_Buteo_, CUV. 1799. (Type, _Falco buteo_, LINN. = _Buteo vulgaris_,
BECHSTEIN.)
_Craxirex_, GOULD, 1838. (Type, _Buteo galapagoensis_, GOULD.)
_Pæcilopternis_, KAUP, 1847. (Type, _Falco borealis_, GM.)
_Tachytriorchis_, KAUP, 1844. (Type, _Falco pterocles_, TEMM.)
GEN. CHAR. Form robust and heavy, the wings long, and rather pointed,
the tail moderate and rounded, the bill and feet strong. Bill
intermediate between that of _Astur_ and that of _Parabuteo_. Wing long
and rather pointed, the third to fifth quill longest, the first shorter
than eighth; three to four with inner webs emarginated. Tail moderate,
slightly rounded.
[Illustration:
=1750=, ♀. ½
=1750=, ♀.
=10571=, ♀. ½
=10571=, ♀. ¼
_Buteo borealis_ (1750; 10571).]
[Illustration: =52763=, ♂. ½
_Buteo zonocercus_ (52763).]
[Illustration: =58505=, ♀. ¼
_Buteo swainsoni_ (58505).]
The species of this genus are very numerous, especially within the
tropics, and are found all over the world, except in Australia. About
thirty nominal species are known, of which about fifteen distinct
species, not including geographical races, belong to America. A single
species, _B. solitarius_ (_Pandion solitarius_, Peale), (Gray’s Hand
List, I, 15, No. 136,) belongs to the Sandwich Islands. The genus seems
to be wanting in the Australian and East Indian regions.
The following species and races belong to the North American fauna.
Species and Races.
=A.= Three outer primaries with their inner webs cut or emarginated.
1. =B. pennsylvanicus.= Wing, 9.85–11.40; tail, 6.30–8.00; culmen,
.70–.80; tarsus, 2.15–2.80; middle toe, 1.20–1.40. Third to
fourth quill longest; first shorter than seventh. _Adult._ Tail
dull black, paler at the tip, crossed by two to four bands of
dilute umber, or brownish-white, varying in width, but the last
always broadest. Upper tail-coverts tipped and barred with white.
Lower parts dull rufous-brown, nearly unbroken on the breast, but
posteriorly much variegated with roundish transverse spots of
white, forming broad transverse bars, interrupted by the dusky
shaft. Upper parts dark umber, darker on the back. _Young._ Tail
dull grayish-umber, growing darker terminally, narrowly tipped
with whitish, and crossed by about six narrow and indistinct bands
of dusky; these gradually becoming obsolete basally, the last much
broader. Lower parts white, or light ochraceous, with longitudinal
spots of dark brown or blackish on the sides of the breast and
abdomen, and roundish or transversely cordate ones on the sides,
flanks, and tibiæ. A conspicuous “mustache” on the cheeks, from
the rictus down. Upper parts much as in the adult. _Hab._ Eastern
North America, and Middle America, south to Bogota and Caraccas.
2. =B. swainsoni.= Wing, 12.00–17.00; tail, 6.50–9.00; culmen,
.80–.95; tarsus, 2.95–2.70; middle toe, 1.50–1.70. Third to
fourth (usually third) quills longest; first usually longer than
seventh. _Adult._ Tail dark grayish-brown, sometimes with a hoary
cast, crossed by five to seven, or more, narrow bands of dusky,
usually very obscure, and becoming obsolete basally. Colors of
other portions extremely variable; the upper parts, however,
continuous, unvariegated, dark brown, or blackish; the lower
parts sometimes also entirely dusky, except the tail-coverts,
which are always (?) barred with white. _Normal plumage._ A dark
area covering the jugulum and breast, dull rufous in the ♂, and
dark grayish-brown in the ♀. Other lower parts whitish, sometimes
pure, and nearly immaculate, but usually more or less tinged with
ochraceous and rufous, and transversely barred with various shades
of brown. _Young._ Tail hoary brownish-gray, crossed by numerous,
very indistinct, narrow bands of darker, and faintly tipped with
whitish. Ground-color of the head, neck, and lower parts, light
ochraceous, or cream-color (sometimes nearly white), the anterior
upper parts with large longitudinally ovate spots of black; these
assuming the form of streaks on the head and neck. Sides of the
breast with an aggregation of larger spots of the same, and sides
with sparser hastate or deltoid spots. Upper parts purplish-black,
more or less variegated with ochraceous; the relative proportion
of the two colors varying with the individual.
Wing, 14.40–17.00; tail, 8.00–9.50; culmen, .80–.95; tarsus,
2.30–2.70; middle toe, 1.50–1.70. Weight 1½–3½ lbs. _Hab._
Western Province of North America, from the Mississippi Valley,
and the region of the Great Lakes (Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, to
Arkansas, also Canada and Massachusetts) to the Pacific …
var. _swainsoni_.
Wing, 12.00–15.30; tail, 6.50–9.00; culmen, .85–.90; tarsus,
1.95–2.60; middle toe, 1.50–1.60. Colors similar, but the young
paler than that of var. _swainsoni_. Adult unknown. _Hab._
Middle and South America, and southern border of the western
United States, from New Mexico to Buenos Ayres (two specimens,
Costa Rica, and Buenos Ayres, Mus. S. I.) …
var. _oxypterus_.
=B.= Four outer primaries with their inner webs cut.
_a._ Form light, the legs slender; tail of adult without a
subterminal band of black more distinct than the others.
3. =B. zonocercus.= Wing, 15.50–17.40; tail, 8.50–10.75; culmen,
.90; tarsus, 2.50–2.80; middle toe, 1.60–1.85. Entirely deep
black, with more or less concealed pure white spotting. _Adult._
Tail carbonaceous-black, with three very broad zones, of pure
white on inner webs and ash on the outer webs. _Young._ Tail dark
brown, the inner webs more or less, sometimes entirely, white,
crossed by numerous oblique bands of black. _Hab._ Mexico (chiefly
western?) and adjacent southwestern portions of the United States
(Arizona, COUES; Southern California, San Diego, COOPER).
4. =B. lineatus.= Wing, 11.25–14.25; tail, 8.00–10.00; culmen,
.75–.90; tarsus, 2.70–3.25; middle toe, 1.30–1.50. Fourth to
fifth quill longest; first shorter than seventh. Outer webs of
the primaries with quadrate spots of whitish; lesser wing-coverts
dark rufous; lower parts rufous more or less barred with whitish,
or whitish spotted longitudinally with dusky. _Adult._ Head,
neck, lesser wing-coverts, and lower parts deep rufous, the lower
parts more or less barred posteriorly with whitish. Primaries and
tail black; the former with quadrate spots of pure white on the
outer webs, and the latter crossed by six narrow bands of pure
white, and tipped with the same. _Young._ Head, neck, and lower
parts whitish, usually more or less tinged with ochraceous, and
with longitudinal markings of dusky. Primaries and tail dusky;
the former mostly ochraceous anterior to the sinuation of their
outer webs, the latter crossed by numerous narrow bands of pale
grayish-brown, these becoming paler and more ochraceous toward the
base. Lesser wing-coverts more or less tinged with dark rufous.
_Adult._ Lower parts light rufous barred with white. _Young._
White prevailing on the lower parts. _Hab._ Eastern Province of
the United States …
var. _lineatus_.
_Adult._ Lower parts deep dark rufous, almost free from bars,
except posteriorly. _Young._ Dark spotting on the lower parts
predominating. _Hab._ Pacific Province, and southern Western
Province, of the United States …
var. _elegans_.
_b._ Form robust and heavy, the tarsus stout; tail of the adult with
a subterminal band of black broader than the other.
5. =B. borealis.= Wing, 13.25–17.75; tail, 8.50–11.30; culmen,
.90–1.15; tarsus, 2.70–3.40; middle toe, 1.60–1.95. Weight,
2½ to 4 lbs. Third to fifth quill longest; first shorter than
seventh and shorter than tenth. Colors extremely variable, ranging
from entirely pure white beneath, through various shades of
ochraceous and rusty, and greater or less amount of darker spots
and bars, to an entirely uniform brownish-black. _Adult._ Tail
deep rufous, generally paler at the tip; with or without black
bars. _Young._ Tail grayish-brown, crossed by nine or ten bands of
black, much narrower than the gray ones. Lower parts always with
white predominating.
Tibiæ and lower tail-coverts without transverse bars, at any
age. Lower parts with white always predominating. Tail never
with more than one bar of black.
Feathers of the head and neck edged laterally with rufous;
scapulars and wing-coverts much variegated with whitish; upper
tail-coverts white, barred with rufous. Throat with blended
streaks of blackish, this usually predominating; tibiæ and
lower tail-coverts plain yellowish-white. _Hab._ Eastern
Province of North America, to the Missouri plains …
var. _borealis_.
Similar, but colors much paler, the lower parts entirely pure
white, with little or no spotting on the abdomen. Tail usually
destitute of the black subterminal band. _Hab._ Plains, from
Texas to Minnesota …
var. _krideri_.
Similar to the last, but lower parts strongly tinged with
rufous on the tibiæ, and upper parts much darker. Tail
always destitute of the subterminal black band. _Young_ not
distinguishable from that of var. _calurus_. _Hab._ Cape St.
Lucas …
var. _lucasanus_.
Whole head, neck (except the throat), and upper parts,
continuously uniform unvariegated brownish-black; that of
the neck meeting narrowly across the lower part of the
throat, leaving the whole throat almost immaculate white.
Posterior lower parts fine, deep pinkish-ochraceous; tibiæ
deep reddish-ochraceous; upper tail-coverts plain rufous.
_Hab._ Central America (from Tres Marias, Western Mexico, to
Costa Rica and Veragua) …
var. _costaricensis_.
Tibiæ and lower tail-coverts always with distinct transverse
bars. Tail often with more or less complete transverse bars of
black to the base. Lower parts with an excess of ochraceous and
darker markings, frequently wholly blackish.
Varying, from individuals distinguishable from the darker
examples of var. _borealis_ only by the presence of bars on
the tibiæ and crissum, through others with various degrees
of rufous tinge and dusky spotting and barring beneath, to a
perfectly melanistic condition, in which the bird is almost
uniformly black, and the tail with continuous, regular bars of
black to the base. _Hab._ Western Province of North America,
from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific …
var. _calurus_.
6. =B. harlani.= Wing, 15.00–16.20; tail, 8.80–10.50; culmen,
1.00; tarsus, 2.75–2.90; middle toe, 1.50–1.70. Lateral toes
nearly equal; tibial plumes much developed, reaching below
the bases of the toes. Entirely brownish-black (except the
tail), the concealed bases of the feathers snowy-white. _Adult._
Tail confusedly mottled with dusky and white, upon a grayish
ground; sometimes more or less tinged with rufous. _Young._ Tail
grayish-brown, with nine very regular, sharply defined bands of
brownish-black, about equal in width to the gray ones. Lower parts
wholly dusky. _Hab._ Southwestern United States, east of the Rocky
Mountains, from Kansas to Texas.
7. =B. cooperi.= Wing, 15.75; tail, 9.10; culmen, 1.10; tarsus,
3.25; middle toe, 1.70. _Adult._ Head, neck, and beneath, pure
white, the head above and nape streaked with dusky; lining of the
wing white, with a large black patch. Above nearly uniform dusky,
the primaries plumbeous. Tail longitudinally mottled with light
rufous, cinereous, and dusky; the former prevailing. _Hab._ Santa
Clara County, California.
Buteo pennsylvanicus (WILS.).