_Antenor_, RIDGWAY. (Type, _Falco harrisi_, AUD.)
_Craxirex_, AUTHORS, not of GOULD.[85]
[Illustration:
=42559=, ♀. ¼
=42559=, ♀. ½
=42559=, ♀. ½
_Parabuteo harrisi._]
GEN. CHAR. Similar to _Asturina_, but form heavier, the bill and wings
more elongated, the tail slightly rounded, and the lores almost naked.
Bill very much as in _Asturina_, but more elongated, the top of the
cere longer in proportion to the culmen, and the commissural lobe
more anterior; the upper and lower outlines more nearly parallel.
Nostril oval, horizontal, with an exposed cartilaginous tubercle. Lores
nearly naked, with scant bristles. Wing long (much as in _Buteo_); the
fourth or fifth quill longest, and the first shorter than the eighth
to the tenth; outer four with inner webs sinuated. Tail long, more
than two thirds the wing; even or slightly rounded. Feet robust, when
outstretched reaching nearly to the end of the tail; tarsus nearly
twice the length of the middle, very robust, the frontal and posterior
rows of scutellæ very distinct; outer toe longer than the inner; claws
strong, well curved, and acute. Sexes alike; young and old plumages very
different.
This genus includes a single species, the _P. unicinctus_, with its
two climatic races, _unicinctus_ of South America and _harrisi_ of
Middle America. It is most nearly related to the genus _Urubitinga_,
of tropical America, the species of which are sluggish and almost
Caracara-like in their habits, though they are hardly more so than our
own _Buteones_. The genus _Craxirex_ of Gould having been founded upon
_Buteo galapagoensis_, a species strictly congeneric with _B. borealis_,
it is necessary that a new generic name should be instituted for the
present species, since it so well merits separation to that rank. I
accordingly propose the name given at the head of this chapter.
Species and Races.
=P. unicinctus.= Wing, 11.65–14.60; tail, 9.00–11.00; culmen,
.82–1.10; tarsus, 2.78–3.75; middle toe, 1.52–2.00. _Adult._ General
color brownish-black or blackish-brown, uniform, or slightly
variegated by light spotting; the lesser wing-coverts and tibiæ deep
rufous, or chestnut. Tail black; the end and base white, as are
also the tail-coverts. _Young._ Plumage greatly variegated. Above
blackish-brown, the feathers edged with rusty; head and neck streaked
with pale ochraceous. Lower parts pale ochraceous or yellowish-white,
the breast and abdomen with longitudinal ovoid spots of blackish;
tibiæ with transverse bars of dark rusty; lower tail-coverts with
black shaft-streaks. Lesser wing-covert region only washed with
rufous. Tail grayish-brown, whitish at the tip, and crossed by narrow
bands of dusky.
_Adult_ with the blackish much broken up by lighter spotting. Wing,
11.65–14.60; tail, 9.00–10.50; culmen, .82–1.02; tarsus, 2.78–3.40;
middle toe, 1.52–1.85. _Hab._ South America …
var. _unicinctus_.[86]
_Adult_ with the blackish continuous and uniform. Wing, 12.35–14.50;
tail, 9.80–11.00; culmen, .90–1.10; tarsus, 3.15–3.75; middle toe,
1.65–2.00. _Hab._ Middle America, north into southern border of
United States …
var. _harrisi_.
Parabuteo unicinctus, var. harrisi (RIDGWAY).