_Aquila leucocephala_, BRISS. Orn. I, 422, 1760.—VIEILL. Ois. Am.
Sept. pl. iii, 1807.—PALLAS, Zoog. Ross. As. I, 347, 1811.—SWAINSON,
Classif. B. II, 207, 1837; Anim. Menag. 106, 1838.—S. LONGCH.
Faun. Belg. 53, 1842. _Falco leucocephalus_, LINN. Syst. Nat. 124,
1766.—GMEL. Syst. Nat. 255, 1789.—LATH. Ind. Orn. 11, 1790; Syn. I,
29, 1781; Supp. p. 9, 1802; Gen. Hist. I, 45, 1821.—PENN. Arct. Zoöl.
pp. 194 and 196, 1785.—WILS. Am. Orn. pl. xxxvi, 1808.—TEMM. Man.
Orn. pt. i, 52; pt. ii, 27, 1820; Tab. Méth. 3, 1836.—SHAW, Zoöl.
VII, 78, 1809.—BONAP. Ann. Lyc. N. Y. II, 26.—GREEN, Silliman’s Am.
Journ. IV, 89; Isis, 1832, p. 1136.—AUD. Orn. Biog. I, 160, 1831;
Birds Am. pl. xxxi, 1831.—BREWER, (WILS.) Am. Orn. Synop. 683,
1852. _Haliaëtus leucocephalus_, SAVIG.—CUV. Règ. An. (ed. 2), I,
326.—LESS. Tr. Orn. p. 40, 1831.—STEPH. Zoöl. XIII, pt. 2, p. 13,
1826.—JAMES. (WILS.) Am. Orn. I, 21, 33, 1808.—JARD. (WILS.) Orn. II,
89, 307.—RICH. F. B. A. II, 15, 1831.—BENNETT, Gard. Zoöl. Soc. II,
37, 1831.—BONAP. Eur. & N. Am. B. 3, 1838; Cat. Ucc. Eur. 19, 1842;
Consp. Av. 15, 1850; Rev. et Mag. Zoöl. 1854, p. 531.—MAX. Cab. Journ.
VI, 1858, 3.—BLAKISTON, Ibis, III, 1861, 320.—DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 328
(Texas, breeding).—GOULD, B. Eur. pl. xi, 1837.—GRAY, Gen. B. fol.
sp. 3, 1844; List Birds Brit. Mus. 2, 1844.—AUD. Synopsis Birds Am.
10, 1839.—NUTTALL, Man. Orn. U. S. & Canad. 72, 1833.—PEALE, U. S.
Expl. Exp. 71, 1848.—PEAB. Birds Mass. 73, 1841.—GIRAUD, Birds Long
Island, 9, 1844.—WOODH. Sit. Expl. Zuñ. & Colorad. 59, 1853.—CASSIN,
B. Calif. & Tex. I, 111, 1854.—DE KAY, Zoöl. N. Y. II, 5, pl. i, f.
1, 1844.—HEERM. P. R. R. Rept. VII, 30, 1857.—NEWB. P. R. R. Rept.
VI, 75, 1857.—WERN. Atl. Ois. Eur. 1826.—BREHM, Vögel Deutschl. 17,
1831.—CASS. Birds N. Am. 1858, 43.—COOP. & SUCK. P. R. R. Rept.
XII, ii, 151, 1860.—COUES, Prod. B. Ariz. 13, 1866. _Haliaëtus
leucocephalus_, GRAY, Hand List, I, 16 (1869). _Falco candidus_,
GMEL. Syst. Nat. 258, 1789.—LATH. Ind. Orn. 14, 1790; Syn. I, 36,
1781; Gen. Hist. I, 240, 1821.—DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, 51, 1800.—VIEILL.
Ois. Am. Sept. I, 30, 1807. _Falco pygargus_, DAUD. Tr. Orn. II,
62, 1800. _Falco ossifragus_, WILS. Am. Orn. pl. lv, f. 2 (_Juv._),
1808. _Falco leucogaster_, LATH. Gen. Hist. I, 242, 1821. _Vultur
albicilla_, FABER, Faun. Grœnl. 53, 1780. _Falco washingtoni_,
AUD. Mag. Nat. Hist. ser. 1, I, 1828, 115.—IB. Orn. Biog. I, 58;
Birds Am. pl. xi.—BREWER, (WILS.) Am. Orn. 683.—JAMES. (WILS.) Am.
Orn. IV, 261. _Haliaëtus washingtoni_, JARD. (WILS.) Am. Orn. II,
92.—BONAP. List, 1838, 3.—GRAY, Gen. fol. sp. 4.—AUD. Synop. Birds
Am. 10.—CASS. B. CAL. & Tex. 110.—IB. Birds N. Am. 1858, 42.—STRICKL.
Orn. Syn. I, 51, No. 82. _Falco washingtonianus_, NUTT. MAN. pl.
lxvii. _Haliaëtus leucocephalus_, BREWER, Oölogy, 1851, 48, pl. iv, f.
37.
SP. CHAR. _Adult._ Entire head and neck, upper and lower tail-coverts,
and tail, immaculate pure white. Rest of the plumage brownish-black,
the feathers fading toward the edges, these paler borders being most
conspicuous on the upper surface. Primaries uniform deep black.
Bill, cere, superciliary shield, and feet, deep chrome-yellow; iris
Naples-yellow. _Male_ (12,017, Philadelphia; C. Drexler). Wing, 22.00;
tail, 10.50; culmen, 1.90; top of cere, .80; depth of bill, 1.30;
tarsus, 3.00; middle toe, 2.60; outer, 2.00; inner, 1.50; posterior,
1.30. Wing-formula, 3=4–5, 2–6; 1=7. _Female_ (11,986, Philadelphia;
C. Drexler). Wing, 25.00; tail, 12.75; culmen, 2.20; top of cere,
.80; tarsus, 3.10; middle toe, 2.85. Wing-formula, 3=4, 5–2–6–7–1, 8.
_Young._ Second year (?) (No. 58,977, Mount Carmel, Wabash County,
Illinois, Dec.; D. Ridgway). Head and neck brownish-black, white beneath
the surface, the penicillate ones of the nape tipped with pale brown.
Prevailing color of other portions blackish-brown, inclining to umber
on the dorsal region, wing-coverts, and lower parts; all the feathers
white at their roots, this much exposed on the lower parts, where the
brown forms tear-shaped terminal spots; axillars and lining of the
wing white, each feather of the latter region with a medial lanceolate
stripe of blackish-brown. Primaries and tail brownish-black; inner
webs of secondaries and tail-feathers spattered longitudinally with
creamy-white. Bill and cere black; iris brown; feet yellow. Wing, 25.50;
tail, 15.00; culmen, 2.10; tarsus, 3.10; middle toe, 2.60.
_Young_, _first year_ (No. 41,595, Eastern United States?). Whole
plumage nearly uniformly black, this very continuous above; beneath, the
basal white is much exposed, producing a somewhat spotted appearance.
Primaries and tail deep black, the inner webs of the latter sprinkled
with cream-color.
_Young in down_ (Washington, D. C.). Downy covering uniform deep
sooty-gray; the sprouting feathers on wings, etc., all brownish-black.
Specimens from the Pacific Coast have the plumage rather deeper black;
but scarcely any other differences are appreciable. Measurements of
specimens are as follows:—
“_Male_” (?) (45,838, Sitka; Bischoff). Wing, 24.50; tail, 12.50;
culmen, 2.00.
_Female_ (45,835, Sitka; Bischoff). Wing, 25.00; tail, 12.50; culmen,
2.20.
Of these, the male is continuous deep black, the head, neck, tail,
and tail-coverts pure white in sharp contrast; the female is less
continuously black,—more so, however, than in eastern specimens; the
white portions are as pure as in the male.
An immature bird (9,130, Shoalwater Bay, W. T., Feb.; Dr. Cooper)
is almost like the Illinois specimen described, but is somewhat
larger, measuring, wing, 26.00; tail, 15.00; culmen, 2.20. It differs
somewhat in plumage also, the lower parts being nearly uniformly light
isabella-color, not variegated by the black spots; the whole wing
(except the quills) is pale isabella-brown, the wing-coverts with
terminal triangular spots of black; the back is also light-colored, like
the wings.
[Illustration:
=52509=, (♀ ?). NAT. SIZE.
=9128=, ♀ ? ¼
_Haliaëtus leucocephalus._]
_Hab._ Entire continent of North America, north of Mexico.
Localities quoted: Upper Texas; breeds (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 65).
Western Arizona (COUES, P. A. N. S., 1866, 49).