General form compact and strong; bill strong, short, with a distinct and
sharp tooth in the upper mandible; wings long, pointed; tail moderate,
or rather long; tarsi short, robust; toes long, claws large, curved,
sharp; tarsi covered with hexagonal or circular scales. A genus of birds
remarkable for their courage and very rapid flight, species of which are
found in all countries.
Falco polyagrus. Cassin, Birds of California and Texas, I. p. 88.
(1853.)
Form robust; wings rather long, second and third quills longest, and
nearly equal; tail rather long; bill short, rather wide at base; tooth
in the upper mandible prominent.
Dimensions. Female. Total length of skin, about 20 inches; wing, 14;
tail, 8 inches.
Colors. Female nearly adult. Narrow frontal band, line over the eye, and
entire under parts white; narrow stripe from the corner of the mouth
running downwards, dark brown; some feathers on the breast, and abdomen
with longitudinal stripes and spots of brown, which color forms a large
and conspicuous spot on the flank. Entire upper parts brown, paler on
the rump, many feathers with rufous edgings; tail above pale
grayish-brown, with transverse bars of white, and narrowly tipped with
white; quills dark grayish-brown, with numerous bars of white On their
inner-webs; under wing-coverts dark brown; edge of the wing at the
shoulder and below, white, spotted with brown. The brown of the back
extending somewhat on to the breast at the wing. Bill, bluish horn
color, under mandible yellow at its base. Large space around the eye,
bare, with a narrow edging of brown on the first plumage by which it is
encircled.
Younger female. Entire plumage above and below, brownish-black; throat
white; many feathers on the under parts with edgings and circular spots
of white; under wing-coverts also with circular spots of white, and the
under tail-coverts with wide transverse stripes of the same.
Young male? Frontal band nearly obsolete; entire upper parts uniform
pale brown, with narrow rufous stripes on the head; under parts white,
with a tinge of fulvous, and nearly every feather with a narrow
longitudinal stripe of blackish-brown; large spaces on the flanks,
brown; tarsi and feet, lead-colored.
Hab. Oregon and California. Spec. in Nat. Mus., Washington; and Mus.
Acad., Philada.
Obs. This is the only American Falcon yet discovered, which belongs to
the group forming the sub-genus _Gennaia_, Kaup., which contains _Falco
laniarius_, Linn., (Gould, B. of Eur., I. pl 20); _Falco biarmiaus_,
Temm., (Pl. col., 324); _Falco jugger_, Gray, and several other species.
It especially resembles the last, but is larger, and we are at present
of opinion that the young of the two species differ in the colors of
their plumage.
PIPILO FUSCA.—Swainson.
The Cañon Finch.
PLATE XVII.—Adult Male.
This plain-plumaged and sober-looking bird is another of the feathered
inhabitants of the mountainous wilds of California and New Mexico.
Numerous specimens have been brought in the various collections which
have been made in those countries, and it may be regarded as one of the
most abundant of the peculiar species of Western America.
It was first described, however, by Mr. Swainson, from Mexican
specimens.
Our friend, T. Charlton Henry, M. D., of the United States Army, a
zealous and talented young naturalist, who has been for some years in
New Mexico, has noticed this bird at all seasons in that country. For
much valuable and satisfactory information relating to the birds to be
included in the present work, we are indebted to this gentleman, amongst
whose notes in our possession we find the following, relating to the
species now before the reader:—
“This bird is common in New Mexico during both summer and winter, and so
far as I have observed, lives almost entirely in the mountains. It is
very retiring in its habits, and seems to prefer the cañons; indeed, I
have seldom observed it far from some shady gorge, where, like its
relative of the Eastern States, the Towhe-Bunting (_Pipilo
erythropthalma_), it passes the greater part of its time on the ground,
and is generally accompanied by its congener, the Arctic Ground Finch
(_Pipilo arctica_). When disturbed, it seeks the thickest cover, though
it is by no means shy nor difficult to approach. Its nest is usually
constructed in the thick branches of a cedar or dwarf oak, and I am not
aware of its producing more than a single brood in a season.
“The only note that I have ever heard this bird utter, is a simple
chirp, somewhat resembling that of the Fox Sparrow (_F. iliaca_), but
more subdued. It is usually to be met with in pairs, at all seasons.”
Col. McCall observed this bird to be abundant also in California, and
with his usual kindness, has furnished a notice of it for our present
article.
“The _habitat_ of this species, I am inclined to believe, extends
throughout California, as I met with it from the upper waters of the
Sacramento river to the mouth of the Gila, the former having its origin
in the north, the latter debouching at the extreme southern boundary of
the State; yet, it is by far the most abundant from Santa Barbara
southwardly.
[Illustration: Plate 17
The Cañon Finch
Pipilo fusca (_Swainson_)]
“The habits and manners of this species differ somewhat from those of
its relatives, the Towhe and the Arctic Finch (_P. erythropthalmus_, and
_P. arctica_). Its flight is more even and regular, as it is without
that violent jerking of the tail from side to side which gives such
singularity and appearance of awkwardness to the movements of the Towhe.
It is also less shy and suspicious than the Arctic Finch, which I
occasionally met with in the same regions. The latter I had previously
observed with attention in New Mexico, where I procured specimens; and
all my observations lead me to pronounce the present species less
decidedly a _Ground Finch_ than either of the others, although all are
doubtless closely allied.
“The favorite abode of this species appeared to be the vicinity of
water-courses, where it was generally seen singly or in pairs, though I
have at times surprised eight or ten together, under the shade of a
large bush, at noon in a summer-day; and at such times I had no
difficulty in procuring, with my gun, three or four specimens before the
party was dispersed. In fact, it appeared at all times a familiar bird,
boldly coming into the roads to feed, and permitting the close approach
of a person either mounted or on foot. If compelled to retreat, it
darted suddenly into the thicket, but returned again as soon as the
cause of alarm had disappeared. Near Santa Barbara, in the month of
July, I found thirty or forty of these birds dispersed over an old field
of some five acres in extent, lying contiguous to the sea-beach, and
through which a small stream of fresh water trickled as it crept
silently away to the sea. Here they were feeding on the ground,
sheltered by a rank growth of weeds; and when I flushed one of them as I
walked along, he almost invariably flew into a neighboring tree, instead
of seeking shelter again in the weeds at a little distance.
“At this time, the birds of the year were fully fledged, and scarcely
differed in the color of their plumage from the adults. The rufous tints
of the head, the wing-coverts, and the lower parts generally, being only
rather more bright and distinct in the old birds than in the others.”
The collections made in California by both Mr. Bell and Dr. Heermann,
contained many fine specimens of this species. According to the latter
(in Journal of the Philadelphia Academy, quarto, II. p. 267), it builds
its nest always in a bush or tree, in which respect it differs from the
Arctic Ground Finch (_Pipilo arctica_), another Western species, which
builds on the ground, and from others of the same genus, in this respect
confirming the observation of Dr. Henry, as given in a preceding page.
Dr. Heermann’s observations possess an especial interest, from his
having so carefully stated the peculiarities of the construction of the
nests and other facts relating to the nidification of many species. He
says, respecting the present bird: “I found one nest built in a
grape-vine, overhanging the Sacramento river, and all that I have seen
were placed in the immediate vicinity of water. The nest is composed of
coarse twigs and grasses, and lined with fine roots. The eggs, four in
number, are of a pale blue color, dashed with black spots, and
interspersed with a few faint neutral tint blotches, which are more
abundant at the larger end.”
The name Cañon Finch we have taken the liberty of adopting from Dr.
Henry’s manuscript notes in our possession: it was very appropriately
given by him with reference to the localities which he has observed to
be the favorite haunts of this bird in the mountains of the Far West.