_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.
[Illustration: _Falco femoralis._]
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.