. xi, 1807; Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat. XII,
104, 1819; Enc. Méth. III, 1236, 1823. _Hypotriorchis columbarius_,
GRAY, List B. B. Mus. p. 55, 1844; Gen. B. fol. sp. 11, 1844.—CASS.
B. Calif. & Tex. p. 90, 1854.—WOODH. (Sitg.) Exp. Zuñi & Colorad.
p. 60, 1853.—HEERM. P. R. R. Rept. II, 31, 1855.—NEWB. P. R. Rept.
VI, 74, 1857.—CASS. B. N. Am. p. 9, 1858.—COOPER & SUCK. P. R. R.
Rept. XII, 1860, 142.—COUES, Pr. A. N. S. Phil. 1866, 6.—BREWER,
Oölogy, 12. _Lithofalco columbarius_, BONAP. Consp. Av. p. 26, 1850.
_Æsalon columbarius_, KAUP, Monog. Falc. Cont. Orn. p. 54, 1850.—GRAY,
Hand List, I, 21, 1869. _Falco obscurus_, GMEL. Syst. Nat. p. 281,
1789.—LATH. Ind. Orn. p. 44, 1790; Syn. Supp. I, 38, 1802; Gen. Hist.
I, 272, 1821.—DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, p. 123, 1800. _Falco intermixtus_,
DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, p. 141, 1800.—LATH. Gen. Hist. I, 136, 1821. _F.
temerarius_, AUD. B. Am. pls. lxxv, xcii, 1831; Orn. Biog. I, 380,
1831. _F. auduboni_, BLACKW. Res. Zoöl. 1840. _Accipiter palumbarius_,
CATESB. Carol. I, pl. iii, 1754.

SP. CHAR. _Adult male._ Above cinereous, varying in shade, but generally of a slaty-bluish cast; each feather with a distinct shaft-streak of black, these lines most conspicuous on the head above. Tail with a very broad subterminal band of black, about one inch in width; there are indications of three other bands, their continuity and distinction varying with the individual, but generally quite conspicuous, and each about half the width of the terminal one; the subterminal black band is succeeded by a terminal one of white, of about three-sixteenths of an inch in width, sometimes broader; on the lateral feathers the black bands are always conspicuous, being in form of transverse oblong spots, crossing the shaft, but less extended on the outer web, which is often immaculate except at the end, the broad terminal band always extending to the edge of the feather. Primaries dusky-black, margined terminally more or less distinctly with whitish (sometimes fading on the edge only); on the inner web is a series of about eight transverse oval spots of white, and generally corresponding to these are indications of bluish-ashy spots on the outer web. Beneath white, this purest on the throat, which is immaculate: there is generally a more or less strong tinge of fulvous beneath, this always prevalent on the tibiæ, and on a distinct collar extending round the nape, interrupting the blue above; the tibiæ frequently incline to ochraceous-rufous. Lateral portions of the head with fine streaks of dusky, these thickest on upper edge of the ear-coverts, leaving a distinct whitish superciliary streak, those of opposite sides meeting on the forehead. Breast, upper part of the abdomen, sides, and flanks, with longitudinal stripes of umber, each with a shaft-streak of black; on the flanks their shape is modified, here taking the form of spots running in chain-like series; tibiæ with narrower and darker streaks; lower tail-coverts with narrow central streaks like those on the tibiæ. Frequently there is a strong bluish shade on flanks and lower tail-coverts, sometimes replacing the brown of the spots on the former, and clouding in a similar form the latter. Length, 11.00; extent, 23.75; wing, 7.75.

_Adult female._ Pattern of coloration as in the male, but the colors different. The blue above replaced by dark umber-brown with a plumbeous cast, and showing more or less distinct darker shaft-lines; these on the head above very broad, giving a streaked appearance; white spots on inner webs of primaries more ochraceous than in the male. Tail dark plumbeous-brown, shading into blackish toward end, with five rather narrow ochraceous or soiled white bars, the first of which is concealed by the upper coverts, the last terminal. White beneath, less tinged with reddish than in the male, the tibiæ not different from the other portions; markings beneath as in the male.

_Juv._ Above plumbeous-brown, tinged with fulvous on head, and more or less washed with the same on the rump; frequently the feathers of the back, rump, scapulars, and wings pass into a reddish tinge at the edge; this color is, however, always prevalent on the head, which is conspicuously streaked with dusky. Tail plumbeous-dusky, darker terminally, with five regular light bars, those toward the base ashy, as they approach the end becoming more ochraceous; these bars are more continuous and regular than in the adult female, and are even conspicuous on the middle feathers. Primaries dusky, passing on edge (terminally) into lighter; spots on the inner webs broader than in the female, and pinkish-ochre; outer webs with less conspicuous corresponding spots of the same. Beneath soft ochraceous; spots as in adult female, but less sharply defined; tibiæ not darker than abdomen.