_Falco atricapillus_, WILS. Am. Orn. 1808, pl. lii, f. 3.—BONAP.
Nouv. Giorn. Pisa, XXV, pt. ii, p. 55. _Astur atricapillus_, BONAP.
Os. Cuv. Règ. An. p. 33.—IB. List, 1838, 5; Consp. 31.—WILS. Am. Orn.
II, 284.—KAUP, Monog. Falc. Jardine’s Contr. Orn. 1850, 66.—DE KAY,
Zoöl. N. Y. II, 19, pl. ii, fig. 4 (ad.), f. 5 (♂ juv.).—NUTT. Man.
85.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 118.—NEWB. P. R. Rep. VI, iv, 74.—COOP.
& SUCK. P. R. Rep. XII, ii, 144.—LORD, Pr. R. A. I. IV, 1860,
110.—BLAKISTON, Ibis, III, 1861, 316.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 1869,
29.—BREWER, Oölogy, 1857, 17. _Falco palumbarius_, SAB. Frankl. Exp.
670.—BONAP. Ann. N. Y. Lyc. II, 28.—AUD. Edinb. J. Nat. Geog. Sc.
III, 145.—IB. B. Am. pl. cxli; Orn. Biog. II, 241.—GIRAUD, B. Long
Isl’d, 18.—PEAB. B. Mass. III, 77. _Astur palumbarius_, SW. & RICH.
F. B. A. II, pl. xxvi.—JAMES. WILS. Am. Orn. I, 63.—AUD. Syn. B. Am.
18.—BREWER, WILS. Am. Orn. 685, pl. i, fig. 5.—GRAY, List B. Brit.
Mus. 63.
SP. CHAR. _Adult male_ (44,940, Boston, Mass.; E. A. Samuels). Above
continuous bluish-slate, shafts of the feather inconspicuously black;
tail darker and less bluish, tipped with white (about .25 of an inch
wide) and crossed by five broad, faintly defined bars of blackish,
these most distinct on inner webs (the first concealed by the upper
coverts, the second partially so; the last, or subterminal one, which
is about twice as broad as the rest, measuring about one inch in
width). Primaries darker than the tail (but not approaching black).
Forehead, crown, occiput, and ear-coverts pure plumbeous-black; feathers
snowy-white beneath the surface, much exposed on the occiput; a broad
conspicuous supraoral stripe originating above the posterior angle of
the eye, running back over the ear-coverts to the occiput, pure white,
with fine streaks of black; lores and cheeks grayish-white. Lower
parts white; the whole surface (except throat and lower tail-coverts)
covered with numerous narrow transverse bars of slate; on the breast
these are much broken and irregular, forming fine transverse zigzags;
posteriorly they are more regular, and about .10 of an inch wide, the
white a very little more. Chin, throat, and cheeks without transverse
bars, but with very sharp shaft-lines of black; breast, sides, and
abdomen, a medial longitudinal broad streak of slate on each feather,
the shaft black; on the tibiæ, where the transverse bars are narrower
and more regular, the shaft-streaks are also finer; anal region finely
barred; lower tail-coverts immaculate pure white. Lining of the wing
barred more coarsely and irregularly than the breast; under surface of
primaries with white prevailing, this growing more silvery toward the
ends; longest (fourth) with six oblique transverse patches of slate,
the outlines of which are much broken. Wing-formula, 4, 5, 3–6–2; 1=10.
Wing, 13.00; tail, 9.50; tarsus, 3.70, naked portion, 1.35; middle toe,
2.00; inner, 1.21; outer, 1.37; posterior, 1.00.
No. 8,508 (Fort Steilacoom, Puget Sound, Washington Territory; Dr.
Suckley. Var. _striatulus_, Ridgway). Similar to No. 44,940, but the
upper surface more bluish, the shafts of the feathers more conspicuously
black; the dorsal feathers nearly black around their borders. Tail-bands
nearly obsolete. Lower parts with the ground-color fine bluish-ash,
sprinkled transversely with innumerable zigzag dots of white, these
gradually increasing in width posteriorly, where they take the form
of irregular transverse bars; crissum sparsely and coarsely sprinkled
with slaty. Each feather of the lower parts with a very sharply defined
narrow shaft-stripe of deep black, these contrasting conspicuously with
the bluish, finely marked ground-color. Under surface of primaries
uniform slaty to their bases, the usual white spots being almost
obsolete. Wing-formula, 4–5, 3–6–2–7–8–9, 1. Wing, 12.50; tail, 9.10;
tarsus, 2.60, the naked portion, 1.40; middle toe, 1.75.
_Adult female_ (12,239, Brooklyn, N. Y.; J. Ackhurst). Almost precisely
similar to the male. Slate above less bluish; bands on tail more
distinct, five dark ones (about .75 of an inch in width) across
the brownish-slate; obscure light bands indicated on outer webs of
primaries, corresponding with those on inner webs; lores more grayish
than in male; bars beneath more regular; longitudinal streaks blacker
and more sharply defined. Wing, 14.25; tail, 11.25; tarsus, 1.60–1.20;
middle toe, 1.95; inner, 1.40; outer, 1.45; posterior, 1.30.
No. 59,892, (Colorado; F. V. Hayden, var. _striatulus_, Ridgway).
Similar to male No. 8,508, described above, but differing as follows:
interscapulars uniform with the rest of the upper surface; tail-bands
appreciable, much broader than in ♀, No. 12,239, the subterminal one
being 1.61, the rest 1.10, wide, instead of 1.10 and .70. The longest
upper tail-coverts with narrow white tips; white spots on inner webs of
primaries more distinct. Black shaft-streaks on lower surface broader
and more conspicuous. Wing-formula, 4, 3, 5–6–2–7, 1=10. Wing, 14.70;
tail, 11.50; tarsus, 2.50; the naked portion, 1.10; middle toe, 2.00.
_Young male_ (second year, No. 26,920, Nova Scotia, June; W. G. Winton).
Plumage very much variegated. Head above, nape, and anterior portion
of the back, ochraceous-white, each feather with a central stripe of
brownish-black, these becoming more tear-shaped on the nape. Scapulars,
back, wing-coverts, rump, and upper tail-coverts umber-brown; the
feathers with lighter edges, and with large, more or less concealed
spots of white,—these are largest on the scapulars, where they occupy
the basal and middle thirds of the feathers, a band of brown narrower
than the subterminal one separating the two areas; upper tail-coverts
similarly marked, but white edges broader, forming conspicuous terminal
crescentic bars. Tail cinereous-umber, with five conspicuous bands of
blackish-brown, the last of which is subterminal, and broader than
the rest; tip of tail like the pale bands; the bands are most sharply
defined on the inner webs, being followed along the edges by the white
of the edge, which, frequently extending along the margin of the black,
crosses to the shaft, and is sometimes even apparent on the outer web;
the lateral feather has the inner web almost entirely white, this,
however, more or less finely mottled with grayish, the mottling becoming
more dense toward the end of the feather; the bands also cross more
obliquely than on the middle feathers. Secondaries grayish-brown, with
five indistinct, but quite apparent, dark bands; primaries marked as in
the adult, but are much lighter. Beneath pure white, all the feathers,
including lower tail-coverts, with sharp, central, longitudinal streaks
of clear dark-brown, the shafts of the feathers black; on the sides
and tibiæ these streaks are expanded into a more acuminate, elliptical
form; the crissum only is immaculate, although the throat is only very
sparsely streaked; on the ear-coverts the streaks are very fine and
numerous, but uniformly distributed.
No. 18,404 (west of Fort Benton, on the Missouri, May 16, 1864; Captain
Jas. A. Mullan, var. _striatulus_). Similar to No. 26,920, but colors
much darker. Upper parts with dark brown prevailing, the pale borders to
the feathers very narrow, and the basal very restricted and concealed;
upper tail-coverts deep ashy-umber, tipped narrowly with white, and with
large subterminal, transversely cordate, and other anterior bars of
dusky. Tail ashy-brown, much darker than in No. 26,920, with five broad,
sharply defined bands of blackish, without any distinct light bordering
bar. White of the lower parts entirely destitute of any yellowish tinge,
the stripes much broader than in No. 26,920, and deep brownish-black,
the shafts not perceptibly darker; tibiæ with transverse bars of dusky;
lower tail-coverts with transverse spots of the same. Wing, 12.25; tail,
9.70.
_Young female_ (second year, No. 26,921, Nova Scotia; W. G. Winton).
Head above, nape, rump, and upper tail-coverts, with a deep ochraceous
tinge; the characters of markings, however, as in the male. Bands on the
tail more sharply defined, the narrow white bar separating the black
from the grayish bands more continuous and conspicuous; lateral feathers
more mottled; grayish tip of tail passing terminally into white. Beneath
with a faint ochraceous wash, this most apparent on the lining of the
wings and tibiæ; streaks as in the male, but rather more numerous, the
throat being thickly streaked.
No. 11,740 (Puget Sound, October 26, 1858; Dr. C. B. Kennerly. Var.
_striatulus_). Similar to No. 18,404, but more uniformly blackish above;
tip of tail more distinctly whitish; stripes beneath broader and deeper
black, becoming broader and more tear-shaped posteriorly, some of the
markings on the flanks being cordate, or even transverse. Wing-formula,
4, 5, 3–6, 2–7–8–9–10=1. Wing, 13.00; tail, 10.80; tarsus, 2.80; middle
toe, 1.80.
_Young female_ (first year, No. 49,662, Calais, Me.; G. A. Boardman).
Differs from the female in the second year (No. 26,921) as follows: On
the wings and upper tail-coverts the yellowish-white spots are less
concealed, or, in fact, this forms the ground-color; secondary coverts
ochraceous-white, with two very distant transverse spots of dark brown,
rather narrower than the white spaces; tips of feathers broadly white;
secondaries grayish-brown, tipped with white, more mottled with the
same toward bases, and crossed by five bands of dark brown, the first
two of which are concealed by the coverts, the last quite a distance
from the end of the feathers; upper tail-coverts white, mottled on
inner webs with brown, each with two transverse broad bars, and a
subterminal cordate spot of dark brown, the last not touching the edge
of the feather, and the anterior bars both concealed by the overlaying
feather. Tail grayish-brown, tipped with white, and with six bands
of blackish-brown; these bordered with white as in the older stage.
Markings beneath as in the older stage, but those on the sides more
cordate. Wing-formula, 4, 5, 3–6–7–2–8–9, 1, 10. Wing, 14.00; tail,
11.50.
In regard to the form indicated in the above descriptions as “var.
_striatulus_, Ridgway,” I am as yet undecided whether to recognize it
as a geographical race, or to merely consider the two adult plumages as
representing different ages of the same form. Certain it is that there
is a decided difference in the young plumage, between the birds of this
species from the eastern portion of North America and those from the
western regions; these differences consisting in the very much darker
colors of the western individuals, as shown by the above descriptions.
My first impression in regard to the adult dress, after making the
first critical examination of the series at my command, was, that the
coarsely mottled specimens were confined to the east, and that those
finely mottled beneath were peculiar to the west; and this view I am not
yet prepared to yield. I have never seen an adult bird from any western
locality which agrees with the eastern ones described above; all partake
of the same characters as those described, in being finely and faintly
mottled beneath, with sharp black shaft-streaks, producing the effect
of a nearly uniform bluish ground, the black streaks in conspicuous
contrast, the tail-bands nearly obsolete, etc. But occasional, not
to say frequent, individuals obtained in the eastern States, which
agree in these respects with the western style, rather disfavor the
view that these differences are regional, unless we consider that
these troublesome individuals, being, of course, winter migrants, have
strayed eastward from the countries where they were bred. The Colorado
female described above exhibits a rather suspicious feature in having a
single feather, on the lower parts, which is coarsely barred, as in the
eastern style, while all the rest are finely waved and marbled as in
the western. If this would suggest that the differences supposed to be
climatic or geographical are in reality only dependent on age, it would
also indicate that the finely mottled individuals are the older ones.
If future investigations should substantiate this suggestion as to the
existence of an eastern and a western race of Goshawk in North America,
they would be distinguished by the following characters:—
Var. =atricapillus=. _Adult._ Markings of the lower surface coarse and
ragged; feathers of the pectoral region with broad medial longitudinal
streaks of the same slaty tint as the transverse bars, and with only
the shafts black. Tail-bands distinct. _Young._ Pale ochraceous
markings prevailing in extent over the darker (clear grayish-umber)
spotting. Stripes beneath narrow, clear brownish; those on the flanks
linear. Wing, 12.25–14.25; tail, 10.00–12.75; culmen, .80–1.00;
tarsus, 2.90–3.15; middle toe, 1.70–1.95. _Hab._ Eastern region of
North America.
Var. =striatulus=. _Adult._ Markings of the lower parts fine and
delicate, and so dense as to present the appearance of a nearly
uniform bluish-ashy surface; feathers of the pectoral region without
the medial stripes of slaty, but with broad shaft-streaks of deep
black, contrasting very conspicuously with the finely mottled general
surface. Tail-bands obsolete. _Young._ Darker (brownish-black)
markings prevailing in extent over the lighter (nearly clear white)
ones. Stripes beneath broad, brownish-black; those on the flanks
cordate and transverse. Wing, 12.00–13.60; tail, 9.50–12.20; culmen,
.85–1.00; tarsus, 2.70–3.15; middle toe, 1.70–.185. _Hab._ Western
region of North America.