SPARVIUS. Vieill, Anal. p. 24, (1816.) Leucospiea. Kaup, Class, p. 118,
(1844.)
General form, strong, but somewhat slender; bill short, curved,
festooned; nostrils large, somewhat ovate, inserted in the cere. Wings
moderate; tail, long and broad. Tarsi rather lengthened; covered in
front with rather wide transverse scales; toes and claws, rather long,
the latter sharp. This genus contains about twelve species of all
countries.
1. Astur atricapillus. (Wilson.) The Goshawk. The Black-capped Hawk.
Falco atricapillus. Wilson Am. Orn. VI. p. 80. (1812.)
Falco regalis. Temm. P. col. I. (liv. 84 about 1827.)
Dædalion pictum. Less. Traité d’Orn. I. p. 67. (1831.)
Wilson Am. Orn. VI. pl. 52, fig. 3. Faun. Bor. Am. Birds, pl. 26.
Jard. and Selby, Ill. Orn. pl. 121. Aud. B. of Am. pl. 141, Oct. ed.
I. pl. 23. Temm. Pl. col. 495.
Large, general form, rather slender; wings, short. Adult. Head above,
neck behind and stripe from behind the eye, black, generally more or
less mixed with ashy; other upper parts bluish cinereous, with the
shafts of the feathers black; a conspicuous stripe over the eye, and
an obscure collar on the back of the neck white. Entire under parts
white, every feather with a longitudinal line of brownish black, and
several transverse narrow and usually irregular bands of ashy brown.
Quills, brown, with bands of a deeper shade of the same color, and
with mottled white bands on their inner webs. Tail, dark brownish
cinereous, with irregular bands of brownish black, and narrowly tipped
with white; under surface very pale, nearly white; under tail-coverts
pure white. Young. Head above and other upper parts, dark brown mixed
with rufous, especially on the head and neck. Under parts, white,
tinged with fulvous, with large oblong and circular spots of deep
brown.
Dimensions. Total length, female, 22 to 24 inches, wing about 14, tail
10½ to 11 inches; male, 19 to 20 inches, wing 13, tail 9½ to 10
inches.
Hab. Northern and eastern North America. Spec. Mus. Acad. Philada.
Obs. Resembles to some extent the Goshawk of Europe, (_Astur
palumbarius_,) with which it has been confounded by some American
authors. It is about the same size, but may easily be distinguished by
its lighter color, and by its much narrower and more numerous bands on
the inferior parts of the body. It is in all respects a distinct
species, as described by Wilson and by Temminck.
The young male of this bird may readily be mistaken for the young female
of the succeeding species, (_Accipiter Cooperi_,) but can be
distinguished by the different color and markings of the under parts of
the body. In some specimens of this species, the transverse bands on the
under parts are so irregular or broken, as to present a nearly uniformly
mottled aspect. This stage of plumage is represented in Audubon’s plate,
but is not the most common.