Chapter VIII: Appendix: I. Additions and Corrections 499 (8)

HAB. Entire continent of North America, south to Venezuela and Ecuador; West India Islands.

Localities: Ecuador (high regions in winter, SCL. P. Z. S. 1858, 451); Cuba (CAB. Jour. II, lxxxiii, Gundlach, Sept. 1865, 225); Tobago (JARD. Ann. Mag. 116); S. Texas (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 323, breeding?); W. Arizona (COUES, Pr. A. N. S. 1866, 42); Costa Rica (LAWR. IX, 134); Venezuela (SCL. & SALV. 1869, 252).

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

National Museum, 42; Boston Society, 11; Philadelphia Academy, 10; Museum Comp. Zoöl., 7; New York Museum, 3; G. N. Lawrence, 2; R. Ridgway, 4. Total, 79.

_Measurements._

+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ |Sex.| Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. |Middle Toe.|Specimens.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♂ | 7.20–7.90| 4.90–5.50| .48–.50|1.30–1.40| 1.15–1.25| 34 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♀ | 8.00–8.55| 5.50–6.00| .55–.60|1.55–1.60| 1.35–0.00| 32 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+

The plumage of the adult male, which is not as often seen as that of the younger stages and adult female, is represented in the Smithsonian Collection by fifteen specimens, from various parts of North America. Of these, an example from Jamaica exhibits the purest shades of color, though agreeing closely with some specimens from the interior of the United States; the cinereous above being very fine, and of a light bluish cast. The upper tail-coverts are tipped with white; the tail is a quarter of an inch longer than in any North American specimen, one half-inch longer than the average; the wing, however, is about the same.

A specimen from Santa Clara, California (4,475, Dr. J. G. Cooper), like most of those from the Pacific coast, has the cinereous very dark above, while beneath the ochraceous is everywhere prevalent; the flanks are strongly tinged with blue; the black bars of the tail are much broken and irregular. A specimen from Jamaica (24,309, Spanish Town; W. T. March), however, is even darker than this one, the stripes beneath being almost pure black; on the tail black prevails, although the bands are very regular. Nos. 27,061, Fort Good Hope, British America, 43,136, Fort Yukon, Alaska, and 51,305, Mazatlan, Mexico, have the streaks beneath narrow and linear; the ochraceous confined to the tibiæ, which are of a deep shade of this color.

A specimen from Nicaragua (No. 40,957, Chinandega) is like North American examples, but the reddish tinge beneath is scarcely discernible, and confined to the tibiæ, which are but faintly ochraceous; the markings beneath are broad and deep umber, the black shaft-streak distinct.

In the adult female there is as little variation as in the male in plumage, the shade of brown above varying slightly, also the yellowish tinge beneath; the bars on the tail differ in continuity and tint in various specimens, although they are always five in number,—the first concealed by the coverts, the last terminal. In 19,382, Fort Simpson, British America, and 2,706, Yukon, R. Am. (probably very old birds), the light bars are continuous and pale dull ashy.

The young vary about the same as adults. Nos. 19,381, Big Island, Great Slave Lake; 5,483, Petaluma, California; and 3,760, Racine, Wisconsin,—are young males moulting, scattered feathers appearing on the upper parts indicating the future blue plumage.

Var. suckleyi, RIDGWAY.

BLACK MERLIN.

SP. CHAR. A miniature of _F. peregrinus_, var. _pealei_. Above, uniform fuliginous-black, the secondaries and tail-feathers very narrowly but sharply tipped with white, and the primaries passing into whitish on their terminal margin; nuchal region with concealed spotting of pale rusty or dingy whitish. Beneath, longitudinally striped with fuliginous-black, or dark sooty-brown, and pale ochraceous; the former predominating on the breast, the latter prevailing on the throat and anal region. Sides and flanks nearly uniform dusky, with roundish white spots on both webs; lower tail-coverts with a broad sagittate spot of dusky on each feather. Lining of the wing fuliginous-dusky, with sparse, small roundish spots of white. Inner webs of primaries plain dusky, without spots, or else with them only faintly indicated. Tail plain dusky-black, narrowly tipped with white, and without any bands, or else with them only faintly indicated.

_Male_ (No. 4,477, Shoalwater Bay, Washington Territory; J. G. Cooper). Wing, 7.35; tail, 5.25; culmen, .50; tarsus, 1.30; middle toe, 1.25.

_Female_ (No. 5,832, Fort Steilacoom, Washington Territory, September, 1856; Dr. George Suckley). Wing, 8.50; tail, 5.70; culmen, .55; tarsus, 1.62; middle toe, 1.35.

HAB. Coast region of Northern California, Oregon, and Washington Territory (probably northward to Alaska). Puget Sound, Steilacoom, Yreka, California (Oct.), and Shoalwater Bay (_National Museum_).

The plumage of this race is the chief point wherein it differs from the other forms of the species; and in its peculiarities we find just what should be expected from the Oregon region, merely representing as it does the melanistic condition so frequently observable in birds from the northwest coast.

The upper parts are unicolored, being continuous blackish-plumbeous from head to tail. The tail is tipped with white, but the bars are very faintly indicated, being in No. 4,499 altogether wanting, while in 21,333 they can scarcely be discovered, and only four are indicated; in the others there is the usual number, but they are very obsolete. In No. 4,499, the most extreme example, the spots on the inner webs of the primaries are also wanting; the sides of the head are very thickly streaked, the black predominating, leaving the superciliary stripe ill-defined; the throat is streaked, and the other dark markings beneath are so exaggerated that they cover all portions, and give the prevailing color; the under tail-coverts have broad central cordate black spots.

Another specimen from this region (4,476, Puget Sound) is similar, but the spots on primaries are conspicuous, as in examples of the typical style; indeed, except in the most extreme cases, these spots will always be found indicated, leading us to the unavoidable conclusion that the specimens in question represent merely the fuliginous condition of the common species; not the condition of _melanism_, but the peculiar darkened plumage characteristic of many birds of the northwest coast, the habitat of the present bird; it should then be considered as rather a geographical race, co-equal to the _Falco gyrfalco_, var. _labradora_, _F. peregrinus_, var. _pealei_, and other forms, and not confounded with the individual condition of _melanism_, as seen in certain species of _Buteones_.

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

National Museum, 6.

_Measurements._

+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ |Sex.| Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. |Middle Toe.|Specimens.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♂ | 7.35–7.70| 5.25–5.60| .48–.50|1.30–1.45| 1.20–0.00| 3 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♀ | 8.25–8.50| 5.70–5.80| .55–.60|1.50–1.60| 1.35–1.40| 3 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+

Second quill longest; first quill equal to, a little shorter than, or a little longer than, the fourth.

Var. richardsoni, RIDGWAY.

RICHARDSON’S MERLIN.

_Falco æsalon_, RICH. & SWAINS. F. B. A. II, pl. xxv, 1831.—NUTT.
Man. Orn. II, 558.—COUES, P. A. N. S. Philad. 1866, p. 42 (in text).
_Falco_ (_Hypotriorchis_) _richardsoni_, RIDGWAY, P. A. N. S. Philad.
Dec. 1870, 145. _Falco richardsoni_, COUES, Key, 1872, p. 214.

SP. CHAR. Adult male like the female and young? The known stages of plumage more like the adult female and young of var. _lithofalco_ (_F. æsalon_, AUCT.) than like var. _columbarius_.

_Adult male_ (Smithsonian, No. 5,171, mouth of the Vermilion River, near the Missouri, October 25, 1856; Lieutenant Warren, Dr. Hayden). Upper plumage dull earth-brown, each feather grayish-umber centrally, and with a conspicuous black shaft-line. Head above approaching ashy-white anteriorly, the black shaft-streaks being very conspicuous. Secondaries, primary coverts, and primaries margined terminally with dull white; the primary coverts with two transverse series of pale ochraceous spots; outer webs of primaries with spots of the same, corresponding with those on the inner webs. Upper tail-coverts tipped, and spotted beneath the surface, with white. Tail clear drab, much lighter than the primaries, but growing darker terminally, having basally a slightly ashy cast; crossed with six sharply defined, perfectly continuous bands (the last terminal) of ashy-white. Head, frontally, laterally, and beneath,—a collar around the nape (interrupting the brown above),—and the entire lower parts, white, somewhat ochraceous, this most perceptible on the tibiæ; cheeks and ear-coverts with sparse, fine hair-like streaks of black; nuchal collar, jugulum, breast, abdomen, sides, and flanks with a medial linear stripe of clear ochre-brown on each feather; these stripes broadest on the flanks; each stripe with a conspicuously black shaft-streak; tibiæ and lower tail-coverts with fine shaft-streaks of brown, like the broader stripes of the other portions. Chin and throat, only, immaculate. Lining of the wing spotted with ochraceous-white and brown, in about equal amount, the former in spots approaching the shaft. Inner webs of primaries with transverse broad bars of pale ochraceous,—eight on the longest. Wing-formula, 2, 3–4, 1. Wing, 7.70; tail, 5.00; culmen, .50; tarsus, 1.30; middle toe, 1.25; outer, .85; inner, .70; posterior, .50.

_Adult female_ (58,983, Berthoud’s Pass, Rocky Mountains, Colorado Territory; Dr. F. V. Hayden, James Stevenson). Differing in coloration from the male only in the points of detail. Ground-color of the upper parts clear grayish-drab, the feathers with conspicuously black shafts; all the feathers with pairs of rather indistinct rounded ochraceous spots, these most conspicuous on the wings and scapulars. Secondaries crossed with three bands of deeper, more reddish ochraceous. Bands of the tail pure white. In other respects exactly as in the male. Wing-formula, 3, 2–4–1. Wing, 9.00; tail, 6.10; culmen, .55; tarsus, 1.40; middle toe, 1.51.

_Young male_ (40,516, Fort Rice, Dacotah, July 20, 1865; Brig.-Gen. Alfred Sully, U. S. A., S. M. Rothammer). Differing from the adult only in minute details. Upper surface with the rusty borders of the feathers more washed over the general surface; the rusty-ochraceous forms the ground-color of the head,—paler anteriorly, where the black shaft-streaks are very conspicuous; spots on the primary coverts and primaries deep reddish-ochraceous; tail-bands broader than in the adult, and more reddish; the terminal one twice as broad as the rest (.40 of an inch), and almost cream-color in tint. Beneath pale ochraceous, this deepest on the breast and sides; markings as in the adult, but anal region and lower tail-coverts immaculate; the shaft-streaks on the tibiæ, also, scarcely discernible. Wing, 7.00; tail, 4.60.

HAB. Interior regions of North America, between the Mississippi Valley and the Rocky Mountains, from Texas to the Arctic regions.

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

National Museum, 10; Museum Comp. Zoöl., 2; R. Ridgway, 3. Total, 15.

_Measurements._

+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ |Sex.| Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. |Middle Toe.|Specimens.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♂ | 7.75–8.60| 5.70–6.00| .50–.60|1.42–1.55| 1.20–1.30| 8 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♀ | 8.50–9.00| 6.00–6.30| .55–.58|1.55–1.65| 1.35–1.40| 7 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+

Since originally describing this bird, I have seen additional examples, and still consider it as an easily recognized race, not at all difficult to distinguish from _columbarius_. Now, however, I incline strongly to the theory that it represents merely the light form of the central prairie regions, of the common species; since its characters seem to be so analogous to those of the races of _Buteo borealis_ and _Bubo virginianus_ of the same country. It is doubtful whether some very light-colored adult males, supposed to belong to _columbarius_, as restricted, should not in reality be referred to this race, as the adult plumage of the male. But having seen no adult males from the region inhabited by the present bird obtained in the breeding-season, I am still in doubt whether the present form ever assumes the blue plumage.

As regards the climatic or regional modifications experienced by the _Falco lithofalco_ on the American continent, the following summary of facts expresses my present views upon the subject. First: examples identical in all respects, or at least presenting no variations beyond those of an individual character, may be found from very widely separated localities; but the theory of explanation is, that individuals of one race may become scattered during their migrations, or wander off from their breeding-places. Second: the Atlantic region, the region of the plains, and the region of the northwest coast, have each a peculiar race, characterized by features which are also distinctive of races of other birds of the same region, namely, very dark—the dark tints intensified, and their area extended—in the northwest coast region; very light—the light markings extended and multiplied—in the middle region; and intermediate in the Atlantic region.

HABITS. The distribution of the well-known Pigeon Hawk is very nearly coextensive with the whole of North America. It is found in the breeding-season as far to the north as Fort Anderson, on the Anderson and McKenzie rivers, ranging even to the Arctic coast. Specimens were taken by Mr. Ross at Lapierre House and at Fort Good Hope. Several specimens were taken by Mr. Dall at Nulato, where, he states, it is found all the year round. They were also taken by Bischoff at Kodiak. During the breeding-season it is found as far south as Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the northern portions of Maine, and probably Vermont and New York. It is abundant on the Pacific coast.

In the winter months it is to be met with throughout the more temperate portions of North America, in Mexico, Central America, and Northern South America. Dr. Woodhouse mentions finding this species very abundant especially among the wooded banks of watercourses throughout Texas, New Mexico, and the Indian Territory.

Mr. March states that this Hawk is a permanent resident in the island of Jamaica, more frequently found among the hills than on the plains, and has been known to breed there. It is a visitant of Cuba. Dr. Cooper thinks they are not very common in Washington Territory, though, as they are found there throughout the summer, they undoubtedly breed there. In August, 1855, Dr. Cooper shot one of a small family of young that had but recently left their nest. They migrate southward in winter, and are abundant in California in October and November.

Dr. Suckley found them abundant about Fort Steilacoom early in August. Near Puget Sound this species is thought to breed in the recesses of the Cascade Mountains, only coming down upon the open plains late in the summer. Dr. Newberry found it paired and nesting about the Klamath Lakes, and states that it also occupies all the region south of the Columbia, in Oregon. Mr. Dresser states that he found this Falcon common about Bexar and the adjoining counties during the entire year, and that they occasionally breed near the Medina River. I have been unable to find any satisfactory evidence that this Hawk ever breeds in any part of Massachusetts, or anywhere south of the 44th parallel in the Eastern States, except, perhaps, in mountainous regions.

This Hawk is remarkable for its rapid flight, and its courage and its enterprise in attacking birds as large as or even larger than itself, though generally it only preys upon smaller birds, such as Grakles, Red-winged Blackbirds, Robins, and Pigeons. Dr. Cooper states that having been attracted by an unusual screaming of some bird close to the house, he was surprised to find that one of these Hawks had just seized upon a Flicker, a bird as large as itself, the weight of which had brought it to the ground, and which it continued to hold in its claws even after it had been mortally wounded. Dr. Heermann once found one of these birds just preparing to feed on a large and plump California Partridge.

In Tamaulipas, Mexico, where Lieutenant Couch found it quite common, he speaks of it as being very quiet, flying but little, and generally watching for its quarry from the limb of a dry tree. Mr. Audubon makes no mention of any peculiarities of habits. Mr. Nuttall was evidently unfamiliar with it, stating it to be unknown in New England, and a resident of the Southern States only.

In Nova Scotia, Mr. Downes speaks of it as common, breeding in all the wooded parts of the country. It is said to be not troublesome to the farmer, but to feed upon the smaller birds. He mentions that once, on his voyage to Boston, one of these birds flew aboard and allowed itself to be captured, and was kept alive and fed readily, but soon after escaped.

Mr. B. R. Ross, in his notes on the birds and nests obtained by him in the country about Fort Resolution, Lapierre House, and Good Hope, mentions this bird as the most common of the true Falcons in that district, where it ranges to the Arctic coast. Its nest is said to be composed of sticks, grass, and moss, and to be built generally in a thick tree, at no great elevation. The eggs, he adds, are from five to seven in number, 1.60 inches in length by 1.20 in breadth. Their ground-color he describes as a light reddish-buff, clouded with deep chocolate and reddish-brown blotches, more thickly spread at the larger end of the egg, where the under tint is almost entirely concealed by them. This description is given from three eggs procured with their parent at Fort Resolution.

From Mr. MacFarlane’s notes, made from his observations in the Anderson River country, we gather that one nest was found on the ledge of a cliff of shaly mud on the banks of the Anderson River; another nest was on a pine-tree, eight or nine feet from the ground, and composed of a few dry willow-twigs and some half-decayed hay, etc. It was within two hundred yards of the river-bank. A third nest was in the midst of a small bushy branch of a pine-tree, and was ten feet from the ground. It was composed of coarse hay, lined with some of a finer quality, but was far from being well arranged. Mr. MacFarlane was confident that it had never been used before by a Crow or by any other bird. The oviduct of the female contained an egg ready to be laid. It was colored like the others, but the shell was still soft, and adhered to the fingers on being touched. In another instance the eggs were found on a ledge of shale in a cliff on the bank, without anything under them in the way of lining. He adds that they are even more abundant along the banks of the McKenzie than on the Anderson River.

Mr. MacFarlane narrates that on the 25th of May an Indian in his employ found a nest placed in the midst of a pine branch, six feet from the ground, loosely made of a few dry sticks and a small quantity of coarse hay. It then contained two eggs. Both parents were seen, but when fired at were missed. On the 31st he revisited the nest, which still contained only two eggs, and again missed the birds. He again went to the nest, several days after, to secure the parents, and was much surprised to find that the eggs were gone. His first supposition was that some other person had taken them, but, after looking carefully about, he perceived both birds at a short distance; and this caused him to institute a search, which soon resulted in his finding that the eggs had been removed by them to the face of a muddy bank at least forty yards distant from the original nest. A few decayed leaves had been placed under them, but nothing else in the way of protection. A third egg had been added since his previous examination. These facts Mr. MacFarlane carefully investigated, and vouches for their entire accuracy.

Another nest, containing four eggs, was on the ledge of a shaly cliff, and was composed of a very few decayed leaves placed under the eggs.

Mr. R. Kennicott found a nest, June 2, 1860, in which incubation had already commenced. It was about a foot in diameter, was built against the trunk of a poplar, and its base was composed of sticks, the upper parts consisting of mosses and fragments of bark.

Mr. Audubon mentions finding three nests of this bird in Labrador, in each of which there were five eggs. These nests were placed on the top branches of the low firs peculiar to that country, composed of sticks, and slightly lined with moss and a few feathers. He describes the eggs as 1.75 inches long, and 1.25 broad, with a dull yellowish-brown ground-color, thickly clouded with irregular blotches of dark reddish-brown. One was found in the beginning of July, just ready to hatch. The young are at first covered with a yellowish down. The old birds are said to evince great concern respecting their eggs or young, remaining about them and manifesting all the tokens of anger and vexation of the most courageous species. A nest of this Hawk (S. I. 7,127) was taken at St. Stephen, N. B., by Mr. W. F. Hall; and another (S. I. 15,546) in the Wahsatch Mountains, by Mr. Ricksecker. The latter possibly belonged to the var. _richardsoni_.

The nest of this bird found in Jamaica by Mr. March was constructed on a lofty tree, screened by thick foliage, and was a mere platform of sticks and grass, matted with soft materials, such as leaves and grasses. It contained four eggs, described as “round-oval or spherical” in shape, measuring “1.38 by 1.13 inches, of a dull clayish-white, marked with sepia and burnt umber, confluent dashes and splashes, irregularly distributed, principally about the middle and the larger end.” Four others, taken from a nest in the St. Johns Mountains, were oblong-oval, about the same size and nearly covered with chocolate and umber blotches. Mr. March thinks they belong to different species.

Mr. Hutchins, in his notes on the birds of Hudson’s Bay, states that this species nests on rocks or in hollow trees; that the nest consists of sticks and grass, lined with feathers; and describes the eggs as white, thinly marked with red spots. In the oviduct of a Hawk which Dr. Richardson gives as _Falco æsalon_, were found “several full-sized white eggs, clouded at one end by a few bronze-colored spots.” A nest was found by Mr. Cheney at Grand Menan, from which he shot what he presumed to be the parent bird of this species. Its four eggs agreed with the descriptions given by Hutchins and Richardson much more nearly than with the eggs of this species. The eggs found by Mr. Cheney may have been very small eggs of _A. cooperi_, in which case the presence of the _columbarius_ on the nest cannot be so easily explained.

Three eggs, two from Anderson River and one from Great Slave Lake, range from 1.53 to 1.60 inches in length, and from 1.20 to 1.22 in breadth, their average measurements being 1.56 by 1.21. They have a ground-color of a rich reddish-cream, very generally covered with blotches and finer markings of reddish-brown, deepening in places almost into blackness, and varying greatly in the depth of its shading, with a few lines of black. In one the red-brown is largely replaced by very fine markings of a yellowish sepia-brown, so generally diffused as to conceal the ground and give to it the appearance of a light buff. Mr. Ridgway, after a careful analysis of the varying markings and sizes of twenty-one eggs, has kindly given the following:—

“Extremes of twenty-one eggs (mainly from Forts Yukon, Anderson, Resolution, and MacKenzie rivers): largest (10,687, Yukon, June), 1.75 × 1.28; smallest (8,808, Anderson River, June), 1.55 × 1.20. The ground-color varies from creamy-white to deep purplish-rufous, there being one egg (4,090, Great Slave Lake, June 6, 1860) entirely and uniformly of the latter color; the lightest egg (normally marked, 2,663, Saskatchewan) is creamy-white, thickly sprinkled with dilute and deep shades of sepia-brown, thickly on large end, and sparsely, as well as more finely, on the smaller end. The markings vary in color from dilute indian-red to blackish-chestnut.

“_H. richardsoni_ is larger than _columbarius_, and probably has a larger egg. There are no eggs such as Richardson describes in the series of _columbarius_ in the Smithsonian Collection.”

The var. _richardsoni_ was recognized by Richardson as distinct from the more common _columbarius_; and a single specimen, killed at Carlton House, and submitted to Swainson, was pronounced by him, beyond doubt, identical with the common Merlin of Europe. Other specimens have since been procured, and are now in the Smithsonian Collection. They are recognized by Mr. Ridgway as identical with Richardson’s bird, but quite distinct from the _Æsalon_ of authors. He has named the species in honor of its first discoverer. Of its history and habits little is known. A single pair were seen by Richardson in the neighborhood of Carlton House, in May, 1827, and the female was shot. In the oviduct there were several full-sized white eggs, clouded at one end with a few bronze-colored spots. Another specimen, probably also a female, was shot at the Sault St. Marie, between Lakes Huron and Superior, but this was not preserved.

Mr. Hutchins, in his notes on the Hudson’s Bay birds, states that the Pigeon Hawk “makes its nest on the rocks and in hollow trees, of sticks and grass, lined with feathers, laying from two to four white eggs, thinly marked with red spots.” As Hutchins has been found to be generally quite accurate in his statements, and as this description does not at all apply either to the nest or the eggs of the _columbarius_, it is quite possible that he may have mistaken this species for the Pigeon Hawk, and that this description of eggs and nests belongs not to _columbarius_, but to _richardsoni_.

SUBGENUS RHYNCHOFALCO, RIDGWAY.

Species.

=F. femoralis.= Wing, 9.30–11.60; tail, 6.30–8.80; culmen, .60–.80;
tarsus, 1.62–2.00; middle toe, 1.35–1.70. Second and third quills
longest; first equal to or shorter than fourth. _Adult_ (sexes
similar). Above uniform plumbeous, the secondaries broadly tipped
with whitish. Tail darker terminally, crossed by about eight narrow,
continuous bands of white, and tipped with the same. A broad
postocular stripe, middle area of the auriculars, and entire throat
and jugulum, white, unvariegated; the latter with a semicircular
outline posteriorly, and the former changing to orange-rufous on the
occiput, where the stripes of the two sides are confluent. Sides
entirely uniform blackish (confluent on the middle of the abdomen),
with narrow bars of white; posterior lower parts immaculate light
ochraceous. _Young_ similar, but the jugulum with longitudinal stripes
of blackish. _Hab._ Whole of Tropical America, exclusive of the West
Indies, north to the southern border of the United States.

=42076=, ♀. ½
=42076=, ♀. ¼
=42076=, ♀.]

Falco (Rhynchofalco) femoralis, TEMMINCK.

APLOMADO FALCON.

_Falco femoralis_, TEMM. Pl. Col. 121, 343, 1824.—SPIX, Av. Braz. I,
18 (quot. Pl. Cl. 121), 1824.—VIG. Zoöl. Journ. I, 339.—STEPH. Zoöl.
XIII, pt. 2, p. 39, 1826.—LESS. Man. Orn. I, 79, 1828; Tr. Orn. p. 89,
1831.—CUV. Reg. An. (ed. 2), I, 322, 1817.—SWAINS. Classif. B. II,
212, 1837.—NORDM. Erm. Reis. um die Erde, Atl. p. 16.—BRIDG. Proc.
Zoöl. Soc. pt. 11, p. 109; Ann. Nat. Hist. XIII, 499.—D’ORB. Voy. Am.
Merid. Av. p. 116, 1835.—TSCHUDI, Consp. Av. Wieg. Arch. 1844, p.
266; Faun. Per. p. 108, 1844.—CASS. Proc. Ac. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1855,
p. 178.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 88, 1855. BREWER, Oölogy, 1857, 14, pl.
iii, f. 22. _Hypotriorchis femoralis_, GRAY, Gen. B. fol. sp. 13,
1844; List B. Brit. Mus. p. 56, 1844.—HARTL. Syst. Ind. Azar. p. 3,
1847.—CASS. B. N. Am. p. 11, 1858.—COUES, Pr. Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil. 7,
1866.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 21, 1869. _Falco fuscocœrulescens_, VIEILL.
Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat. XI, 90, 1819. _Falco cyanescens_, VIEILL.
Enc. Méth. III, 1234 (No. 40, Azara, juv. teste, Hartl.). _Falco
thoracicus_, LICHT. Verz. Doubl. p. 62, 1823.

SP. CHAR. _Adult_ (sexes similar). Above uniform plumbeous, secondaries broadly whitish at ends; tail with continuous narrow bands of white. A postocular, broad stripe (changing to reddish on nape, where the two of opposite sides are confluent), middle area of auriculars, and entire throat and jugulum, white, unvariegated. Sides entirely uniform blackish (confluent on middle of abdomen), with narrow bars of white; posterior lower parts light ochraceous, immaculate. ♂. Wing, 9.90; tail, 6.70; tarsus, 1.62; middle toe, 1.45. ♀. Wing, 11.30; tail, 7.80; tarsus, 1.70; middle toe, 1.55.

_Young._ Similar to the adult, but with broad longitudinal stripes of blackish on the breast.

_Adult male_ (No. 30,896, Mirador, E. Mexico; Dr. C. Sartorius). Above brownish-slate, becoming gradually darker anteriorly, the head above being pure dark plumbeous; on the rump and upper tail-coverts the tint inclines to fine cinereous. Secondaries passing very conspicuously into white terminally; primaries plumbeous-dusky, their inner webs with (the longest with twelve) very regular, narrow, transverse bars of white (the outer web plain). Lining of the wing white (becoming more ochraceous toward the edge); under coverts barred and serrated with dusky, the white, however, predominating. Tail black, basally with a perceptible plumbeous cast; crossed with eight narrow, transverse bands of white,—the first two of which are concealed by the coverts, the last terminal and about .27 of an inch in width; the rest are narrower, diminishing in width as they approach the base. Upper tail-coverts bordered terminally with ashy-white, the longer with one or two transverse bars of the same. Forehead (narrowly) white, this extending down across the lores to the angle of the mouth; a broad, conspicuous supraoral stripe, originating above the middle of the eye, and running back above the ear-coverts to the occiput (where the two of opposite sides are confluent), white, more fulvous-orange on the occiput; a broad dark plumbeous stripe running from the posterior angle of the eye back over upper edge of ear-coverts, and continuing (broadly) down the side of the neck; another, but much smaller one, of similar color, starting at lower border of bare suborbital space, passing downward across the cheeks, forming a “mustache,” leaving the middle area of the ear-coverts, the chin, throat, and whole breast, white, the pectoral portion defined with a semicircular outline posteriorly. Broad area covering the sides of the breast, sides, and flanks (meeting rather narrowly across the upper part of the abdomen), black, with narrow, rather indistinct, transverse bars of white. Femorals, tibiæ, abdomen, anal region, and lower tail-coverts fine ochraceous-rufous, palest posteriorly, the whole region immaculate. Wing-formula, 3, 2–4–1, 5. Wing, 9.90; tail, 6.70; tarsus, 1.62; middle toe, 1.45.

_Adult_ ♀ (42,076. Mirador; Sartorius). Similar to the male in almost every respect. Plumbeous above rather darker and more uniform, although the difference is scarcely perceptible. Secondaries more broadly tipped with white, and upper tail-coverts more conspicuously barred with the same. White bars of the black areas beneath scarcely observable. Tail with eight white bars, as in the male longest primary with fourteen white bars on inner web of longest. Wing-formula, 3, 2–4–5=1. Wing, 11.30; tail, 7.80; tarsus, 1.70; middle toe, 1.55.

_Juv. a_ (_intermediate stage_). ♂ (37,334, Mazatlan, W. Mexico; Col. A. J. Grayson). Plumbeous above darker and more brownish, uniform from rump to head, the former strongly tinged with rusty, this bordering the feathers. Tail darker and more brownish; white bars ten in number, instead of eight, narrower, and tinged with brownish; longest primary with thirteen bars of white on inner web. Lining of the wing black, leaving only a broad ochraceous stripe along the edge; feathers of the black portion with small circular white spots along their edges. Breast strongly tinged with ochraceous, and with large longitudinal blotches of black of cuneate form, and so crowded as to give almost the predominating color; the black patches lack entirely the white bars. Wing-formula, 3=2–4–1–5. Wing, 10.00; tail, 7.20.

♀ (55,019, Mazatlan, Grayson). Similar to the last, but lacking the rusty tinge on the rump; tail with eight white bars, as in the adult; pectoral stripes narrower and less numerous than in the preceding, and white bars distinguishable on the black areas. Wing-formula, 3, 2–4–1–5. Wing, 11.30; tail, 8.20.

_b_ (_first plumage_). ♂ (45,693 and 49,508, Buenos Ayres, Conchitas; William H. Hudson). Similar to immature male (37,334). Above dull umber-drab, darker on the head; feathers of back, scapular, rump, and wings fading on edges; rump much tinged with rusty, this bordering the feathers. Tail with nine very obsolete, narrow, dull white bars, these not touching the edge of the feather on either web. Longest primary with ten transverse white bars on inner web. Beneath pale ochraceous, almost as deep anteriorly as posteriorly; dark areas restricted to a large patch on each side, and dull dark brown (very similar to the wings), instead of black, and scarcely varied; breast and upper part of abdomen (between the blackish lateral patches) with large longitudinal cuneate blotches of the same. “Winter visitor.”

HAB. Whole of South America; northward through Central America and Mexico, across the Rio Grande, into Texas and New Mexico.

Localities: Guatemala (SCL. Ibis, I, 219); Cathagena (CASSIN, Pr. An. N. S. 1860, 132); La Plata (BURM. Reise, 437); Mexiana (SCL. & SALV. 1867, 590); Brazil (PELZ. O. Bras. I, 4); Buenos Ayres (SCL. & SALV. 1868, 143); Chile (PHILIPPI); W. Peru (SCL. & SALV. 1858, 570; 1869, 155); Venezuela (SCL. & SALV. 1869, 252).

A specimen from Paraguay (58,738, ♂ ? Capt. T. J. Page, U. S. N.) has the slaty above lighter than in the Mirador male, approaching to ash. The white bars on the black side-patches are very numerous and regular; the white of the forehead is more sharply defined, and the deep rufescent-ochre of the posterior portion of the postocular stripe is even deeper than that of the tibiæ, etc.; the breast has a few narrow blackish streaks. The bars on wings and tail, however, are as in Mexican examples. This specimen probably denotes greater age than any other in the series.

Another specimen (29,809, ♀, Mirador), perhaps very young, is rather different from the others in the coloration of the lower parts; the rufous of the posterior portions is very deep, and the anterior light places are much tinged with ochraceous, the supraloral stripe being tinged throughout with the same; across the breast is a series of small tear-shaped spots of black, forming an imperfect band; there are, however, no other differences.

Nos. 29,520 (♀, Chile, Berlin Museum) and 29,521 (♂, Venezuela) differ from the rest only in a deeper tinge of ochraceous anteriorly beneath, the occipital stripes being very red.

No. 18,497 (♂, from the Rio Pecos, Texas) is in the plumage described as that of the young male, having the rusty tinge on rump, and more numerous bands on tail; the breast is almost as deeply ochraceous as the tibiæ, and the broad black patches of the sides scarcely meet across the abdomen, being there broken into streaks.

A female, nearly adult, from Buenos Ayres (45,692, Conchitas; W. H. Hudson), has the feathers of the upper parts faintly edged with white; the rump and upper tail-coverts conspicuously barred with the same. The head above is decidedly more bluish than in northern examples, each feather with a shaft-line of black. The tail has only seven white bars,—these, however, very sharply defined, and very pure white; the longest primary has eleven white bars. The lower plumage is similar to that of the immature male from the Rio Pecos, Texas (No. 18,497). This specimen has the second and third quills equal.

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

National Museum, 14; Boston Society, 5; Philadelphia Academy, 2; New York Museum, 1; G. N. Lawrence, 1; R. Ridgway, 2. Total, 25.

_Measurements._

+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ |Sex.| Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. |Middle Toe.|Specimens.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♂ | 9.20–10.70| 6.30–8.00| .60–.68|1.70–1.85| 1.35–1.50| 12 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♀ |11.00–11.60| 7.80–8.80| .71–.80|1.80–2.00| 1.55–1.70| 9 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+

HABITS. Only two specimens of this Hawk have been taken within the limits of the United States. One was obtained by Dr. Heermann on the vast plains of New Mexico, near the United States boundary-line. It appeared to be flying over the prairies in search of small birds and mice, at times hovering in the manner of the common Sparrow Hawk (_Tinnunculus sparverius_). It appears to be resident throughout a large part of Mexico, and in Central and South America. The other is from the Rio Pecos of Texas, collected by Dr. W. W. Anderson.

Mr. Darwin, in his Zoölogy of the Voyage of the Beagle, mentions obtaining one specimen in a small valley on the plains of Patagonia, at Port Desire, in latitude 47° 44′ south. M. D’Orbigny supposed latitude 34° to be the extreme southern limit of the species. Lieutenant Gilliss brought specimens from Chile.

Mr. Darwin states that the _F. femoralis_ nests in low bushes, this corresponding with the observations of Mr. Bishop. He found the female sitting on her eggs in the beginning of January. According to M. D’Orbigny, it prefers a dry, open country with scattered bushes, which Mr. Darwin confirms. Mr. Bishop informs me that he met with this Hawk in the greatest abundance upon those vast plains of South America known as the Pampas, in which no trees except the ombû are found, and that it there nests exclusively on the tops of low bushes, hardly more than a foot or two from the ground. The bird was not at all shy, like most Hawks, but was easily approached so nearly as to be readily recognized.

Mr. Bridges states, in the Proceedings of the London Zoölogical Society (1843, p. 109), that the _H. femoralis_ is trained in some parts of South America for the pursuit of smaller gallinaceous birds, and that it is highly esteemed by the Chilian falconers. It very soon becomes quite docile, and will even follow its master within a few weeks of its capture.

I am indebted to Mr. N. H. Bishop for specimens of the eggs of this Hawk obtained by him on the Pampas. The nest contained but two, and was built on the top of a low bush or stunted tree, hardly two feet from the ground. It was constructed, with some pains and elaboration, of withered grasses and dry leaves.

The eggs measure, one 1.81 inches in length by 1.69 in breadth, the other 1.78 by 1.63. This does not materially vary from the measurement given by Darwin. The ground-color of the egg is white. This, however, is so thickly and so generally studded with fine brown markings, that the white ground to the eye has a rusty appearance, and its real hue is hardly distinguishable. Over the entire surface of the egg is distributed an infinite number of fine dottings, of a color most nearly approaching a raw terra-sienna brown. Over this again are larger blotches, lines, and splashes of a handsome shade of vandyke-brown. In one egg these larger markings are much more frequent than in the other. The latter is chiefly marked with the finer rusty dottings, and has a more dingy appearance.

SUBGENUS TINNUNCULUS, VIEILLOT.

_Tinnunculus_, VIEILL. 1807. (Type, _Falco tinnunculus_, LINN.
_Tinnunculus alaudarius_, GMEL.)
_? Tichornis_, KAUP, 1844. (Type, _Falco cenchris_, NAUM.)
_Pœcilornis_, KAUP, 1844. (Type, _Falco sparverius_, LINN.)

The characters of this subgenus have been sufficiently defined in the diagnosis on page 1427, so that it will be necessary for me only to add a few less important ones.

=53198=, ♀.
=53198=, ♀. ½
=53198=, ♀.
=53198=, ♀. ½

_Tinnunculus sparverius._]

The subgenus _Tinnunculus_ is one which is well characterized by peculiarities of manners and habits as well as by features of structure. The species are the most arboreal of the Falcons, and their curious habit of poising in a fixed position as they hover over some object of food which they are watching is probably peculiar to them, and has been remarked of the Old World as well as of the American species. In their structure they are the most aberrant members of the subfamily belonging to the Northern Hemisphere and in their weak bill and feet, lengthened tarsi, obtusely tipped quills, more rounded wings, and more lengthened tail, exhibit a decided step toward _Hieracidea_, an Australian genus which is almost exactly intermediate in all the characters of its external structure between the true Falcons and the South American genus _Milvago_, of the Polyborine group.

The subgenus is most largely developed in the Old World, where are found about a dozen nominal species, of which perhaps one half must be reduced to the rank of geographical races. America possesses three species, two of which are restricted to the West India islands, while the other extends over the entire continent.

There is no reason whatever for separating the American species from those of the Old World, and the subgenus _Pœcilornis_, established upon these by Kaup, is not tenable.

Since the publication of my first paper upon the American forms of _Tinnunculus_,[59] a large amount of additional material has fallen under my observation; the total number of examples critically examined and compared together amounting to over three hundred and fifty skins of which I have kept a record, besides many others which have come casually to my notice. This abundant material merely confirms the views I first expressed, in the paper alluded to, regarding the number and definition of the forms; their comparative relation to each other being the only respect in which I have reason to modify my arrangement.

In my first paper on the American _Tinnunculi_, three distinct species were recognized; one (_sparverius_) belonging to the whole of Continental America and the Lesser Antilles, one (_leucophrys_, Ridgway) to Cuba and Hayti, and one (_sparveroides_, Vig.) peculiar to Cuba. The first is one modified in different climatic regions into several geographical races, as follows: Var. _sparverius_, L., North and Middle America, exclusive of the gulf and Caribbean coast region; var. _isabellinus_, Swains., the eastern coast region of Tropical America, from Guiana to Florida; var. _dominicensis_, Gmel. (Lesser Antilles); var. _australis_, Ridgw. (South America in general); and var. _cinnamominus_, Swains. (Chile and Western Brazil). That each of these races is well characterized, the evidence of a series abundantly sufficient to determine this point enables me to assert without reserve; for I find in each instance that the characters diagnosed in my synopsis hold good as well with a large series as with a few specimens.

The following synopsis, essentially the same as that before published, may, to most persons, explain satisfactorily my reasons for recognizing so many races of _T. sparverius_,—a proceeding which, I am sorry to say, does not meet with favor with all ornithologists.[60] Though there are at the present time three well-characterized or permanently differentiated species of _Tinnunculus_ on the American continent, yet it is, to my mind, certain that these have all descended from a common ancestral stock, for evidence in proof of this is found in many specimens which I consider at least strongly “suggestive” of this fact; some specimens of var. _isabellinus_ from Florida having blue feathers interspersed over the rump, thereby showing an approximation toward the uniformly blue upper surface of the adult male of _T. sparveroides_ of the neighboring island of Cuba; while in the latter bird the embryonic plumage of the male is very similar to the permanent condition of the male of _sparverius_.

Synopsis of the American Species.

=A.= Back always entirely rufous (with or without black bars.) Lower
parts white, or only tinged with ochraceous; front and auriculars
distinctly whitish.

_a._ Inner webs of primaries barred entirely across, with white and
dusky; “mustache” across the cheeks conspicuous; no conspicuous
superciliary stripe of white.

1. =T. sparverius.=[61] Crown bluish, with or without a patch
of rufous. ♂. Wings and upper part of head slaty, or ashy-blue;
scapulars, back, rump, and tail reddish-rufous; primaries, basal
half of the secondaries, and a broad subterminal zone across the
tail, black. ♀. The bluish, except that of the head, replaced by
rufous, which is everywhere barred with blackish, and of a less
reddish cast. _Hab._ Entire continent of America, also Lesser
Antilles, north to St. Thomas.

_b._ Inner webs of primaries white, merely serrated along the
shaft with dusky; “mustache” obsolete or wanting; a conspicuous
superciliary stripe of white.

2. =T. leucophrys.=[62] Similar to _sparverius_, except as
characterized above. _Hab._ Cuba and Hayti.

=B.= Back rufous only in the ♀. Lower parts deep ferruginous-rufous;
front and auriculars dusky.

3. =T. sparveroides.=[63] ♂. Above, except the tail, entirely dark
plumbeous, with a blackish nuchal collar; primaries and edges
and subterminal portion of tail-feathers, black. Beneath deep
rufous (like the back of _sparverius_ and _leucophrys_), with a
wash of plumbeous across the jugulum; throat grayish-white. Inner
webs of primaries slaty, with transverse cloudings of darker. ♀.
Differing from that of the above species in dark rufous lower
parts and dusky, mottled inner webs of primaries. Second and third
quills longest; first shorter than or equal to fourth. _Hab._ Cuba
(only?).

The distinguishing characters of _F. sparverius_ having been given in the foregoing synopsis, I will here consider this species in regard to the modifications it experiences in the different regions of its geographical distribution.

The whole of continental America, from the Arctic regions to almost the extreme of South America, and from ocean to ocean, is inhabited, so far as known, by but this one species of _Tinnunculus_. But in different portions of this vast extent of territory the species experiences modifications under the influence of certain climatic and other local conditions, which are here characterized as geographical races; these, let me say, present their distinctive characteristics with great uniformity and constancy, although the differences from the typical or restricted _sparverius_ are not very great. The _F. sparverius_ as restricted, or what is more properly termed var. _sparverius_, inhabits the whole of North and Middle America (both coasts included, except those of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea), south to the Isthmus of Panama. Throughout this whole region it is everywhere nearly the same bird. This variety appears to represent the species in its greatest purity, being a sort of central form from which the others radiate. The most typical examples of the var. _sparverius_ are the specimens in the large series from the elevated regions or plateau of Mexico and Guatemala. In these the rufous of the crown is most extended (in none is it at all restricted), and the ashy portions are of the finest or bluest and lightest tint.

All specimens, of quite a large series, from the peninsula of Lower California, are considerably smaller than any others, the smallest (1,693 ♂ ad. San José; J. Xantus) measuring, wing, 6.50; tail, 4.20, and tarsus, 1.30; the dwarfed size of these, however, is their only distinguishing feature. Two specimens (50,199, ♂, Cape Florida, and 10,345, ♀, Indian Key) from Florida differ from others in the unusual development of the bill, which toward the end is more suddenly curved, and the point considerably lengthened; these specimens have, also, only a tinge of rufous on the crown, thus showing a proximity to the var. _isabellinus_. The large bill, however, is no more than would be looked for in specimens from that region.

Along the Gulf border of the United States, and the Caribbean and North Atlantic coasts of South America (probably the whole Atlantic coast of tropical and subtropical America), the true _sparverius_ is changed into what Swainson has called “_Falco isabellinus_,” which differs from the former only in having the cinereous of the crown and wings considerably darker (as well as less bluish), approaching plumbeous; the rufous of the crown is totally absent, or only present in faint touches; the lower parts are of a deeper ochraceous, and the black spots on the breast and sides sparse.

Allied to the last in tints of coloration, and apparently a direct offshoot from it, is the _dominicensis_ of Gmelin (based upon description by Brisson), which inhabits the Lesser Antilles, from Trinidad northward to Porto Rico. Although I consider this (var. _dominicensis_) as a modified form of the var. _isabellinus_, yet it is the one of all the varieties referrible to _sparverius_ which deviates most widely from the typical or original style. The characters of this are, tints those of var. _isabellinus_, but, in addition, the tail has numerous more or less complete black bands, while those of the back and scapulars are very broad and numerous; also, the crown has a decided rufous patch; the bill, too, is larger than in any other American member of the genus. A style of considerable uniformity spreads over the whole of South America, including both coasts, from Bogota to the Parana, excepting the northeastern coast region, before mentioned as inhabited by the var. _isabellinus_. It differs from all the other styles, except the _cinnamominus_ of Chile, in having the lower parts continuously dull white, any ochraceous tinge being scarcely perceptible; there is seldom a trace of rufous on the crown, which has the light bluish tint seen in var. _sparverius_, and the black zone of the tail is scarcely more than half as wide as in the northern races. In size, also, it somewhat exceeds the others. Swainson named this “_Falco gracilis_”; but the _F._ (_Tinnunculus_) _gracilis_ of Lesson being a different species, and the name as applied to it of prior date, I have bestowed upon the present bird the name var. _australis_.

In Chile and Brazil (Western ?) we find a form resembling the last in some respects, but differing in points of almost specific value. It differs from all the other American members of the genus in having the tail continuously rufous to the extreme tip, the black zone being considerably narrower than the terminal rufous, the lateral tail-feather immaculate rufous, etc. The grayish of the head is much darker and more slaty than in the var. _australis_. This is, without doubt, the _Falco cinnamominus_ of Swainson, the specimens in the collection corresponding exactly with the description by that author.

The rufous patch on the crown must not be too much considered, as it is of all characters perhaps the most treacherous, though its presence or absence is in a measure characteristic of the several varieties. Neither does the exact number of spots on the lateral tail-feather prove sufficiently constant to serve as a character in which the least reliance can be placed, though Swainson attaches considerable value to it. I have found that, besides varying almost with the individual, in some specimens the feathers of opposite sides did not correspond.

About two hundred and fifty specimens form the basis of the following synopsis.

=A.= Tail tipped with white; outer tail-feathers (one or more)
variegated.

_a._ ♂. Head above, and wings, fine bluish-ash; usually one
tail-feather only (the outer) variegated.

1. Vertex with a conspicuous patch of rufous. ♂. Black zone of the
tail 1.00 in width; breast strongly tinged with ochraceous; spots
of black on the breast or sides circular. ♀. Above fulvous-rufous,
the whole breast and sides with longitudinal dashes of a lighter
tint of the same. _Hab._ Continent of North America north of
Panama (except Caribbean and Gulf coast) …

var. _sparverius_.

2. Vertex with only a trace of rufous, or none at all. ♂. Black
zone of tail only .60 in width; breast nearly pure white;
spots of black usually only on the sides, elliptical. ♀. Above
vinaceous-rufous; longitudinal markings beneath deeper brown.
_Hab._ Continent of South America (except North Atlantic and
Caribbean coast) …

var. _australis_.[64]

_b._ ♂. Head above, and wings, dark bluish-plumbeous; several outer
tail-feathers variegated.

3. Vertex without any rufous. ♂. Anterior portions beneath deep
ochraceous, without spots. Tail without indication of bars
anterior to the subterminal one; black bars above confined to
larger scapulars. ♀. Above ferruginous, with the black bars
broader and blacker than in either of the preceding. _Hab._ Gulf,
Caribbean, and Atlantic coasts of tropical continental America
(Florida to Cayenne) …

var. _isabellinus_.

4. Vertex with a patch of rufous. ♂. Black spots beneath numerous,
large and circular. Tail with more or less complete black bars
anterior to the subterminal band, sometimes regularly barred
to the base; black bars above covering entire rufous surface.
♀. Similar to that of _isabellinus_, but markings beneath more
numerous, and pure black instead of brown. _Hab._ Lesser Antilles,
north to St. Thomas …

var. _dominicensis_.[65]

=B.= Tail tipped with deep rufous; outer tail-feather unvariegated.

5. Head above dark slaty-plumbeous, without any rufous. ♂. Tail
continuous rufous to the extreme tip, the subterminal black
band narrower than the terminal rufous one, and not continuous;
the outer feather entirely rufous, without any black. In other
respects much like var. _australis_. (♀ not seen.) _Hab._ Chile
and Western Brazil …

var. _cinnamominus_.[66]

Falco (Tinnunculus) sparverius, LINN.

Var. =sparverius=, LINNÆUS.

AMERICAN SPARROW HAWK; AMERICAN KESTREL.

_Accipiter_ (_Æsalon_) _carolinensis_, BRISS. Orn. I, 385, 1760.
_Accipiter minor_, CATESB. Carol. I, 5, 1754. _Falco sparverius_,
LINN. Syst. Nat. p. 128, 1766.—PENN, Arct. Zoöl. pp. 211, 212.—GMEL.
Syst. Nat. p. 284.—LATH. Ind. Orn. p. 42; Synop. I, 110, sp. 94;
Gen. Hist. I, 290.—DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, 142, pl. xii.—SHAW, Zoöl. VII,
pl. xxvi.—WILS. Am. Orn. pl. xvi, f. 1, pl. xxxii, f. 2.—JAMES.
(WILS.) Am. Orn. I, 56, 60.—LESS. Tr. Orn. p. 95.—BENN. gard. Zoöl.
Soc. II, 121.—STEPH. XIII, ii, 38.—CUV. Reg. Anim. (ed. 2), I,
322.—JARD. (WILS.) Am. Orn. I, 262; II, 51.—RICH. & SWAINS. F. B. A.
pl. xxiv.—WAGL. Isis, 1831, 517.—BONAP. Ann. Lyc. N. Y. II, 27; Isis,
1832, 1136.—VIEILL. Enc. Méth. III, 1234 (in part).—AUD. Birds Am.
pl. cxlii; Orn. Biog. II, 246, pl. cxlii.—BREW. (WILS.) Synop. p.
684; Am. Oölogy, p. 16, pl. xi, figs. 13 and 15 _a_.—DE KAY, Zoöl.
N. Y. II, 16, pl. vii. f. 16.—PEAB. Birds Mass. III, 69.—NUTT. Man.
I, 58. _Tinnunculus sparverius_, VIEILL. Ois. Am. Sept. pls. xii,
xiii.—BRIDG. Proc. Zoöl. Soc. pt. xi, 109.—GRAY, Gen. B. fol. sp.
10; List Brit. B. Mus. p. 60.—WOODH. Sitgr. Exp. Zuñi & Colorad. p.
60.—CASS. Proc. Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil. 1855, 278.—Birds Cal. & Tex. p. 92;
Birds N. Am. 1858, 13.—RIDGW. P. A. N. S. 1870, 148.—STRICKL. Orn.
Syn. I, 99, 1855. _Cerchneis sparverius_, BONAP. List Eur. & N. Am.
B. p. 5, 1838. _Pœcilornis sparverius_, KAUP, Monog. Falc. Cont. Orn.
1850, 53. _Tinnunculus phalœna_, LESSON, Mam. et d’Ois. 1847, 178 (San
Blas & Acapulco).