[1] The whole of the systematic portion of the article on the
_Raptores_, has been prepared by Mr. Ridgway; the biographies,
however, are furnished by Dr. Brewer, as usual. The outlines of the
skulls and sterna of the _Strigidæ_, the skulls, sterna, and heads
of the _Cathartidæ_, and the generic outlines of the _Falconidæ_ and
_Cathartidæ_, were drawn by Mr. Ridgway.—S. F. BAIRD.
[2] By Thomas H. Huxley, F. R. S., V. P. Z. S.; Proceedings of the
Zoölogical Society of London, 1867, pp. 415–473.
[3] By Charles Ludwig Nitzsch. English edition, translated from the
German by Dr. Philip Lutley Sclater, and published by the Ray Society of
London, 1867.
[4] By William McGillivray, A. M.; London, 1840.
[5] See Jardine’s Contributions to Ornithology, London, 1849, p. 68;
1850, p. 51; 1851, p. 119; 1852, p. 103; and Transactions of the
Zoölogical Society of London, 1862, p. 201.
[6] Hand List of Genera and Species of Birds, distinguishing those
contained in the British Museum. By George Robert Gray, F. R. S.,
etc. Part I. _Accipitres_, _Fisserostres_, _Tenuirostres_, and
_Dentirostres_. London, 1869.
[7] I have, however, examined the sterna only of _Nyctea_, _Bubo_,
_Otus_, _Brachyotus_, _Syrnium_, _Nyctale_, and _Glaucidium_.
[8] My unpublished determinations of the North American species were
furnished, by request, to Dr. Coues, for introduction into his “Key of
North American Birds”; consequently the names used in these pages are
essentially the same as those there employed.
[9] This case of the restriction of the American representative of
a European or Western Palæarctic species to the western half of the
continent has parallel instances among other birds. The American
form of _Falcolanarius_ (var. _polyagrus_), of _Corvus corax_ (var.
_carnivorus_), _Pica caudata_ (var. _hudsonica_ and var. _nuttalli_)
and of _Ægialitis cantianus_ (var. _nivosus_), are either entirely
restricted to the western portion, or else are much more abundant there
than in the east. The European genera _Cinclus_, _Coccothraustes_,
_Nucifraga_, and _Columba_ have representatives only in the western
portion of North America.
Instances of a similar relation between the plants of the Western
Province of North America and those of Europe, and more striking
likeness between the flora of the Eastern Region and that of Eastern
Asia, are beautifully explained in Professor Gray’s interesting and
instructive paper entitled “Sequoia, and its History,” an address
delivered at the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science, at Dubuque, Iowa, August, 1872. The poverty in the species
of tortoises, and richness in lizards, and the peculiarities of the
ichthyological fauna, as well as absence of forms of Western North
America and Europe, compared with Eastern North America and Eastern
Asia, afford other examples of parallelism in other classes of the
Animal Kingdom.
[10] See Baird, Am. Journ. Arts and Sciences, Vol. XLI, Jan. and March,
1866; Allen, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl. Cambridge, Vol. II, No. 3; and
Ridgway, Am. Journ. Arts and Sciences, Vols. IV and V, Dec., 1872, and
Jan., 1873.
[11] For diagnoses of these geographical races of _Strix flammea_, see
pp. 1339 and 1340.
[12] See Allen, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., Cambridge, Vol. II, No. 3, pp.
338, 339, where these plumages are discussed at length.
[13] _Strix flammea_, var. _flammea_. _Strix flammea_, LINN. S. N. I,
133, 1766, et AUCT.-STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 1855, 178. _Strix alba_, SCOP.
Ann. 1st, p. 21, 1768.—GMEL. S. N. 293.—LATH.—DAUD.—LEP. and SHAW.
_Strix guttata_, BREHM, Vög. Deutschl. p. 106, 1831. _Hab._ Europe and
Africa.
[14] _Strix flammea_, var. _guatemalæ_, RIDGWAY. Central American
specimens differ very appreciably from Mexican and North American
examples, in being considerably darker-colored in the extreme phases
of plumage. Eight of eleven specimens convey an impression of decided
difference in this respect at a mere casual glance. The extremes of
plumage in this series are as follows:—Darkest (No. 40,961, Chimandega,
Nicaragua; F. Hicks): The dusky mottling of the upper parts is
altogether darker than in any example from Mexico or northward, and
prevails, with great uniformity, over the entire surface; the white
specks are linear, instead of roundish. On the primaries and tail, the
blackish and ochraceous are about equal in extent, the latter color
forming five bands on the quills, and four on the tail. The facial
circle is bright dark orange above the ears, and the portion below
the ears continuous black; the face is reddish-white, strongly tinged
with wine-brown, while the spot in front of the eye is deep black. The
whole lower parts are deep orange-ochraceous, with numerous irregular
specks of dusky, which posteriorly become broken or confused into ragged
zigzag transverse mottlings, while on the lower tail-coverts they form
irregular transverse bars. Wing-formula, 2, 1–3. Wing, 13.00; tail,
5.90; culmen, .85; tarsus, 2.90; middle toe, 1.50. Lightest (No. 41,252,
♂, San José, Costa Rica, Aug. 23, 1865; José C. Zeledon): The dark
tint above, though prevalent, is a continuous wash of grayish, instead
of a fine mottling of blackish and white; the white specks are nearly
obsolete. The wings are superficially plain grayish, this overlaying
the ground-color of ochraceous-orange; and have visible spots only on
the primaries, near their shafts. The tail has four rather distinct
grayish bands. The facial circle is ochraceous, somewhat darker across
the foreneck; the face white, with the ante-orbital spot claret-brown.
Entire lower parts immaculate pure white. Wing-formula, 2, 1=3. Wing,
12.30; tail, 5.30; culmen, .70; tarsus, 2.75; middle toe, 1.45.
No. 24,283, Nicaragua, (Captain J. M. Dow,) is like the specimen
just described, in the uniform dark wash of the upper parts, but
this is deeper; the lower parts, however, are quite different, being
ochraceous-orange, instead of pure white.
The remaining five specimens (from San Salvador, Costa Rica, and
Nicaragua) are alike, and differ from northern birds in the deeper
dark mottling of the upper parts; the white specks very conspicuous,
and usually sagittate. The facial circle deep black where it crosses
the foreneck. The lower parts vary in color from nearly pure white to
deep orange-rufous; the dark markings of the lower surface are larger,
more angular, and more transverse than in true _pratincola_. The wing
measures 11.30–13.00; tarsus, 2.55–2.95. The northern form varies from
12.50–13.00 (wing) and 2.50–2.85 (tarsus). It is thus seen that while
these southern birds average smaller in general dimensions, they have
actually larger feet, the average length of the tarsus being 2.80 in
the Central American series, and only 2.60 in the northern series. This
exactly coincides with the case of _Sturnella_, the _S. magna_ var.
_mexicana_ of the same region being smaller bodied and shorter winged
than var. _magna_ of the United States, but with much larger feet, see
p.
[15] _Strix flammea_, var. _perlata_. _Strix perlata_, LICHT. Verz.
Doubl. 59, 1823.—TSCHUDI, Av. Consp. Wiegm. Archiv. 267, 1844.—HARTT.
Syst. Ind. Azara. p. 3.—MAX. Beitr. III, 263 (excl. syn.).—STRICKL. Orn.
Syn. I, 1855, 180 (excl. syn.). _Strix flammea_, DARWIN, Zool. Beag.
34.—SCHOMB. Verz. Faun. Brit. Guian. p. 732.—SPIX, Av. Bras. I, 21.
This is a still further differentiated or more appreciably modified
race. It differs in smaller size (wing, 11.70–12.50; tail, 4.80–5.20;
tarsus, 2.40–2.75) and more square tail, while the colors also present
constant differences. The tail is much lighter compared with the wings,
the bands narrower and more sharply defined, though the same in number.
[16] _Strix flammea_, var. _furcata_. _Strix furcata_, TEMM. Pl. Col.
432, 1838.—D’ORB. Hist. Nat. Cuba Ois. p. 34. _Hab._ West Indies (Cuba
and Jamaica).
This form is the most distinctly characterized of all the races of _S.
flammea_ which we have examined. It has the general plumage decidedly
lighter and less rufous, while the secondaries and tail are abruptly
lighter than the adjacent parts, and usually free from bands, though
there are sometimes traces of them.
All the American races of _Strix flammea_ differ very decidedly from the
European form (var. _flammea_) in much larger size. The differences in
color are not so appreciable, and there is hardly any certain difference
in this respect. The extreme phases, however, appear to be darker in the
var. _flammea_ than in the var. _pratincola_. The supposed differences
in the character of the feathers fringing the operculum, insisted on by
MacGillivray (History of British Birds, III, 1840, p. 473), I am unable
to appreciate, for I cannot find that they differ in the least in the
two races. That excellent ornithologist states that in the American
“species” the feathers of the operculum are reduced to a simple tube,
having neither filaments nor shaft, while in the European bird they are
perfect feathers, with all their parts complete. Though this may have
been the case with the one or more specimens of _pratincola_ examined by
Mr. MacGillivray, I have yet to see an American specimen which has not
the feathers of the operculum just as perfectly developed as in European
examples.
[17] _Strix flammea_, var. _delicatula_. _Strix delicatula_, GOULD,
P. Z. S. 1836, 140.—IB. B. Australia, I, pl. xxxi.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn.
1855, 180. _Hab._ Australia.
[18] _Strix flammea_, var. _javanica_. _Strix javanica_, GMEL. S. N. I,
295, 1789.—LATH. Ind. Orn. p. 64, and Gen. Hist. I, 357.—HORSF. L.
Trans. XIII, 139.—GRAY, Gen. B. fol. sp. 5, pl. xv.—SYKES, P. Comm.
Zoöl. Soc. pl. ii, 81.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 1855, 180. _Phodilus
javanicus_, BLYTH, Journ. As. Soc. Beng. XIX, 513. _Strix flammea_,
PEARS. & BLYTH. _Hab._ Java and Southern India, and Eastern Africa.
[19] _Otus vulgaris._ _Strix otus_, LINN. S. N. p. 132, 1766.—_Asio
otus_, LESS. STRICKL.—_Bubo otus_, SAVIGN. _Ulula otus_, MACGILL. _Otus
vulgaris_, FLEM. Brit. An. p. 56, 1828, et AUCT. _O. europæus_, STEPH.
1. _O. albicollis_, DAUD. _O. italicus_, DAUD. _O. communis_, LESS. _O.
aurita_, MONT. _O. asio_, LEACH. _O. sylvestris_, _O. arboreus_, and _O.
gracilis_, BREHM.
[20] _Otus stygius._ _Nyctalops stygius_, WAGL. Isis, 1832, p.
1221.—GRAY, Gen. B. p. 6, ed. 2, p. 8.—BONAP. Consp. Av. p. 50. _Otus
stygius_, PUCH. Rev. Zoöl. 1849, 29.—GRAY, Gen. B. fol. sp. 12.—KAUP,
Monog. Strig. Cont. Orn. 1852, p. 113. _Asio styg._ _? Otus siguapa_,
D’ORB. Hist. Nat. Cuba Ois. p. 31, Tab. 2, 1840.—GRAY, Gen. fol. sp.
9.—BONAP. Consp. 50 (Cuba). _Otus communis_, var., LESS. Tr. Orn. p.
110. _Hab._ South America (Brazil, ? Cuba, St. Paulo, KAUP).
[21] _Syrnium nebulosum_, var. _sartorii_, RIDGWAY (Mexican Barred Owl).
_Hab._ Mirador, Mexico. CHAR. _Adult_ (♀, 43,131, Mirador, near Vera
Cruz, Mexico, “pine region”; Dr. C. Sartorius). In general appearance
like _nebulosum_, but the brown very much darker, and less reddish,—that
of the markings below very nearly black; the pattern, however, precisely
the same, and there is about the same proportion between the light and
the dark bars as is seen in the average of _nebulosum_. The face is
plain dirty white without the brown bars or semicircles,—a constant and
conspicuous feature in _nebulosum_. There is the same number of spots on
the primaries, and of bands on the tail, as in _nebulosum_. The white
beneath is without any ochraceous tinge; the primary coverts are plain
dark brown. Wing-formula: 4–3=5; 1 intermediate between 8 and 9. Wing,
14.80; tail, 9.00; culmen, 1.05; tarsus, 2.20; middle toe, 1.60. This
race of the _S. nebulosum_ presents very appreciable differences from
the bird of the United States. As stated above, the brown is much darker
and less reddish, while the face is wholly destitute of the concentric
dusky rings seen in _nebulosum_ proper. To Dr. Charles Sartorius, who,
by the presentation to the Smithsonian Institution of numerous elegantly
prepared specimens, has added so much to our knowledge of the birds of
the vicinity of Mirador, I take great pleasure in dedicating this new
form.
[22] _Syrnium nebulosum_, var. _fulvescens_. _Syrnium fulvescens_,
SALVIN, P. Z. S. 1868, 58. CHAR. General appearance of var. _nebulosum_,
but smaller and much more ochraceous. Ground-color of the plumage
ochraceous, inclining to a deep fulvous tint on the upper parts, but
paler below. Feathers of the upper surface tipped with dark umber-brown,
and sometimes with an additional bar about the middle of the feather.
The fulvous bars much exposed, so as to exceed the brown in amount.
Face grayish-white, tinged outwardly with ochraceous. Beneath with the
markings of _nebulosum_ on a deep and uniform ochraceous ground. Wing,
12.75; tail, 8.50; culmen, .95; tarsus, 2.45; middle toe, 1.20 (Coll.
Bost. Soc., No. 367, Guatemala; Van Patten).
[23] _Nyctale tengmalmi_, var. _tengmalmi_. _Strix tengmalmi_, GMEL.
S. N. p. 291, 1789 (et AUCT. var.). _Nyctale t._, BONAP. et AUCT.
_Noctua t._, CUV. et AUCT. _Athene t._, BOIE. _Ulula t._, BONAP. et
AUCT. _Scotophilus t._, SWAINS. _Strix dasypus_, BECHST. (1791) et AUCT.
_Nyctale d._, GRAY. _Strix passerina_, A. MEYER, 1794.—PALLAS. _Nyctale
planiceps_, BREHM, 1831. _N. pinetorum_, BREHM, 1831. _N. abietum_,
BREHM, 1831. _N. funerea_, BONAP. 1842 (not of LINN., 1761, which is
_Surnia ulula_). “_N. kirtlandi_,” ELLIOT, Ibis, II, Jan., 1872, p. 48
(not of HOY!).
[24] _Nyctale harrisi_, CASSIN, Pr. Ac. Nat. Sc. Philad. IV, p. 157,
Feb., 1849.—IB. Tr. A. N. S. II, 2d series, Nov., 1850, pl. v.
[25] _Scops asio_, var. _enano_, LAWRENCE, MSS. This well-marked race
is founded upon two specimens,—one from Mexico, in the cabinet of Mr.
Lawrence, and another from Guatemala, in the collection of the Boston
Society of Natural History. They are exactly similar in colors; but, as
might be expected, the more southern specimen is the smaller of the two.
This form very closely resembles the _S. atricapilla_ (NATT.) STEPH.
(Temm. Pl. Col. 145), but may be readily distinguished by the haired
toes, they being perfectly naked in _atricapilla_. The latter species is
found as far northward as Mirador.
[26] _Scops semitorques_, SCHLEGEL, Fauna Japonica, t. 8. For the
privilege of comparing specimens of this bird with _S. kennicotti_, I
am indebted to the courtesy of the officers of the New York Museum, who
kindly sent the fine specimens of that museum for examination.
[27] _Bubo virginianus_, var. _magellanicus_. _Strix_ (δ) _bubo
magellanicus_, GMEL. Syst. Nat. 1789, p. 286.—DAUD. Tr. Orn. II,
210.—LESS. Voy. Coq. I, 617; Isis, 1833, 76. _Asio mag._ LESS. Man. Orn.
I. p. 116, 1828. _Bubo mag._ GRAY, List Birds Brit. Mus. 1844, p. 46.
_Strix nacuruta_, VIEILL. Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat. VII, 44, 1816; Enc.
Méth. III, 1281, 1823. _Strix crassirostris_, VIEILL. Nouv. Dict. Hist.
Nat. VII, 44 (1817); Enc. Méth. III, 1280. _Otus crass._ GRAY, Gen. B.
fol. sp. 6 (1844); List Birds Brit. Mus. p. 106. _Bubo crass._ BONAP.
Consp. Av. p. 48 (1850).—KAUP, Monog. Strig. Cont. Orn. 1852, 116 (under
_B. virginianus_). _Asio crass._ STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 208, 1855. _Strix
macrorhyncha_, TEMM. Pl. Col. 62, 1820. _Otus ? macr._ STEPH. Zoöl.
XIII, pt. ii, p. 59. _Otus macr._ CUV. Règ. An. (ed. 2), I, 341.—LESS.
Tr. Orn. p. 109. _Asio macr._ LESS. Man. Orn. I, 117.
[28] _Bubo mexicanus_ (GMEL.) RIDGW. _Asio mexicanus_, BRISS. Orn.
I, 498, 1760.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 208, 1855 (excl. syn.). _Strix
mexicana_, GMEL. S. N. p. 288, 1789.—LATH. Ind. Orn. p. 54; Syn.
I, 123; Gen. Hist. I, 314, A.—DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, 214.—SHAW, Zoöl.
VII, 228.—_Otus mexicanus_, STEPH. Zoöl. XIII, pt. ii, p. 57.—_Bubo
clamator_, VIEILL. Ois. Am. Sept. pl. xx, 1807. _Scops cl._ GRAY, List
Birds Brit. Mus. 1844, p. 45. _Strix clamata_, VIEILL. Enc. Méth. III,
1279, 1823. _Strix longirostris_, SPIX, Av. Bras. pl. 9 _a_, 1824.
_Strix maculata_, MAX. Beitr. III, 281, 1830. HAB. Middle and South
America generally. A very distinct species, and a typical _Bubo_,
although usually referred to the genus _Otus_.
[29] _Nyctea scandiaca_, var. _nivea_ (see p. 000). _Strix scandiaca_,
LINN. S. N. (12th ed.) I, 132 (1766). _Nyctea scandiaca_, YAWELL, Hist.
Brit. B. 1872, 187. _Strix nyctea_, LINN. S. N. I, 1766, 132. _Strix
nivea_, DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, 1800. _Nyctea nivea_, GRAY, Gen. fol. sp. 1,
pl. xii, f. 2.
[30] No. 559, collection of R. Ridgway (♂, Mt. Carmel, Wabash County,
Southern Illinois, October 14, 1869). 22½–54. Weight, 3½ lbs.; bill
black; iris gamboge-yellow; toes ashy; claws horn-color, black at ends.
[31] _Surnia ulula_, var. _ulula_. _Strix ulula_, LINN. S. N. I, 1766,
133. _Surnia ulula_, BONAP. Cat. 1838, 22.
[32] _Glaucidium passerinum_, var. _passerinum_. _Strix passerina_,
LINN. I, 133, 1766. _Glaucidium passerinum_, BOIE, Isis, 1826,
976.—SHARPE & DRESSER, Birds Europe, II, April, 1871. _Surnia
passerina_, KEYS. & BLAS. Wirb. Europ. 32, 1840. _Microptynx passerina_,
KAUP, Contr. Orn. 1852, 107. _Noctua passerina_, SCHLEG. Mus. Pays-Bas.
_Striges_, p. 41, 1862. _Strix pusilla_, DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, 205, 1800.
_Strix pygmæa_, BECHST. Nat. Deutschl. IV, 978, t. xxiv, 1805. _Strix
acadica_, TEMM. Man. d’Orn. I, p. 96, 1820 (_nec_ GMEL.).
[33] _Glaucidium infuscatum_, var. _infuscatum_. _Strix infuscata_,
TEMM. Ind. Général, 1821. _Athene i._, BONAP. Consp. 37, 1850 (excl.
syn.). _Glaucidium i._, KAUP, Cont. Orn. 1852, 103. ? _Strix eluta_,
ILLIG. in Mus. Berl. Cab. Azar. No. 49. _Strix passerinoides_, TEMM.
Pl. Col. 344. _Surnia p._, BONAP. Os. Cuv. Règ. An. I, 57. _Noctua p._,
LESS. Man. & Tr. Orn.
[34] _Glaucidium infuscatum_, var. _gnoma_. _Glaucidium gnoma_, WAGL.
Isis, 1832, 275.—KAUP, Monog. _Strigidæ_, in Contr. to Orn. 1852, 103
(under _G. infuscatum_).—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 163, 1855 (under _G.
infuscatum_). _Athene gnoma_, GRAY, Gen. Birds, fol. sp. 35, 1844.
_Hab._ Whole of Middle America, from Panama northward to the Rio Grande
and Mazatlan. Probably yet to be found in Texas or New Mexico.
[35] Gray, in his “Hand List,” gives in addition _S. fusca_, VIEILL., a
West Indian (“Antilles”) species, which proves to be not congeneric with
_S. cunicularia_, and also _S. domingensis_ (GM.) MÜLL., which I cannot
identify as one of the races of _S. cunicularia_.
[36] _Speotyto cunicularia_, var. _grallaria?_ _? Strix grallaria_,
SPIX, Av. Braz. I, 21, 1824.—? TEM. Pl. Col. 146. I am by no means
satisfied that this form is the true _grallaria_, but it seems to come
nearer to it than any other described. Three specimens (two from Peru,
in the National Museum, and one, without label, in the Museum of the
Boston Society of Natural History) have been examined, and agree in the
characters diagnosed above.
[37] _Speotyto cunicularia_, var. _cunicularia_. _Strix cunicularia_,
MOLINA, St. Chil. 1782, 343. GMEL. S. N. 292, sp. 28,—and of other
authors referring to the South American bird.
[38] _Speotyto cunicularia_, var. _guadeloupensis_, RIDGWAY. This bird
is merely a very dark local form of the common species, though it
differs very appreciably in the sharper definition, greater extent, and
more intense tint of the brown markings of its plumage.
I have been unable to find any description of this form, and believe
it to be unnamed. It is certainly not the _S. dominicensis_, GMEL.
(S. N. 296, _S. domingensis_, MÜLL. GRAY’S Hand List, 43, No. 438), not
_S. fusca_, VIEILL. (GRAY’S Hand List, No. 439). The type is in the
collection of the Boston Society of Natural History, and belongs to the
Lafresnaye collection (No. 787).
[39] We give, above, three well-marked illustrations of asymmetry: two
relating to the auditory apparatus of the two sides of the head, and one
of opposite sides of the skull.
[40] As in the case of the _Strigidæ_, my determinations of the North
American species of _Falconidæ_ were furnished, according to request, to
Dr. Coues, for use in his “Key to North American Birds.” (R. R.)
[41] By this is meant that they are all of equal length and thickness,
and not progressively smaller from the posterior one to the outer, as
in all _Falconidæ_ with the sole exception of _Pandion_, though there
is a very near approach to this feature in one or two of the species of
_Haliætus_.
[42] As in all the _Strigidæ_.
[43] Embracing besides the _Falcones_ all the Polyborine genera, besides
_Herpetotheres_ and _Micrastur_.
[44] As in the Polyborine forms of the _Falconinæ_.
[45] Extremes of sixty specimens.
[46] Sometimes there are more or less distinct linear streaks on the
head and neck, or on the pectoral region.
[47] Sometimes the irregular markings above have a transverse tendency.
[48] _Falco gyrfalco_, var. _gyrfalco_ (LINN.). _Falco gyrfalco_, LINN.
S. N. 1766, p. 130.—GMEL. S. N. 275.—SCHLEG. Rev. Crit. II, Tr. de Fauc.
pl. iii; F. van Nederl. Vog. pls. iii and iv.—NAUM. Vog. pl. cccxci.
_Hierofalco gyrfalco_, SCHLEG. BONAP. Rev. Zool. 1854, 535.—NEWTON,
Oötheca Wolleyana, I, 87, pl. c. _F. gyrfalco norvegicus_, WOLLEY.
_Falco gyrfalco norwegicus_, SCHLEG. Mus. Pays-Bas, 1862, 12. _Falco
candicans_, var. γ, BLAS.
Wing, 13.00–14.50; tail, 9.30; culmen, .98; tarsus, 2.50; middle toe,
1.92.
[49] _Falco lanarius_, var. _lanarius_ (SCHLEGEL). _Falco lanarius_,
SCHLEG. Krit. Ueb. II, et 11.—IB. Tr. Fauc. 6; Mus. Pays-Bas, _Falcones_
14; Abh. Zool. 16; Rev. 1844, 2; Naum. 1855, 252; Ibis, 1859, 86.—BREE,
B. Eur. I, 1859, 37 (plate of adult!).—TRISTRAM, Ibis, 284.—GRAY, Hand
List, I, 1869, 19, No. 171. PELZ. Ueb. der Geier und Falk. II, 1863,
20. _Falco lanarius_ α, SCHLEG. Tr. Fauc. 23. _Gennaia lanarius_,
SCHLEG.—BONAP. Rev. 1854, 535. _Falco feldeggii_, SCHLEG. Abh. Zool.
3–6.
[50] _Falco lanarius_, var. _mexicanus_ (LICHT.). _Falco mexicanus_,
“LICHT. Mus. Berol.”—SCHLEG. Abh. Zool. 1841, 15.—SCHLEG. _Falcones_,
Mus. Pays-Bas, 1862, 18.—PELZ. Neb. der Geier und Falk. II, 1863, 19.
“_Falco sublanarius_, NATTERER.”—PELZ. Ueb. der Geier und Falk. II,
1863, 19.
[51] _Falco lanarius_, var. _jugger_ (GRAY). _Falco jugger_, GRAY,
Hardw. Ill. Ind. Zool. II, pl. xxvi, 1832.—BONAP. Consp. 24.—GOULD, B.
Asia, pl. i.—JERDON, B. India, 30.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. 1855, 79, No.
129.—SCHLEG. Abh. pl. xv; Mus. Pays-Bas. I, 17. _Falco lugger_, JERD.
Aladr. Journ. X, p. 80; Ill. Ind. Orn. pl. xliv.—BLYTH, Journ. Ass. Soc.
Bengal, XI, 104. _Falco thermophilus_, HODGS. Zool. Misc. 1844, 81.
_Falco lanarius?_ BLYTH, J. As. Soc. Beng. XIX, 318.
[52] Extremes of more than one hundred specimens measured!
[53] _Falco communis_, var. _orientalis_ (GMELIN). _Falco orientalis_,
GMEL. S. N. 1789, 264.—LATH. Ind. Orn. 22.—IB. Gen. Hist. I, 162.—DAUD.
Tr. Orn. II, 76.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 1855, 83. Two specimens examined,
from Japan (Nat. Mus., 1; Philad. Acad., 1).
[54] _Falco communis_, var. _communis_ (GMELIN). _Falco communis_,
GMEL. S. N. 1789, 270.—SCHLEG. Krit. übers, p. 14.—IB. Mus. Pays-Bas,
1862, _Falcones_, 1.—PELZ. Ueb. der Geier und Falk. 1863, 23. _Falco
peregrinus_, GMEL. S. N. 1789, 272.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 81, et
AUCT. Seventeen specimens of this race have been examined. They are
distributed as follows: Nat. Mus., 5; Bost. Soc., 6; Philad. Acad., 4;
Cambridge Mus., 2. Total, 17.
[55] _Falco communis_, var. _melanogenys_ (GOULD). _Falco communis_,
LATH. New S. Wales Dr. II, No. 4. _Falco peregrinus_, VIG. LINN. Trans.
XV, p. 183.—IB. Isis, 1830, 260.—BONAP. Consp. 23, No. 2. _Falco
melanogenys_, GOULD, P. Z. S. pt. 5, 1837, 139.—IB. Synop. B. Austr. pt.
3, pl. xl, fig. 2; Birds of Austr. I, pl. 8; Intr. B. Austr. 19.—GRAY,
Gen. B. fol. sp. 6.—IB. List. B. Brit. Mus. 51.—BONAP. Rev. Zoöl. 1850,
484.—KAUP, Monog. Falc. in Jardine’s Contr. Orn. 1850, 56.—STURT, Exp.
Austr. App. 14.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 1855, 84.—GRAY, Hand List, I,
1869, 19, No. 167. _Falco macropus_, SWAINS. An. Menag. 1838, 341.
Eight specimens examined, including the types of GOULD’S figures and
descriptions in the Birds of Australia.
[56] _Falco aurantius_, GMEL. (Rufous-bellied Falcon). _Falco
aurantius_, GMEL. Syst. Nat. p. 283, 1789.—LATH. Ind. Orn. p. 48, 1790,
Gen. Hist. I, 289.—DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, 130.—SHAW, Zoöl. VII, 194.—STEPH.
Zoöl. XIII, ii, 40.—CUV. Reg. An. (ed. 2), I, 322.—LESS. Tr. Orn. p. 91.
BONAP. Consp. Av. p. 25.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 89, 1855. _Hypotriorchis
aurantius_, KAUP, Ueb. Falk. Mus. Senck. p. 257, 1845. _Bidens
aurantius_, SPIX, Av. Bras. I, 17, 1824. _Falco deiroleucus_, TEMM.
Pl. Col. 348, 1836.—LESS. Man. Orn. I, 79.—GRAY, List B. Brit. Mus.
1844, p. 25; Gen. B. fol. sp. 12.—BONAP. Rev. Zool. 1850, 486. _Falco
rufigularis_ (not of DAUDIN!) GRAY, List B. Brit. Mus. p. 54, 1844.
SP. CHAR. _Adult_ (♂, Costa Rica; Coll. G. N. Lawrence). Above
bluish-plumbeous, the feathers darker centrally; anteriorly the black
increases in extent, first leaving the plumbeous only as a border to the
feathers, and then dropping it altogether, the head and nape being plain
black; posteriorly the plumbeous predominates, and shows a tendency to
form transverse bars. On the head and neck the black occupies the whole
upper and lateral portions, reaching down to the throat, involving the
whole of the cheeks and maxillæ, which it covers in an angular patch.
Primaries and tail deep black; the former immaculate on their outer
surface; the latter crossed by six (the last terminal) incomplete very
narrow bands of pure white, formed by transverse bars, which touch
neither the shaft nor edges of the feathers; upper tail-coverts crossed
by about two bars of pure white. Immaculate area of the throat and
jugulum deep rufous posteriorly and laterally, pure white anteriorly
and centrally; from the jugulum to the tibiæ, and including the
entire lining of the wing, continuous black, with transverse bars of
white; tibiæ plain rufous; crissum mixed rufous and white,—the former
predominating,—and thickly marked with large transverse spots of black;
inner webs of primaries with transverse ovate spots of white, touching
neither shaft nor edge of the feather; these number seven on the longest
quill (second). Wing-formula, 2–1, 3–4. Wing, 9.90; tail, 5.50; tarsus,
1.55; middle toe, 1.75.
_Juv._ (♂, 51,293, Costa Rica, La Palma, August 25, 1867; José C.
Zeledon). Whole upper surface black, deepest on the tail; it occupies
the whole head (except the chin, throat, and sides of the neck), the
black cheek-patch having considerable prominence; feathers everywhere
(except on the head and neck) indistinctly bordered with light brownish,
this becoming more distinct posteriorly; upper tail-coverts tipped and
barred beneath the surface with pure white; secondaries, primaries,
and primary coverts narrowly but sharply tipped with pure white; tail
crossed with five very sharp bars of pure white, the last terminal,
the first two concealed by the coverts; these transverse spots touch
the shaft, but not the edge of the feather; on the lateral feather
they are confined to the inner web. Chin, throat, neck, and breast,
abdomen, crissum, and lower tail-coverts, deep orange (not chestnut)
rufous; in fact, this forms the ground-color of the whole lower parts;
but the sides, flanks, and abdomen have such large transverse spots of
black (these exceeding the orange in amount), giving the prevailing
color; the orange of the jugulum is sharply defined, with a semicircular
outline, against the black of the belly, and has distinct lanceolate
shaft-streaks of black; the lower part of the abdomen, and the tibiæ,
have cordate or broadly sagittate black spots, rather exceeding the
orange; the lower tail-coverts have broad transverse spots of black.
(The orange is deepest on the jugulum and crissum, being palest where
most thickly spotted; it is immaculate only on chin, throat, and neck;
the markings are longitudinal only on the jugulum.) Lining of the wing
like the belly, that is, the black predominating; under surface of
primaries with transverse elliptical spots of pale cream-color, seven
in number on the longest. Wing-formula, 2, 1–3. Wing, 9.90; tail, 5.40;
culmen, .72; tarsus, 1.40; middle toe, 1.75; outer toe, 1.20; inner,
1.00; posterior, .80.
_List of Specimens examined._—National Museum, 1; G. N. Lawrence, 1;
Boston Society, 2; Philadelphia Academy, 3. Total, 7.
_Measurements._—♀. Wing, 10.90–11.30; tail, 6.00–6.25; culmen, .90;
tarsus, 1.50–1.60; middle toe, 1.85–2.10.
[57] _Falco rufigularis_, DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, 131, 1800.—STRICKL. Orn.
Syn. I, 88, 1855. _Hypotriorchis rufigularis_, GRAY, Gen. B. fol. sp.
5, 1844; List B. Brit. Mus. p. 54, 1848; Hand List, I, 21, 1869.—BONAP.
Consp. Av. (sub _F. aurantius_.).—GRAY, Hand List, I, 21, 1869. _Falco
aurantius_, β, LATH. Ind. Orn. I, 48, 1790. _Falco aurantius_, γ, LATH.
Ind. Orn. I, 48, 1790. _Falco aurantius_, TEMM. Pl. Col. sub. pl.
cccxlviii, 1836.—LICHT. Verz. Doubl. p. 61, 1823.—CASS. B. N. Am. 1858,
10.—ELLIOT, Birds N. Am. pl. xi. _Falco albigularis_, DAUD. Tr. Orn. II,
131, 1800. _Falco hæmorrhoidalis_, HAHN, Vög. XV, Lief. pl. i, 1818.
_Falco cucullatus_, SWAINS. An. Menag. p. 340, 1838. _Falco thoracicus_,
DONOVAN, Nat. Rep. pl. xlv, 1822.
SP. CHAR. _Adult_ (♂, 52,820, Mazatlan, Western Mexico; Col. A. J.
Grayson). Above dark slate, with a bluish-plumbeous cast, and uniform
over whole surface (wings included) from nape to tail. Anteriorly the
tint is almost black, this covering continuously the whole upper and
lateral portion of the head, reaching down to the throat, and forming
a broad angular projection over the cheeks, which are purer black. All
the feathers above darker centrally, but the obscure spots so formed
mostly concealed; shafts of the feathers inconspicuously black; upper
tail-coverts each with two broad transverse spots of black. Secondaries,
primary coverts, and primaries uniform dull black; the former, and
inner feathers of the latter, very narrowly ashy-whitish on terminal
border,—the coverts with a bluish shade terminally. Tail black (dull
light brown at apical margin), crossed with about six obsolete narrow
bands of plumbeous, these changing to narrower white bars on the inner
webs. Chin, base of maxillæ, throat, sides of the neck, and jugulum,
ochraceous-white, the ochraceous tinge deepest posteriorly; breast
(broadly across) and sides black, with numerous narrow transverse bars
of reddish-white, becoming more ashy posteriorly; abdomen, anal region,
tibiæ, femorals, and lower tail-coverts uniform deep, almost castaneous,
rufous. Lining of the wing dull black, with circular ochraceous-white
spots, but former predominating; whole under surface of primaries and
secondaries a similar blackish-dusky, the former with narrow transverse
elliptical spots of white, of which there are eight (the first and last
merely indicated) on the longest quill. Wing-formula, 2–1–3. Wing, 7.70;
tail, 3.95; tarsus, 1.20; middle toe, 1.20. Tail slightly emarginated;
second and third feathers longest (counting from exterior).
♀ (5,218, Mazatlan; Colonel Grayson). Almost precisely similar to the
male; less contrast between blackish-plumbeous of the nape, and more
bluish of the back; bands on tail five in number; bars on black beneath
more reddish. Wing-formula same. Wing, 8.80; tail, 4.40; tarsus, 1.30;
middle toe, 1.30.
_Juv._ (Bryant Coll. 1,531, Orizaba, Mex.). Above continuous dull black,
without bluish cast or concealed spots; tail-bands narrower, purer
white; black beneath duller, transverse bars more obsolete, broader,
and pale rusty; chestnut-rufous of posterior lower portions lighter
and less uniform; lower tail-coverts with broad transverse spots of
plumbeous-black. Wing-formula as in adult. Wing, 8.75; tail, 4.40.
Two young males from Tehuantepec, Mexico (Nos. 613 and 613, May
16, 1871; F. Sumichrast), differ from that described above in some
remarkable respects: the upper parts are in one black, but without the
rusty margins to the feathers; in the other, almost exactly as in the
adult plumage described. The lower parts, however, are most different;
the throat and jugular are uniform deep soft ochraceous, with a few
longitudinal streaks of black near the black abdominal patch; the bars
in this last are deep rufous, and the terminal band of the tail is also
deep rufous. The weak bill, and soft, blended character of the plumage,
indicate unmistakably the very young age of these specimens, which are
also marked “very young” by M. Sumichrast.
In colors, as well as in size and form, this very handsome little
Falcon closely resembles the _F. severus_, Horsf., of Manilla and the
neighboring East Indian Islands; the main difference is that in that
species the lower surface is wholly deep rufous, instead of partly
black.
_List of Specimens examined._—National Museum, 11; Boston Society, 6;
Philadelphia Academy, 7; New York Museum, 3; G. N. Lawrence, 3; R.
Ridgway, 2. Total, 32.
_Measurements._—♂. Wing, 7.20–8.80; tail, 4.20–5.10; culmen, .45–.55;
tarsus, 1.25–1.50; middle toe, 1.15–1.30. Specimens, 13. ♀. Wing,
8.50–9.00; tail, 5.00–5.50; culmen, .58; tarsus, 1.48–1.55; middle toe,
1.30–1.40. Specimens, 8.
HAB. Tropical America, northward through Central America and Mexico
almost to southern border of United States.
Localities: Veragua, SCL. & SALV. 1869, 252.
[58] _Falco_ (_Æsalon_) _lithofalco_, var. _lithofalco_ (GMELIN).
_Accipiter lithofalco_, BRISS. Orn. I, 1760, 349. _Falco lithofalco_,
GMEL. S. N. 1789, 278. _Æsalon lithofalco_, KAUP. Ueb. Falk. Mus. Senck.
258. _Falco regulus_, GMEL. S. N. 1798, 285. _Accipiter æsalon_, BRISS.
Orn. I, 1760, 382. _Falco æsalon_, GMELIN, S. N. 1789, 284.—YARRELL,
Hist. Brit. B., ed. 1871, 74. _Hypotriorchis æsalon_, GRAY, Gen. 1844,
Sp. 10. _Falco intermixtus_, DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, 1800, 141. _Falco
emerillus_, SAVIGNY, Descr. Egypt, Pt. I, 1809, 100. _Falco sibiricus_,
SHAW, Zoöl. VII, 1812, 207. _Falco cæsius_, MEYER, Tasch. deutsch. Vög.
I, 1810. _Falco subæsalon_, BREHM, Vög. Deutsch. I, 1831, 67.
HAB. Europe and Western Asia; Iceland.
_List of Specimens examined._—National Museum, 8; Boston Society, 4;
Cambridge Museum, 3; New York Museum, 2; Philadelphia Academy, 3. Total,
20.
_Measurements._—♂. Wing, 7.60–8.00; tail, 5.10–5.30; culmen, .45–.50;
tarsus, 1.35–1.45; middle toe, 1.15: specimens, 10. ♀. Wing, 8.60–9.00;
tail, 6.00–6.30; culmen, .52–.55; tarsus, 1.45–1.47; middle toe,
1.20–1.25: specimens, 10.
[59] Proceedings Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, Dec., 1870,
pp. 147–149.
[60] See London Ibis.
[61] A synopsis of the geographical races of _T. sparverius_ comes after
the remarks on that species, page 1486.
[62] _Falco_ (_Tinnunculus_) _leucophrys_. _Tinnunculus sparveroides_
(not of Vigors!), LAWRENCE, Ann. Lyc. N. Y. 1860, p. 1 (in part; light
individuals). _Falco sparverius_ (not of Linn.!), D’ORB. R. Sagra,
Hist. Nat. Cuba, p. 25 (probably). VIG. Zoöl. Journ. I, 339; III, 435.
Tinnunculus leucophrys, RIDGWAY, Pr. Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil. 1870, 147.
_Hab._ Cuba and Hayti.
_Adult_ ♂ (34,244, Remedios, Cuba, December 14, 1863; N. H. Bishop).
Head above pure, fine bluish-ash, becoming (broadly) white on forehead;
the feathers with delicate shaft-lines of black. Nape, back, scapulars,
rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail rich purplish-rufous (almost exactly
as in _sparverius_); no bars on dorsal region, except a very few across
ends of larger posterior scapulars. Terminal band of tail _light
rufous_, .30 in width; subterminal zone of black, very regular, .55 in
width; lateral feather, with outer web and end of inner, reddish-white,
the black subterminal band crossing the inner web only; inner web
anterior to this, continuous rufous; shafts of tail-feathers rufous.
Wings fine bluish-ash, like the crown; middle and lower coverts with
a very few elliptical, _longitudinal_ specks or touches of black on
the shafts; secondaries passing terminally into white, their exposed
basal half pure black; primaries pure black, exposed edges of inner
webs paler. Whole under surface of wings _immaculate_ pure white,
with a faint delicate reddish tinge; inner webs of primaries serrated
along the shaft with dusky. Forehead and superciliary stripe (broadly
and sharply defined against the bluish of the crown), whole side of
the head (including lores and ear-coverts), and entire lower parts,
continuous, _immaculate_, pure white, with a delicate orange tinge,
except anteriorly. The “mustache” is but just indicated by some blackish
touches, and in some individuals it is wanting entirely, while in all
it is very restricted in width; the other black markings of the head
are, however, as in _sparverius_. Wing-formula, 2, 3–4, 1. Wing, 7.00;
tail, 5.00; tarsus, 1.30; middle toe, .90; culmen, .46. A specimen in
Mr. Lawrence’s collection, which with others he has kindly lent me for
examination, is in beautifully high plumage. It differs from the type
in having the white of the lower parts tinged, or rather _stained_,
with a beautiful, delicate _rufous_, or almost a _salmon-orange_. The
terminal band of the tail also inclines decidedly to this color, while
the white of the under surface of the wing (particularly towards ends of
secondaries and primaries) is tinged with a more pinkish shade of the
same. Another of Mr. Lawrence’s specimens differs in the clearer white
beneath (that is, with less reddish tinge,—the pureness and continuity
does not vary), which extends entirely around the neck, giving a
sharper definition to the black pattern. The “mustache,” however, is
almost entirely absent; the black transverse spots on larger posterior
scapulars are rather more conspicuous, and the terminal band of the tail
is more purely white.
♀ (31,984, Cuba, J. Ackhurst). Generally similar to _sparverius_, but
rufous brighter, the bars narrower and less numerous; the nape or upper
part of back, and rump, being almost immaculate. Tail with ten black
bars, these scarcely touching the shaft; the last is about .36 wide, the
others about .16; tip of tail scarcely paler than base; lateral feather
with outer web edged broadly with paler or ochraceous white, rufous next
the shaft, immaculate; inner web with only three or four very narrow
bars on terminal half. Head as in the male, but vertex considerably
tinged with rufous. Whole lower parts, including frontal and lateral
regions of the head, continuous pure white; breast with a very faint
yellowish tinge; side of the breast and sides with a few scattered
minute elliptical longitudinal flakes of rusty,—more black on the shaft.
Whole under surface of the wing white, as in the male. Wing-formula, 2,
3–4, 1. Wing, 7.00; tail, 4.70; tarsus, 1.40; middle toe, .90; culmen,
.51. A Cuban female belonging to Mr. Lawrence is exactly similar. One in
the S. I. Collection, from Hayti (42,420, Port au Prince, June 5, 1860;
A. C. Younglove), differs only in less purely black bars, and in utter
absence of the mustache. A male from the same locality (43,418) is like
it in the last respect.
_Juv._ ♀ (34,235, Remedios, Cuba, December, 1864; N. H. Bishop). Similar
to the adult described, but jugulum tinged with soft pinkish-rufous, and
the black bars on upper parts—especially on wings—with a plumbeous cast.
In regard to this form, we must either consider that it is a distinct
species, or assume that it is a light phase of a Cuban species, of which
_T. sparveroides_ may be the dark or rufescent form; knowing, as we do,
that the differences between _leucophrys_ and _sparveroides_ depend on
neither sex, age, nor season, then the only way to account for the two
phases is to consider that the Cuban bird (if we deny it the rank of a
species) presents a very peculiar example of dimorphism. I have never
yet seen a specimen which was not decidedly one or the other. An adult
male from Cuba is immaculate white beneath, the breast very strongly
tinged with deep rufous, the mustache wholly absent. Two females have
narrow brown streaks on the breast, the mustache nearly obsolete; the
dusky bars on primaries and tail much narrower.
_List of Specimens examined._—Nat. Mus., 7; Bost. Soc., 3; Philad.
Acad., 2; G. N. Lawrence, 4. Total, 16.
_Measurements._—♂. Wing, 6.80–7.30; tail, 4.90–5.20; culmen, .45;
tarsus, 1.45; middle toe, .90; specimens, 4. ♀, Wing, 7.10–7.60; tail,
4.90–5.60; culmen, .50–.52; tarsus, 1.40; middle toe, .91; specimens, 6.
[63] _Falco_ (_Tinnunculus_) _sparveroides_. _Falco sparveroides_,
VIGORS, Zoöl. Journ. III, 436, 1827; Isis, 1830, p. 1166.—D’ORB. (R. de
la Sagra), Hist. Cuba, 1840, p. 30, pl. i. _Tinnunculus sparveroides_,
GRAY, Gen. B. fol. sp. 12, 1844.—FRASER, Zoöl. Typ. pl. xxx.—BONAP.
Consp. Av. p. 27.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 100, 1855.—LAWR. Ann. Lyc. N. Y.
1860, p. 1 (in part dark specimens).—RIDGWAY, P. A. N. S. Phil. Dec.
1870, 149. _Tinnunculus dominicensis_ (not of GMEL.?), GRAY, Hand List,
I, 24, 1869.—GUNDLACH, Repert. Cuba, I, 225, 1865. _? Hypotriorchis
ferrugineus_, SAUSS. Rev. et Mag. Zoöl. 1859, p. 117, pl. iii.
_Hab._ Cuba (only?).
_Adult_ ♂ (31,985, Cuba; J. Ackhurst). Above, continuously dark
plumbeous, from bill to the tail, the shafts of the feathers black
(these streaks most noticeable on the head above), the larger scapulars
and interscapulars darker centrally, forming indistinct or obscure
spots; this plumbeous covers the whole neck laterally, and the middle
area of the ear-coverts. An obsolete “mustache” running from the lores
downward across the cheeks, a spot across ends of the ear-coverts
connected with that on the neck, and obsolete though continuous collar
round the nape, inclining to black. Primaries wholly black, basal third
of secondaries the same. (No spots on wings.) Tail deep chestnut, shafts
of feathers black; terminal band dull slate; subterminal black zone
about .60 of an inch in width, but instead of running sharply across, as
in all the varieties of _sparverius_ and in _leucophrys_, the black runs
along the edge of each feather, bordering it nearly to the base; the
lateral feather has both webs continuous deep chestnut, the tip slate,
the subterminal spot and shaft black. Chin and throat dull ashy-white;
rest of lower parts continuous deep chestnut-rufous, this palest on the
anal region, and tinged with slate across the jugulum as well as on the
flanks, where there are a very few darker spots. (The chestnut beneath
is unspotted.) Inner webs of primaries mottled along the edge with paler
slate, this running in points toward the shafts, giving an idea of bars.
Wing-formula, 2, 3–4, 1. Wing, 7.00; tail, 4.45; tarsus, 1.31; middle
toe, .90; culmen, .50.
♂ (29,579, Cuba, April 25; Charles Wright). Head above, dark plumbeous;
feathers with darker shaft-lines; black stripes of head more sharply
defined than in the male. Above, continuously deep rufous (brighter
and more ferruginous than in the different styles of _sparverius_),
continuously barred, as in var. _sparverius_, but blacker, the bars
on upper part of back with tendency to longitudinal direction. Tail
with twelve narrow, sharply defined bars of black; but the ground-color
continuous rufous to the tip, the lateral feather as deeply rufous as
the middle. Inner webs of primaries deep rusty-rufous, with twelve very
narrow transverse bars of dusky crossing to the edge. The middle area
of the ear-coverts, with the chin and throat, is dull white; the rest
of the lower parts (including side of the neck) and whole lining of the
wing are deep rusty-rufous, paler on the crissum, nearly white on the
anal region; these regions have no spots, except on the flanks, where
are a few narrow transverse bars. Wing-formula, 2, 3–4, 1. Wing, 7.00;
tail, 4.45; tarsus, 1.30; middle toe, .90; culmen, .51.
_Juv._ ♂ (39,108, Remedios, Cuba, December 11, 1863; N. H. Bishop).
General appearance of the adult; but back, scapulars, rump, and upper
tail-coverts chestnut-rufous, uniform with the tail; these parts are,
however, strongly clouded with more bluish slate, and the blackish spots
are more distinct. The black zone of the tail runs more sharply across,
and is narrower than in the adult. The middle area of the ear-coverts is
nearly as light as the throat. The rufous beneath is less castaneous, as
well as less continuous, becoming nearly white on abdomen and tibia; the
slaty tinge on the jugulum is wanting. Wing-formula, 3, 2–4, –1. Wing,
6.85; tail, 4.90; tarsus, 1.20; middle toe, .90; culmen, .50.
♀ (23,546, Monte Verde, Cuba, July 16, 1861; Charles Wright). Differing
from the adult in the same respects as does that of _sparverius_, the
chief differences consisting in the deeper chestnut of the tail, and
broader and blacker bars above. Rufous beneath, with numerous sagittate
spots of black; lower tail-coverts with subterminal bars, and lining
of the wing with sparse streaks of the same. Plumage generally with a
blended appearance. Wing-formula, 2, 3–4=1. Wing, 7.40; tail, 4.85;
tarsus, 1.30; middle toe, .90. Another specimen (No. 23,545, Monte
Verde, July 17, 1861; C. Wright) is much the same, but has distinct
spots of black on the abdomen, and tear-shaped marking of the same on
the scapulars. The young female of this species bears a remarkably
close resemblance to the young of _T. punctatus_, Cuv., of Madagascar,
agreeing almost entirely with it in colors, with the exception of those
on the tail, the bars on which are black and ash, instead of black and
rufous. Whether it be considered a distinct species or not, the _T.
sparveroides_ certainly grades into the _T. sparverius_, in the very
near relation of an aberrant condition of the adult phase of the latter,
noticed in specimens from Florida and adjoining portions of the South
American and Gulf coast, and the young normal or usual plumage of the
former. As is well known, the young ♂ _sparveroides_ has a reddish
and also more or less barred or spotted back, as in the male of all
the races of _sparverius_ at all ages; the intermediate or transition
dress of the young male showing cloudings of plumbeous in the rufous,
indicative of the coming uniform plumbeous of perfect maturity. Now,
knowing that a wholly plumbeous dorsal region in the adult, and wholly
or mostly rufous dorsal region in the young male, are characteristic
features of _T. sparveroides_, we are somewhat surprised to find in
adult males of _T. sparverius_ var. _isabellinus_ from Florida, a
greater or less mixture of plumbeous feathers in various parts of the
dorsal region, particularly in the rump and upper tail-coverts. Many
specimens from this locality show another approach to the young male
of _sparveroides_ in the deep, unspotted rufous of the lower parts,
sometimes the throat only being white. A young male of _sparveroides_
from Cuba, and an adult male of _sparverius_ said to be from Cuba,
are at a cursory glance not distinguishable; a close comparison,
however, will disclose the fact, that in the former, the badly defined
head-markings, nearly obsolete black markings on the wings (including
basal space of the secondaries, which is conspicuously and sharply
defined in the other specimen), and the blurred character of the bars
over inner webs of primaries, remain as characters distinguishing the
former. The lateral tail-feather, too, has its outer web deep rufous,
while it is white, black-spotted, in the specimen of _sparverius_.
_List of Specimens examined._—Nat. Mus., 14; Bost. Soc., 3; Philad., 1;
G. N. Lawrence, 4; R. Ridgway, 1. Total, 23.
_Measurements._—♂. Wing, 6.90–7.10; tail, 4.80–5.10; culmen, .50;
tarsus, 1.45–1.48; middle toe, .90. Specimens, 4. ♀. Wing, 7.00–7.50;
tail, 5.00–5.15; culmen, .50; tarsus, 1.35–1.40; middle toe, .88–.90.
Specimens, 3.
[64] _Falco sparverius_, var. _australis_. _Falco gracilis_ (not of
LESSON!), SWAINS. An. Menag. p. 281, 1838. _Falco sparverius_ (not of
LINNÆUS!), TSCHUDI, Faun. Per. An. p. 110. _Tinnunculus sparverius_
(not of VIEILLOT!), DARW. Zoöl. Beag. pt. iii, 29. _Bidens sparverius_,
SPIX, Av. Bras. I, 16. _Bidens dominicensis_ (not _F. dominicensis_ of
GMELIN!), SPIX, Av. Bras. I, 16. _Tinnunculus dominicensis_, STRICKL.
Orn. Syn. I, 100, 1855 (in part). _T. sparverius_, var. _australis_,
RIDGWAY, P. A. N. S. Phil. Dec. 1870, 149.
_Hab._ Most of continental South America, except the North Atlantic
and the Caribbean coasts, where replaced by the var. _isabellinus_.
In Chile and Western Brazil, mixed with, but not replaced by, var. ?
_cinnamominus_.
_Adult_ ♂ (20,937, Parana; Coll. of the U. S. Paraguay Exp.). Similar
to var. _sparverius_. Head above with the rufous entirely wanting;
rufous of the plumage more vinaceous; black bars of the scapulars almost
transversely cordate, and nearer the end of the feather; black zone of
the tail only .60 of an inch wide. Beneath continuously white, with
elliptical spots or streaks of pure black on sides, becoming somewhat
circular on the flanks. Wing, 7.70; tail, 5.30; tarsus, 1.40; middle
toe, .92; culmen, .48. In all respects, except the points described,
resembling the true _sparverius_ of North America, of which it is
nothing more than a geographical race, and a not very strongly marked
one, though the differences indicated are very constant.
♀ (50,942, Brazil; Sr. Don Fred. Albuquerque). Very similar to
_sparverius_; the rufous, equally pale, is, however, more vinaceous;
the tail decidedly less rufescent. The black bars are about the same,
but on the tail there are thirteen, and the subterminal one is scarcely
broader than the rest; the lateral tail-feather has the bars only on
inner web, and here almost wanting. Head above as in the male, being
without the rufous tinge on the vertex. Beneath yellowish-white, about
like _sparverius_; the whole breast and side with numerous longitudinal
dashes of deep brown, similar in form to _sparverius_, but of much
deeper tint. Inner web of longest primary with twelve transverse bars of
white, these scarcely exceeding the dusky ones. Wing-formula, 2, 3–4–1.
Wing, 7.80; tail, 5.20; tarsus, 1.30; middle toe, .95; culmen, .55.
_Juv._ ♂ (16,570, Bogota; W. Evans). Differing from the adult in deeper
rufous and broader black bars; those on the tail twelve in number,
more than doubling in width those of the adult; markings beneath more
blended, darker brown. Differs from young of var. _sparverius_ in
much lighter rufous above; less purely black bars; entire absence of
rufous on crown, and narrower shaft-streaks here; less ochraceous-white
beneath, and less blended markings.
_List of Specimens examined._—Nat. Mus., 16; Bost. Soc., 3; Philad.
Acad., 16; N. Y. Mus., 4; Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 2; R. Ridgway, 1. Total, 42.
_Measurements._—♂. Wing, 6.80–7.90; tail, 4.75–5.90; culmen, .48–.50;
tarsus, 1.40–1.50; middle toe, .90–1.00. Specimens, 17. ♀. Wing,
7.20–8.15; tail, 5.10–5.80; culmen, .48–.52; tarsus, 1.20–1.52; middle
toe, .90. Specimens, 25.
[65] _Falco sparverius_, var. _dominicensis_. _Accipiter_ (_Æsalon_)
_dominicensis_, BRISSON, Orn. I, 389, pl. xxxii. f. 2, 1760. _Falco
dominicensis_, GMELIN, Syst. Nat. p. 285, 1789. _Tinnunculus
dominicensis_, STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 100, 1855 (in part only).
_Tinnunculus sparverius_, var. _dominicensis_, RIDGWAY, Pr. Ac. Nat. Sc.
Philad. Dec. 1870, 149.
_Hab._ Lesser Antilles north to Porto Rico and St. Thomas.
_Adult_ ♂ (52,428, St. Bartholemi; Professor Sundevall). Resembling
var. _isabellinus_ in general appearance, but darker, and more heavily
barred above; beneath much more spotted. Head above with blackish
shaft-streaks and vertex with a patch of rufous; this, however, somewhat
restricted. Rufous above, with numerous broad bars of black, these
running continuously across and extending anteriorly to the neck; rump
even, with a few very small, transversely sagittate specks of the same.
Tail crossed by nine perfectly regular and sharply defined narrow bands
of pure black, anterior to the subterminal zone, which is about .80 of
an inch wide; outer feather white, tinged medially with rufous, barred
with black to the base. Black spotting in dark cinereous of the wing
very exaggerated in comparison with var. _sparverius_. Markings beneath
very numerous, the sides being thickly marked with large cordate or
nearly circular spots of black, these growing larger toward the flanks.
The rufous of the breast is about as in var. _isabellinus_. Wing, 6.80;
tail, 5.10; tarsus, 1.40; middle toe, .94; culmen, .53. Wing-formula,
3–2–4, 5, 6–1.
♀ (52,429, St. Bartholemi; Professor Sundevall). Black bands above
exceeding in breadth the rufous ones; each feather of the head above
with a sharp medial streak of black. Tail with twelve bands of black;
outer feather approaching white. Markings beneath pure black, as in the
male; their course longitudinal anteriorly, on the sides more circular,
transverse on the flanks. Wing, 6.70; tail, 5.00; tarsus, 1.30; middle
toe, 1.00; culmen, .53. Wing-formula, 3, 2–4–1, 5.
The male selected for the type is an extreme example; no others have
the character of the variety presented in a degree as exaggerated as
this specimen. Nos. 362 (♂) and 170 (♀) of the Bryant Collection from
Porto Rico, and No. 36,554 (♂, St. Thomas; Robert Swift), may be taken
as more perfect, or rather as average representatives of the variety.
These two males are almost exactly similar. They have the back as
strongly barred as in the type, and the black spots on the rump are
as noticeable; but the tail, instead of being crossed by regular,
perfectly continuous, sharply defined bands, has these broader and
more broken, being indicated only by spots along the edge; they also
decrease in width toward the base. The Porto Rico specimen has very
much ashy-white between the two last black bars, this being found on
the four lateral feathers; between the next two, on three feathers,
etc. The other specimen, however, is destitute of this ashy-white,
although the outer web of the lateral feather is pure white,—spotted,
however, with black. In the Porto Rico specimen the breast is as deeply
ochraceous as in the _isabellinus_ style; but the spots are larger
and more numerous even than in any examples of _sparverius_. A female
from here differs from the type only in a few unimportant points, the
principal difference being in the markings beneath. In this there is a
general ochraceous wash on the lower parts, the markings linear only
on the breast, becoming tear-shaped and circular on the sides, and
transverse on the flanks; the red patch on the crown is quite extensive.
In the whole series the third quill is longest, and the bill is, in
all, considerably longer than in any specimen of _sparverius_ excepting
those from Florida. Another female from St. Thomas (36,551; Robert
Swift) is almost exactly like the one from Porto Rico; the rufous of
the crown covers nearly the whole top of the head, and is quite bright.
In a series of skins belonging to Mr. Newton, deposited in the S. I.
Collection, we find a pair of this variety from the island of St. Croix,
W. I. They are perfectly typical examples. The male (“May 2, 1857,
B. B.”) has the large black spots of the side transversely cordate; the
bands on the tail are broken into spots on edges of the feathers; the
female (“s. p. 227, B. 6”) is in nearly all respects like the specimen
described.
_List of Specimens examined._—Nat. Mus., 7; Bost. Soc., 3; A. Newton, 2.
Total, 10.
_Measurements._—♂. Wing, 6.20–6.80; tail, 4.50–5.50; culmen, .45–.55;
tarsus, 1.50; middle toe, .95. Specimens, 5. ♀. Wing, 6.80–7.10; tail,
5.50–5.75; culmen, .55; tarsus, 1.50; middle toe, 1.05. Specimens, 5.
[66] _Falco sparverius_, var. _cinnamominus_. _Falco cinnamominus_,
SWAINSON, An. Menag. p. 281, 1838. _Pœcilornis cinnamominus_,
KAUP, Monog. Falc. Cont. Orn. 1850, p. 53 (under _P. sparverius_).
_Tinnunculus cinnamomeus_, GRAY, Gen. B. fol. sp. 11, 1844; List B.
Brit. Mus. p. 62.—BONAP. Consp. Av. p. 27.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 100,
1855. _Tinnunculus_ (_sparverius_ var.?) _cinnamominus_, RIDGWAY,
P. A. N. S. Phil. Dec. 1870, 149.
_Hab._ Chile and Western Brazil.
_Adult_ ♂ (48,821, Valdivia, Chile, January, 1864; Nat. Mus. of
Chile, Dr. Philippi, Dir.). Somewhat like var. _australis_; in fact,
resembling this in general appearance. Head above, however, very dark
dull plumbeous, with very distinct shaft-streaks of black. Back and
scapulars sparsely barred with black, the bars broadest posteriorly.
Tail much brighter rufous than the back; continuous rufous to the
extreme tip; a very narrow subterminal band of black, .30 of an inch
wide, crossing about .55 of an inch from the tip, making the terminal
deep rufous, nearly twice as wide as the black; toward the outer
feathers the black is thrown into a spot on each web, scarcely touching
the shaft; on the lateral feather the black is lacking entirely, the
inner web being continuous rufous, the outer paler, inclining to
ochraceous-white. Primaries conspicuously white terminally; inner
webs white, with transverse bars of dusky; there being on the longest
(second) ten spaces of white, these more than twice the width of the
dusky bars; lining of the wing creamy-white, with minute streaks of
black sparsely distributed. Forehead more hoary than the crown; lores
white. Ear-coverts, neck, and entire lower parts, continuous dull white;
breast with a few minute black streaks; flanks with more expanded
tear-shaped dashes of the same. The “mustache” is very conspicuous, as
are also the oral, cervical, and nuchal markings. Wing-formula, 2=3–1,
4. Wing, 7.40; tail, 5.15; tarsus, 1.40; middle toe, .95; culmen, .50.
No. 50,944 (Brazil; Sr. Don Fred. Albuquerque) is exactly similar.
_List of Specimens examined._—Nat. Mus., 2.
_Measurements._—♂. Wing, 7.40–7.70; tail, 5.50; culmen, .50; tarsus,
1.40–1.42; middle toe, .95. Specimens, 2.
[67] _Polyborus tharus._ _Falco tharus_, MOLINA, Sp. Chil. p. 264,
343; 1782. _Polyborus tharus_, STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 19, 1855. _Falco
cheriway_, JACQ. Beyträg. p. 17, pl. iv, 1784. _Polyborus cheriway_,
RICH. SCHOMB. Vers. Faun. Brit. Guiana, p. 741, 1840. _Falco plancus_,
GMEL. Syst. Nat. p. 257, 1789. _Falco brasiliensis_, GMEL. Syst. Nat.
p. 262, 1789 (et AUCT.). _Polyborus brasiliensis_, VIG. Zoöl. Journ. I,
320, 1824. _Caracara vulgaris_, LESS. Tr. Orn. p. 34; 1831. _Polyborus
vulgaris_, SPIX. Av. Bras. I, pl. i, a.
_Adult male_ (21,850, South America; T. R. Peale). Forehead, crown,
occiput, and wings brownish-black; middle wing-coverts fainter, with
obscure whitish bars; primaries white in the middle (just beyond
the coverts), this portion having obsolete washes of grayish, in
form of faintly indicated transverse bars; basal three-fourths of
the tail white, with numerous narrow, washed bars of grayish, these
becoming more faint toward the base; tail with a terminal zone of
black, about two inches broad. Cheeks, chin, and throat soiled white,
unvaried; body in general (including neck, breast, sides, abdomen,
back, and scapulars) transversely barred with black and white, the
white prevailing anteriorly; beneath, the black bars grow gradually
wider posteriorly, giving the tibiæ and femorals a uniformly blackish
appearance; on the back and scapulars also the black bars exceed
the white in width, but they are very sharply defined, regular, and
continuous; rump, upper and lower tail-coverts, white, with numerous
faint bars of grayish. Under side of the wing black; outer six primaries
white in the middle portion, beyond the coverts, this patch extending
obliquely across; secondaries rather broadly barred on basal two-thirds
with black and white, leaving the terminal third unvaried. Third quill
longest; fourth scarcely shorter; second intermediate between fifth and
sixth; first a little longer than seventh. Wing, 16.00; tail, 6.50;
tarsus, 3.50; middle toe, 1.75.
_Young_ (13,923, South America; T. R. Peale). Forehead, crown, occiput,
nape, back, wings, and lower parts dark sepia-brown; feathers of the
breast, sides, and abdomen marked centrally with a broad longitudinal
stripe of soiled fulvous-white; those of nape and back more obsoletely
striped, and variegated irregularly at ends with the same; wing-coverts
passing terminally into pale brownish; secondaries obscurely barred with
the same. Cheeks, chin, and throat unvariegated soiled white; tibial
feathers with shaft-stripes of pale fulvous. Rump, tail-coverts, and
tail as in adult. Several specimens from Buenos Ayres (Conchitas; Wm.
H. Hudson), and one from Paraguay (59,236; T. J. Page, U. S. N.), have
the black of the lower part of the abdomen and flanks quite continuous.
There is never, however, in South American specimens, an approach to the
peculiar characters of _auduboni_, as defined.
_List of Specimens examined._—Nat. Mus., 7; Bost. Soc., 4; Philad.
Acad., 3; N. Y. Mus., 3. Total, 17.
_Measurements._—♂. Wing, 16.00–17.20; tail, 10.00–11.00; culmen,
1.20–1.30; tarsus, 3.70–3.90; middle toe, 1.75–2.15. Specimens, 2. ♀.
Wing, 17.70; tail, 10.00; culmen, 1.41; tarsus, 4.20; middle toe, 2.30.
Specimens, 1. Sex? Wing, 15.50; tail, 10.00; culmen, 1.30; tarsus, 3.65;
middle toe, 1.90. Smallest of 4.
[68] _Pandion haliætus_, var. _haliætus_ (LINN.). _Aquila haliætus_,
BRISS. Orn. I, 440, pl. xxxiv. _Falco haliætus_, LINN. S. N. I, 1766,
129. _Pandion haliætus_, LESS. Man. Orn. I, 86. _Falco arundinaceus_,
GMEL. 1733. _Pandion fluvialis_, SAVIGN. Descr. Egyp. I, 96, 1809.
_Pandion alticeps_ and _planiceps_, BREHM, Vög. Deutschl. 33, 1831.
_Pandion indicus_, HODGS. Cat. Gray’s Misc. 81.
_Specimens examined._—Nat. Mus., 3; Bost. Soc., 2; Philad. Acad., 3;
other sources, 10. Total, 18.
_Measurements._—♂. Wing, 18.00–18.50; tail, 8.50–8.70; culmen,
1.20–1.30; tarsus, 1.95–2.00; middle toe, 1.50–1.80. Specimens, 4.
♀. Wing, 19.50–20.50; tail, 9.00–9.50; culmen, 1.35–1.45; tarsus,
2.00–2.10; middle toe, 1.85–1.90. Specimens, 4.
Five specimens from the Palæarctic Region (including one from Japan and
one from Morocco) compare with three from India as follows:—
Palæarctic specimens: Wing, 18.70–20.40; tail, 9.00–10.00; culmen,
1.28–1.35; tarsus, 2.15; middle toe, 1.75–1.80.
Indian specimens: Wing, 17.00–19.75; tail, 7.00–8.75; culmen, 1.28–1.35;
tarsus, 2.00; middle toe, 1.75.
The Indian specimens are slightly darker than the northern ones. In
the northern series, the smallest is one from Morocco. This has the
breast as white as any Australian example, and has the head and neck
above as light as in many of them. The Japanese specimen is exactly
like European ones in color, but is intermediate between them and the
Indian ones in size, measuring, wing, 17.50; tail, 8.80; culmen, 1.30;
tarsus, 2.15; middle toe, 1.60. The smallest in the series is one from
Celebes, in the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy at Cambridge (No. 12,196).
This one measures, wing, 15.20; tail, 7.50; culmen, 1.20; tarsus, 2.00;
and middle toe, 1.60. In colors it approaches very closely to var.
_leucocephalus_.
[69] _Pandion haliætus_, var. _leucocephalus_ (GOULD). _Pandion
fluviatilis_, var. 1, LESS. Tr. Orn. 1831, 46. _Pandion leucocephalus_,
GOULD, Synop. B. Austr. I, 1832, 22, pl. vi. _Pandion gouldi_, KAUP,
Isis, 1847.
_Specimens examined._—Philad. Acad., 8 (Gould’s types); Boston Soc., 1.
Total, 9.
[70] McGillivray describes this plumage as that of the young, and states
that the sexes are colored alike; but my observations upon freshly
killed specimens, as well as skins, induce me to believe that the sexes
are differently colored in their adult plumage, as described above,
and the young are not different from the adults. I may be mistaken in
adopting this view, but a male killed by myself, in the white-bordered
plumage, had scarlet irides and other unmistakable characteristics of
perfect maturity.
[71] _Elanus leucurus_, var. _axillaris_ (LATHAM). _Falco axillaris_,
LATH.—N. S. WALES, Draw. I. No. 49, 1801. _Circus axillaris_, VIEILL.
N. D. IV, 453. _Elanus axillaris_, GRAY, Ann. N. H. XI, 189.—IB. Hand
List, I, 28, No. 261. _Elanus notatus_, GOULD, B. Aust. I, pl. xxiii.
_Specimens examined._—Nat. Mus., 3; Boston Soc., 1.
[72] _Elanus leucurus_, var. _scriptus_ (GOULD). _Elanus scriptus_,
GOULD, P. Z. S. pl. x, 1842, 80.—BONAP. Consp. 22.—KAUP, Monog. Falc. in
Jardine’s Coutr. Orn. 1850, 60.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 28, No. 262.
_Specimens examined._—Mus. Comp. Zoöl., Cambridge, 1.
[73] _Elanus cæruleus_, var. _cæruleus_ (DESFONTAINES). _Falco
cæruleus_, DESFONT. Mém. Ac. Sc. 1787, 503, pl. xv. _Elanus cæruleus_,
STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 1855, 137. _Falco melanopterus_, DAUD. Tr.
Orn. II, 1800, 152. _Elanus melanopterus_, LEACH, Zoöl. Misc. pl.
cxxii.—GOULD, B. Eur. pl. xxxi.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 28, No. 258. _Falco
clamosus_, SHAW, Zoöl. VII, 200. _Elanus cæsius_, SAVIG. Descr. Egyp.
pt. i, p. 98. _Elanoides cæsius_, VIEILL. Enc. Méth. III, 1206.
_Specimens examined._—Nat. Mus., 2 (Southern Europe).
[74] _Elanus cæruleus_, var. _minor_ (BONAP.). _Falco vociferus_, LATH.
Ind. Orn. 1790, 16. _? Falco sonninensis_, LATH. Ind. Orn. Supp. 1801,
12. _Elanus minor_, BONAP. Consp. 1850, p. 22.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 28,
No. 259.
_Specimens examined._—Am. Mus., N. Y., 4 (2 India, 2 Africa); Boston
Soc., 4 (3 Juv.); Mus. Comp. Zoöl., Cambridge, 2. Total, 10.
[75] _Ictinia plumbea_ (GMEL.). _Falco plumbeus_, GMEL. S. N. 1789,
283. _Ictinia plumbea_, VIEILL. 1816, 24.—GRAY, Hand List, I. _Nertus
plumbeus_, BOIE, Isis, 1828, 314. _Pœcilopteryx plumbeus_, KAUP, Ueb.
Falk. Mus. Senck. 1845, 258. _Milvus cenchris_, VIEILL. Ois. Am. Sept.
1807, pl. x. _Buteo cenchris_, CUV. Règ. An. (ed. 2), I, 1829, 337.
_Specimens examined._—National Museum, 4; Philadelphia Academy, 4; New
York Museum, 4; Boston Society, 4; Museum Comp. Zoöl., 1; Cab. G. N.
Lawrence, 2; Coll. R. Ridgway, 1. Total, 20.
[76] _Rostrhamus sociabilis_, var. _sociabilis_ (VIEILL.).
_Herpetotheres sociabilis_, VIEILL. Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat. XVIII, 318,
1818; Enc. Méth. III, 1248. _Rostrhamus sociabilis_, D’ORB. Voy. Am.
Merid. II. 73, 1835; Synop. Av. Mag. Zoöl. 1850. GRAY, List B. Brit.
Mus. p. 47; Gen. and Subgen. Brit. Mus. p. 6.—KAUP, Monog. Falc. Cont.
Orn. 1850, 78.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 136, 1855. _Falco rostrhamus_, MAX.
Beiträg. III. 182, 1830. _Cymindis leucopygus_, SPIX, Av. Bras. I, 7,
pl. ii, 1824. _Rostrhamus niger_, LESS. Tr. Orn. p. 56, 1831.
HAB. South and Middle America, from Buenos Ayres to Eastern Mexico
(Mirador).
Localities: Guatemala (SCL. Ibis, I, 220); Ecuador (SCLATER, 1860, 289);
Panama (LAWRENCE, VII, 1861, 316); La Plata (BURMEISTER, II, 1861, 435);
Brazil (PELZ. Orn. Bras. I, 6); Buenos Ayres (SCL. & SALV. 1869, 160).
The numerous South American specimens which have come under my notice
all differ in the respects pointed out in the synopsis from West Indian
and Floridan examples. The following descriptions of a pair of the
southern race will show the average characters of var. _sociabilis_.
_Adult male_ (Baranquilla, Ecuador, CROWTHER; Coll. G. N. Lawrence).
Differing from the Florida male in being much darker; general color
plumbeous-black, instead of glaucous-plumbeous; head, wings, and tail
deep black. Wing-formula, 3=4, 5–2, 6–7, 1. Wing, 12.90; tail, 7.80;
culmen, 1.05; tarsus, 1.65; middle toe, 1.45; hind toe, .80; its claw,
1.10.
_Adult female_, with traces of immature plumage (53,081, Conchitas,
Buenos Ayres, September, 1867; William H. Hudson). Whole plumage
(except tail-coverts) brownish-black, deepest black on head and tail;
more brownish on wing-coverts and slightly glaucous on the neck. All
the feathers, except those of the head, neck, and back, bordered
inconspicuously with paler; these edgings more distinct and rufescent
on the lesser wing-coverts; tibiæ tinged with rusty. Wing-formula, 3=4,
5–2–6–7, 1. Wing, 14.00; tail, 7.60; culmen, 1.00; tarsus, 1.70; middle
toe, 1.60; hind toe, .95; its claw, 1.20.
A specimen from Mexico, supposed to be from Mirador (No. 44,444), is
dark in color, like South American examples; the bill is unusually
large, the chord of the culmen measuring 1.25; wing, 14.25; tail, 8.30;
tarsus, 1.70; middle toe, 1.65.
_Specimens examined._—National Museum, 2; Philadelphia Academy, 7; New
York Museum, 2; Cab. G. N. Lawrence, 2; Museum, Cambridge, 1; Boston
Society, 3. Total, 17.
[77] _Rostrhamus hamatus_ (VIEILL.). _Falco hamatus_, TEMM. Pl. Col. 61,
231, 1899.—ILLIG. Mus. Berol. _Buteo hamatus_, VIEILL. Enc. Méth. III,
1223. _Rostrhamus tæniurus_, CAB. J. für. Orn. 1854, p. lxxx. No. 16,634
(Amazon River; Lieutenant Herndon). Entirely uniform plumbeous, with
a glaucous cast, becoming darker on the head, and black on primaries
and tail; tail perfectly even, with an obscurely indicated, narrow,
interrupted band of dark plumbeous across its middle portion. A specimen
in the collection of the Boston Society has the bands on the tail more
conspicuous, and agrees with the _R. tæniurus_ of Cabanis. I have seen
no young specimens of this species, but, judging from Temminck’s figure,
cited above, they are very similar to the same stage of _R. sociabilis_.
[78] The females and immature males are hard to distinguish, and from
the unsatisfactory character of the material at my command I have not
succeeded in finding reliable characters by which these plumages of
the three races may be distinguished. Consequently I give only the
characters of the adult males, in defining the distinctions between
them.
[79] _Circus cyaneus_, var. _cyaneus_ (LINN.). _Falco cyaneus_, LINN.
S. N. 1766, 126. _Circus cyaneus_, LESS. Man. Orn. I, 105.—GOULD, B.
Europe, pl. xxxiii.—BONAP. List, 22.—DEGL. Orn. Eur. I, 74.—STRICKL.
Orn. Syn. I, 147.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 37, No. 364. _Falco pygargus_,
LINN. S. N. 1766, 126. _Circus pygargus_, STEPH. Zoöl. XIII, pl. ii, 41.
_Specimens examined._—National Museum, 3; Philadelphia Academy, 4; New
York Museum, 1; Boston Society, 5. Total, 13.
[80] _Circus cyaneus_, var. _cinereus_ (VIEILL.). _Circus cinereus_,
VIEILL. Nouv. Dict. H. N. IV, 1816, 454.—DARWIN, Zoöl. Beag. pt. iii,
30.—D’ORB. Synop. Av. Mag. Zool. 1837.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 156.—GRAY,
Hand List, I, 37, No. 368. _Circus campestris_, VIEILL. Enc. Méth. III,
1823, 1213. _Circus frenatus_, LICHT. Verz. Doubl. 1823, p. 62. _Circus
histrionicus_, QUOY, Zoöl. Journ. III, 1826, 271.
_Specimens examined._—National Museum, 7; Philadelphia Academy, 5;
Boston Society, 3; Museum Cambridge, 1; Cab. G. N. Lawrence, 1. Total,
17.
_Measurements._—♂. Wing, 12.40–13.25; tail, 8.50–9.00; culmen, .62–.63;
tarsus, 2.42–2.60; middle toe, 1.20–1.25. Specimens, 11. ♀. Wing,
13.75–14.50; tail, 9.30–10.50; culmen, .75–.80; tarsus, 2.80–3.00;
middle toe, 1.40–1.50. Specimens, 5.
[81] Not admissible as having been bestowed by a non-binomial author,
and of prior date to the commencement of binomial nomenclature.
[82] In the collection of the National Museum are two specimens of
_cooperi_, var. _gundlachi_, in the young plumage. They differ from
the young of var. cooperi merely in darker colors, the brown markings
being larger and more numerous, as well as deeper in tint. That their
character may be better understood, I furnish the following more
detailed descriptions:—
_Young male_ (41,129, Cuba, Dr. Gundlach). Above dark, blackish
vandyke-brown, the feathers bordered inconspicuously with dark rusty;
tail dull slate, narrowly tipped with ashy-white, and crossed with four
broad bands of dusky, almost equal to the slate; beneath white, much
tinged on breast and tibiæ with reddish-ochraceous; thickly striped
with umber-brown, except on crissum; the streaks on throat narrow
and cuneate, those on breast broad, and on sides changing into broad
transverse spots or bars; tibiæ thickly spotted transversely with more
reddish, nearly rufous, brown; larger lower tail-coverts with narrow
shaft-streaks of black. Occiput showing much concealed white; the ends
of the feathers deep black. Wing, 8.60; tail, 7.50; culmen, .68; tarsus,
2.50; middle toe, 1.70.
_Young female_ (41,128, Cuba, Dr. Gundlach). Similar, but more thickly
striped beneath, the dark markings about equalling the white in extent;
whole sides with large transverse spots of umber, cuneate along shaft.
Wing, 10.50; tail, 9.50.
The synonomy of this race is as follows: _Accipiter gundlachi_,
LAWRENCE, Ann. N. Y. Lyc. VII, May, 1860, 252.—GUND. Rep’t, 1865,
224.—SCL. & SALV. Ex. Orn. I, 170.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 33, No. 319.
The _N. fuscus_, var. _fringilloides_ (VIGORS), of Cuba, I have not
seen. Its synonomy stands as follows: _Accipiter fringilloides_, VIG.
Zoöl. Journ. III, 1826, 534.—LAWR. Ann. N. Y. Lyc. VII, 1860, 255 (with
descriptions and synonomy).—GUNDL. Rep’t, 1865, 224.—GRAY, Hand List, I,
32, No. 311.
[83] _Astur palumbarius_, var. _palumbarius_ (LINN.). _Falco
palumbarius_, LINN. S. N. 1766, 130. _Astur_ p., CUV. Règ. An. (ed. 1),
I, 320; et AUCT. _Hab._ Europe and Asia.
_Specimens examined._—National Museum, 2; Philadelphia Academy, 10;
Boston Society, 5; Museum Comp. Zoöl., Cambridge, 1; New York Museum, 1.
Total, 19.
_Measurements._—♂. Wing, 12.25–13.70; tail, 9.40–10.00; culmen, .80;
tarsus, 3.00; middle toe, 1.80. ♀. Wing, 13.80–14.50; tail, 10.10–10.90;
culmen, .90–.95; tarsus, 2.80–3.15; middle toe, 2.05–2.20.
[84] _Asturina nitida_, var. _nitida_ (LATH.). _Falco nitidus_,
LATH. Ind. Orn. I, 40.—DAUD.—TEMM.—SPIX. _Astur n._, D’ORB. Voy.
Ois. p. 95.—BURM. Syst. Neb. II, 68.—LEOTAUD, Ois. Trin. p.
46.—GRAY.—VIG.—STEPHENS.—LESS.—D’ORB. _Asturina n._, BONAP. Consp. p.
30.—CABAN. in SCHOMB. Guian. III, 737.—PELZ. Orn. Bras. p. 3.—SCL.
& SALV. P. Z. S. 1864, 369; 1867, 589; 1868, 173; 1860, 288; 1869,
130.—KAUP.—LAWR. Ann. N. Y. Lyc. VII, 316. _Dædalion n._, LESS. Tr.
Orn. p. 65. _Asturina cinerea_, VIEILL. Anal. 24, 68; Nouv. Dict. III,
41; Enc. Méth. III, 1260; Gal. Ois. pl. xx.—VIG. Zoöl. J. I, 324,
327.—STEPH. Zoöl. XIII, pt. ii. _Cymindis c._, LESS. Man. Orn. I, 91.
_Astur striolatus_, CUV. Règ. An. (ed. 2), I, 332.
_Specimens examined._—Philadelphia Academy, 8; New York Museum, 1; Cab.
G. N. Lawrence, 3; Boston Society, 4 (Brazil); Museum, Cambridge, 2
(Panama). Total, 18.
_Measurements._—Sex not indicated. Wing, 9.80–10.20; tail, 7.00–8.00;
culmen, .80–.90; tarsus, 2.55–2.78; middle toe, 1.60–1.65.
[85] The type of _Craxirex_, GOULD (Voyage of Beagle, 1838, 22), is the
_Buteo galapagoensis_, GOULD, a species strictly congeneric with _Buteo
borealis_.
[86] _Falco unicinctus_, TEMM. Pl. Col. 313, 1820. _Morphnus
unicinctus_, LESS. Man. Orn. I, 1828, 90. _Astur unicinctus_, CUV. Règ.
An. (ed. 2), I, 1829, 332.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 221.—KAUP, Monog.
Falc. 1850, p. 66. _Buteo unicinctus_, GRAY, List B. Brit. Mus. 18.—IB.
Hand List, I, 7, No. 55. _Nisus unicinctus_, LESS. Tr. Orn. p. 61.
_Hypomorphnus unicinctus_, TSCHUDI, Fauna Per. pp. 17, 85. _Spizageranus
unicinctus_, KAUP, Ueb. Senck. 1845, 260. _Urubitinga unicincta_, LAFR.
Rev. Zoöl. 1849, 99.—PELZ. Orn. Bras. I, 1868, 3, No. 10.—IB. IV, 1871,
394. _Polyborus tæniurus_, TSCHUDI, Av. Consp. Wiegm. Arch. 1844,
264.—IB. Fauna Per. pl. ii, _Juv._ It seems that the South American
birds of this species never attain the simple tricolored plumage assumed
by the adult of the North American form, Temminck’s figure (Pl. Col.
313) representing the nearest approach to it that I have seen, in a
large series of adult specimens. The following descriptions show the
average adult of var. _unicinctus_:—
_Adult male_ (No. 13,908, Chile; Lieutenant Gilliss). Resembling the
immature of var. _harrisi_, as described on p. 1569 (No. 56,763).
Primaries edged terminally with whitish; inner webs of tail-feathers
mottled whitish for their basal half, not showing the regular transverse
bars seen in the immature of var. _harrisi_; under surface of primaries
almost wholly white, becoming ashy, barred with dusky, towards their
ends. Wing, 12.00; tail, 8.30; tarsus, 2.90; middle toe, 1.60. _Adult
female_ (No. 13,907, Chile; Lieutenant Gilliss). Similar to No. 13,908,
but the tibiæ more strongly barred. Wing, 12.50; tail, 8.30.
_Specimens examined._—National Museum, 9; Philadelphia Academy, 9;
Boston Society, 4; New York Museum, 1. Total, 23.
_Measurements._—♂. Wing, 11.65–13.15; tail, 9.00–10.10; culmen,
.82–1.00; tarsus, 2.78–3.40; middle toe, 1.52–1.75. Specimens, 8.
♀. Wing, 12.50–14.60; tail, 9.20–10.50; culmen, .90–1.02; tarsus,
3.10–3.40; middle toe, 1.60–1.85. Specimens, 6.
[87] “Nest in oak-tree, in edge of wood, by lake.”
[88] “Nest twenty-five feet high, in oak-tree.”
[89] “Nest at top of broken poplar-tree near lake.”
[90] _Buteo borealis_, var. _costaricensis_, RIDGWAY. _Buteo borealis_
(all citations from Central America).
SP. CHAR. _Adult_ (No. 30,409, Costa Rica; Dr. A. von Frantzius).
Head, neck, and upper parts continuous, unvariegated brownish-black;
whole throat white, with a few cuneate spots of black; black of the
neck meeting narrowly across the jugulum; pectoral area immaculate
pure white; upper part of abdomen with an imperfect belt of distinct
narrow lanceolate strips of black; whole posterior lower parts fine
pinkish ochraceous, unvariegated; tibiæ deepest, inclining to delicate
ochraceous-rufous; upper tail-coverts immaculate rufous. Tail as in var.
_borealis_. Wing, 16.00; tail, 9.00; tarsus, 3.20; middle toe, 1.80.
Bill very high, abruptly curved. Wing-formula, 4, 5, 3, 6, 2; first,
shortest.
This very curious variety is that which departs furthest from the
true _borealis_; not only the details, but in a measure the pattern,
of coloration, being greatly modified. The perfectly continuous pure
brownish-black of the whole head and neck, sharply contrasted with
the white throat-patch, are features which distinguish it from every
other variety of this group; while the deep rufous tibiæ, and almost
utter absence of transverse bars beneath, are also very distinctive
characters.
The second of the two Costa Rican specimens before me (No. 33,507; J.
Carmiol) differs from the type in having the white of the pectoral area
clouded by an encroachment of the blackish of the neck; and across
the abdomen is a deep wash of the same. The tail-feathers exhibit
indications of spots along the shafts, as in var. _calurus_; while the
upper tail-coverts have a very few bars of blackish.
_Young_ (37,338, Tres Marias Islands, January; Col. A. J. Grayson).
Similar to the adult in general appearance, but differing in the
following particulars: Tail deep umber, with about twelve or thirteen
narrow bands of black, and very narrowly tipped with whitish;
lateral lower parts thickly spotted with blackish, and tibiæ spotted
transversely with the same; lower tail-coverts with distant bars of
blackish. Upper tail-coverts blackish-brown barred with white, this not
touching the shaft.
HAB. Central America and Southwestern Mexico; Costa Rica, Veragua, and
Tres Marias Islands (Mus. S. I.).
Localities: (?) Guatemala (SCL. Ibis, I, 217, _B. borealis_); Costa Rica
(LAWR. IX, 133, “var. _montanus_”).
_List of Specimens Examined._—National Museum, 4.
Measurements much the same as in the other varieties.
[91] _Archibuteo lagopus_ (BRUNN.), GRAY. _Falco lagopus_, BRUNN. Orn.
Bor. p. 4, sp. 15 (1764); PENN., GMEL., LATH., SIEMSS., DAUD., SHAW,
NAUM., MEYER. _Buteo lagopus_, STEPH. et AUCT. _Butaëtes lagopus_,
BONAP., GRAY, BAILLY, MORR., REICH. _Archibuteo lagopus_, GRAY, Gen.
B. (ed. 2), p. 3; 1841, et AUCT. (Not of American writers, nor when
used for the American bird!) _Hab._ North and Central Europe; Northern
Africa.
A comparison of the American birds with series of sixteen European
specimens shows constant differences in the birds of the two
continents,—quite enough to establish a difference of race, although not
of specific value. The European bird is much the darker beneath, the
blackish-brown spots on jugulum and breast being blended, or suffused,
so as to give the predominating tint to this region.
These differences, though constant and quite appreciable on comparison,
are very slight, while the proportions are about the same. A young
specimen of the European style differs from American in entire absence
of rufous tinge to white of head, neck, and lower parts, less complete
band across the abdomen, immaculate white ear-coverts, cheeks, and
throat; the tibiæ and tarsi are also much more thickly spotted than in
the American young; there is also more white on base of outer surface of
primaries.
_List of Specimens examined._—Nat. Mus., 6; Philad. Acad., 8; Bost.
Soc., 2. Total, 16.
_Measurements._—♂. Wing, 16.00; tail, 8.70; culmen, .80; tarsus, 2.30;
middle toe, 1.30. Specimens, 1. ♀. Wing, 18.20; tail, 9.75; culmen, .95;
tarsus, 2.60; middle toe, 1.50. Specimens, 1.
[92] _Aquila chrysaëtus_, var. _chrysaëtus_ (LINN.). _Aquila valeria_,
ALBIN, B, II. pl. ii. _Aquila chrysaëtus_, BRISS. Orn. I, 431, et AUCT.
_Falco chrysaëtus_, LINN. S. N. 1760, 125. _Aquila melanaëtus_, BRISS.
Orn. I, 434. _Falco melanaëtus_, LINN. S. N. 124. _Aquila regia_, LESS.
Tr. Orn. _Falco fulvus_, LINN. S. N. 1760, 125 (_young_).
_List of Specimens examined._—Nat. Mus., 4; Philad. Acad., 14; Bost.
Soc., 2; Mus. Cambridge, 1; Mus. J. C. Sharp, Jr., 1. Total, 22.
_Measurements._—♂. Wing, 23.80–24.30; tail, 14.00–14.50; culmen,
1.68–1.70; tarsus, 3.40; middle toe, 2.40–2.45. Specimens, 2. ♀. Wing,
25.00–25.50; tail, 14.00–14.50; culmen, 1.80–1.85; tarsus, 3.80–4.10;
middle toe, 2.85–3.10. Specimens, 3.
[93] _Haliaëtus pelagicus_ (PALL.). _Falco pelagicus_, PALLAS, Zoog.
Ros. As. I, 343, pl. ix. _Aquila p._, KITTL., BOIE. _Haliaëtus p._,
SIEB., GRAY, CASS. B. Cal. & Tex. I, pp. 31, 110, pi. vi (♀); IB. Birds
N. Am. 1858, 42. _Thalassoaëtus_, KAUP, JARD. _Falco leucopterus_, TEMM.
_Falco imperator_, KITTL. _Hab._ Northeastern Asia, Japan (SIEBOLD);
Kamschatka.
[94] Established by Vigors, in 1825.
[95] From the _Vulturinæ_ are excluded the genera _Gypætus_ and
_Neophron_, each of which probably constitutes a subfamily by itself.
[96] _Sarcorhamphus_, DUMÉRIL, 1806. (Type, _Vultur gryphus_, LINN.)
[97] _Cathartes_, ILLIGER, 1811. (Type, _Vultur papa_, LINN.) _Gypagus_,
VIEILL. 1816. (Same type.) _Gyparchus_, GLOG. 1842. (Same type.)
_Sarcorhamphus_, AUCT. (in part).
[98] _Rhinogryphus burrovianus_ (CASSIN). _Cathartes burrovianus_, CASS.
P. A. N. S. II, 1845, 212.—IB. Birds Am. 1858, 1.—GRAY, Hand List, I,
1869, 3, No. 19.—COUES, Key, 1872, 222. _Cathartes urubitinga_, NATT.
VON PELZELN, Sitz-ber. Wien. Ak. 1861, 7.—GURNEY, Cat. Rapt. B. 1864,
46.—SCL. & SALV. P. Z. S. 1867, 589 (Amazon).—PELZ. Orn. Bras. I, 1868,
1 (Brazil).—ELLIOT, Illustr. Birds N. Am. II.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 1869,
3, No. 20.
SP. CHAR. Very similar to _R. aura_, but neck feathered behind up to the
occiput, and the plumage uniformly black, the feathers of the back and
wings without brown borders. _Adult_ (34,984, Brazil; NATTERER). Bill
white; naked skin of the head and throat reddish. Wing-formula, 3, 2,
4=1. Wing, 18.50; tail, 9.00; culmen, .90; cere above, 1.20; tarsus,
2.10; middle toe, 2.25; outer, 1.35; inner, 1.10; posterior, .80. _Hab._
Eastern Tropical America. Brazil (PELZELN & NATTERER); Amazon (SCL. &
SALV.); ?? Jamaica (SHARPE); ?? Vera Cruz, Mexico (CASSIN).
[99] _Columba fasciata_, var. _albilinea_. _Columba albilinea_, “GRAY,”
BONAP. Consp. VI, 1857, 51. _Chlorœnas a._ =Cab.= J. 1869, 211.
[100] _Columba araucana_, LESS. Voy. de la Coq. Ois. t. 40. _Columba
denisea_, TEMM. Pl. Col. 502. _C. meridionalis_, KING.
[101] _Columba caribæa_, GMELIN, S. N. 1788, 773.—GOSSE, B. Jam.
291.—MARCH, P. A. N. S. Philad. 1863, 301. _Patagiœnas c._ SCL. P. Z. S.
1861, 80.—REICH. Handb. 65, tab. 230, _b_, f. 3362.
[102] _Columba rufina_, (TEMM.) REICH. Handb. 62, tab. 222, f. 2583,
2584.—LAWR. Ann. N. Y. Lyc. 1861, VII, 333, No. 281 (Panama).—SCL. &
SALV. P. Z. S. 1866, 198 (Amazon).—IB. 1867, 590.—SCL. Ibis, I, 222
(Guatemala).—SALV. P. Z. S. 1867, 159 (Veragua).—IB. 1870, 115 (Costa
Rica).—REINH. Vid. Med. Nat. For. 1870, 59 (Brazil).
[103] _Columba corensis_, GMEL. S. N. I, 1878, 783.—SALLÉ, P. Z. S.
1857, 235 (Santo Domingo).—NEWTON, Ibis I, 252 (Santa Cruz).—CAB. J.
IV, 108 (Cuba).—TAYLOR, Ibis, 1864, 171 (St. Thomas). _Patagiænas c._
REICHENB. Handb. tab. 222, f. 2581.
[104] _Columba inornata_, VIGORS, Pr. Zoöl. Soc. 1847, 37.—DE LA SAGRA,
Voy. l’Ile de Cuba, Ois. t. 28.—CAB. J. IV, 106 (Cuba).—SCL. P. Z. S.
1861, 80.—REICHENB. Handb. 62, tab. 222, f. 2582.—GUNDL. Repert. Cub. I,
1866, 298.—MARCH, P. A. N. S. 1863, 301 (Jamaica). _C. rufina_, GOSSE,
B. Jam. (not _C. rufina_ of TEMMINCK!).
[105] _Columba solitaria_, MCCALL, Pr. A. N. Sc. Phila. III, July,
1847, 233. “Length, 13 inches 9 lines, etc. Alar extent, 23 inches.
Wing, from the flexure, 7 inches 5 lines. Tarsus, 1 inch; middle toe,
1 inch 2 lines; first toe, 9 lines, and longer than the third; nails
light flesh-color; feet and legs deep red. Iris dark orange. Bill
above, 1 inch 1 line, but feathered to within 5 lines of the tip;
reddish near the base, whitish near the tip. Head chocolate-blue.
Throat chocolate-white. Neck and breast bluish-chocolate with brilliant
reflections. Back, belly, flanks, under wing-coverts, and greater
exterior wing-coverts, light red color, the last faintly bordered with
white. Lesser wing-coverts chocolate-red, forming a bright shoulder-spot
of elliptical shape. Quill-feathers dusky, tinged with lead-color on
the outer vanes. Third primary longest. Upper and under tail-coverts
bluish lead-color. Tail, 5 inches, slightly rounded, of twelve feathers;
dusky.”
[106] _Zenaida hypoleuca_, “GRAY,” BONAP. Consp. II, 1857, 83.
[107] _Zenaidura yucatanensis_, LAWR. Ann. N. Y. IX, 1869. This bird
is so exactly intermediate between the _Z. carolinensis_ and _Zenaida
amabilis_, as to lead us to strongly suspect it is a hybrid between
the two. With the _Z. carolinensis_ it agrees only in possessing
fourteen tail-feathers; the coloration and size and shape of the bill
being exactly those of _Z. amabilis_, while the tail-feathers are
intermediate in length and shape between those of the two species.
The colors differ from those of _Z. amabilis_ only in being of a just
appreciably lighter shade, there being the same broad white tip to the
secondaries, brilliant steel-blue sub-auricular spot, and deep reddish
crissum, characterizing the _Z. amabilis_, as distinguished from _Z.
carolinensis_.
[108] _Zenaidura graysoni_, LAWR. Ann. N. Y. Lyc. February, 1871, 17.
A very distinct species, remarkable for its large, very long, and much
depressed bill, and deep ferruginous, instead of pinkish-vinaceous,
lower parts. The specimens are unfortunately all young birds, though
they are fully grown.
[109] _Scardafella squamosa._ _Columba squamosa_, TEMM. Pig. et Gal.
I, 59. A specimen of this species from Venezuela has the black bars
everywhere twice as broad as in Brazilian examples.
[110] _Chamæpelia griseola_, SPIX, Av. Bras. t. 75, a, f. 2.—REINH. Vid.
Med. Nat. For. 1870, 56 (Brazil).
[111] _Oreopeleia montana._ _Columba montana_, LINN. S. N. 1758.
[112] Messrs. Sclater and Salvin distinguish the allied species as
follows:—
_O. poliocephala_, Wagler. Brownish-olive; the head plumbeous, lighter
beneath; the feathers of the throat darker, and marked with gray; middle
of belly milky-white; the flanks and crissum tinged with rufous; tail
bronzed-green, the five lateral feathers broadly tipped with buff.
Length, 24.00; wing, 10.50; tail, 11.50; tarsus, 3.20. _Hab._ Table-land
of Mexico to west coast (Manzanillo, etc.).
_O. vetula_, Wagler. Brownish-olive; the head plumbeous, lighter
beneath; the middle of the belly tinged with ochraceous or rusty; tail,
bronzed green; the five lateral feathers tipped with white or buff.
Length, 21.00; wing, 7.70; tail, 9.00; tarsus, 2.50. _Hab._ Texas to
Honduras, on east side of Mexico.
A near ally to _O. vetula_ is the _O. leucogastra_, Gould (S. & S. p.
539) from Pacific coast of Central America. This differs in pure white
of under parts. The size also is considerably less.
[113] _Meleagris ocellatus_, TEMM., CABOT, Pr. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. I,
73.
[114] As with nearly all the animals which have been brought under
domestication by man, the true origin of the common barnyard Turkey
was for a long time a matter of uncertainty. As a well-known writer
(Martin) observes: “So involved in obscurity is the early history of the
Turkey, and so ignorant do the writers of the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries appear to have been about it, that they have regarded it as
a bird known to the ancients by the name of _Meleagris_ (really the
Guinea-fowl or Pintado), a mistake which was not cleared up till the
middle of the eighteenth century. The appellation of “turkey,” which
this bird bears in England, arose from the supposition that it came
originally from the country of that name,—an idea entirely erroneous,
as it owes its origin to the New World. Mexico was first discovered
by Grigalva in 1518. Oviedo speaks of the Turkey as a kind of Peacock
abounding in New Spain, which had already in 1526 been transported in a
domestic state to the West India Islands and the _Spanish Main_, where
it was kept by the Christian colonists.”
It is reported to have been introduced into England in 1541. In 1573 it
had become the Christmas fare of the farmer.
Among the luxuries belonging to the high condition of civilization
exhibited by the Mexican nation at the time of the Spanish conquest was
the possession by Montezuma of one of the most extensive zoölogical
gardens on record, numbering nearly all the animals of that country,
with others brought at much expense from great distances, and it is
stated that Turkeys were supplied as food in large numbers daily to
the beasts of prey in the menagerie of the Mexican emperor. No idea
can be formed at the present day of the date when this bird was first
reclaimed in Mexico from its wild condition, although probably it had
been known in a domestic state for many centuries. There can, however,
be no question of the fact that it was habitually reared by the Mexicans
at the time of the conquest, and introduced from Mexico or New Spain
into Europe early in the sixteenth century, either directly or from the
West India Islands, into which it had been previously carried.
It has, however, always been a matter of surprise that the Wild Turkey
of eastern North America did not assimilate more closely to the domestic
bird in color, habits, and by interbreeding, although until recently no
suspicion was entertained that they might belong to different species.
Such, however, now appears to be the fact, as I will endeavor to show.
The proposition I present is, that there are two species, or at least
races, of Wild Turkey in North America,—one confined to the more eastern
and southern United States, the other to the southern Rocky Mountains
and adjacent part of Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona; that the
latter extends along Eastern Mexico as far south at least as Orizaba,
and that it is from this Mexican species, and not from that of eastern
North America, that this domestic Turkey is derived.
In the Proceedings of the Zoölogical Society of London for 1856 (page
61), Mr. Gould characterizes as new a Wild Turkey from the mines of
Real del Norte, in Mexico, under the name of _Meleagris mexicana_, and
is the first to suggest that it is derived from the domesticated bird,
and not from the common Wild Turkey of eastern North America, on which
he retains the name of _M. gallopavo_, of Linnæus. He stated that the
peculiarities of the new species consist chiefly in the creamy-white
tips of the tail-feathers and of the upper tail-coverts, with some
other points of minor importance. I suggest that the Wild Turkey of New
Mexico, as referred to by various writers, belongs to this new species,
and not to the _M. gallopavo_.
In 1858, in the Report on the birds collected by the Pacific Railroad
Expedition (Vol. IX, p. 618, of the series of Pacific Railroad Reports),
I referred to this subject, and established the existence in North
America of two species of Wild Turkey,—one belonging to eastern, the
other to middle, North America. Much additional material has since
corroborated this view, and while the _M. gallopavo_ is found along the
Missouri River and eastward, and extends into Eastern Texas, the other
is now known to belong to the Llano Estacado and other parts of Western
Texas, to New Mexico, and to Arizona.
The recent acquisition of a fine male Turkey by the Smithsonian
Institution from the vicinity of Mount Orizaba, in Mexico, and its
comparison with a skin from Santa Fé, enables me to assert the positive
identity of our Western and the Mexican species, and one readily
separable from the better known wild bird of the eastern United States.
There is now little reason to doubt that the true origin of the barnyard
Turkey is to be sought for in the Mexican species, and not in the North
American,—an hypothesis which explains the fact of the difficulty in
establishing a cross between our wild and tame birds.
The presumed differences between the two species may be briefly
indicated as consisting principally in the creamy or fulvous white of
the tips of the tail-feathers and of the feathers overlying the base of
the tail and of the hinder part of the back of the Mexican and typical
barnyard birds, as compared with the decided chestnut-brown of the same
parts in the eastern Wild Turkey. There are other differences, but they
are less evident, and those indicated will readily serve to distinguish
the two species.
The true wild bird of eastern North America always has the tips of the
tail-feathers and upper tail-covert of a chestnut-brown color; the
Mexican species and its descendant of the barnyard never exhibit this
feature.
Sometimes this domesticated bird is exactly like its wild original,
differing only in rather greater development of the fatty lobes of the
head and neck; and of this an example may be seen in the Museum of the
Smithsonian Institution.
There is a variety of the domestic bird which is entirely black,
sometimes even including the larger quills, which in both species are
naturally banded with white, and in this there may be little or no
trace of any bands at the end of the tail and of its upper coverts; but
whatever may be the asseverations of the sportsman, the poultry-dealer,
or the farmer, as to the “wildness” of any particular bird, or what
the circumstances attendant upon its capture or death by trapping,
shooting, or otherwise, implicit confidence may be placed in the test
above indicated, namely: if the tips of tail and tail-covert are
chestnut-brown, the specimen belongs to the _M. gallopavo_ or “Wild
Turkey”; if the same part is either entirely black or any shade of
whitish or light fulvous, then it is a “barnyard” fowl.
The following extract from a letter written by Dr. Sartorius, the
accomplished naturalist, to whom the Smithsonian Institution owes the
specimen of the wild Mexican bird referred to above, will be read with
interest.
“MIRADOR, STATE OF VERA CRUZ,
January 20, 1867.
“I am entirely of your opinion in regard to the origin of the domestic
Turkey, as our wild bird differs from the tame only in the less amount
of development of the fatty lobes of the head and neck.
“_Meleagris mexicana_ is tolerably abundant in this neighborhood,
belonging more especially to the sparsely overgrown savannas between the
region of the oaks and the coast, the Tierra Caliente or ‘warm region’
proper. It is a very shy bird, living in families like the wild Geese,
and keeping sentinels on the watch whenever the flock is feeding in the
vicinity of threatened danger. It derives its nourishment from plants
and insects on the ground, and scratches with its feet to aid in the
search for food. In running, the swiftest dog cannot overtake it. It is
not very fond of taking to flight, but its powers in this respect are
not behind those of any of the allied forms. Its breeding-season is in
March or April, when the hens separate from the males to reunite into
families again in September. Their general habits during this season
are much as with the domestic bird, although I cannot say whether they
inflate and swell themselves out in the same manner. I am, however,
inclined to doubt it, as the specimen I have handled did not have the
tips of the wing-feathers worn away as in the barn-yard breed. The
female lays from three to twelve brownish-red, spotted eggs in the high
grain, and hatches them out in thirty days, as is the case with the tame
Turkey. The flesh of the wild bird is dry, but very sweet, like the tame
fowl, and like the latter is dark on the back and legs, and white on the
breast and wings.
“The white meat of the flesh on the breast of the Mexican and the tame
Turkey, as compared with the darker meat of the common North American
wild bird, is a fact of importance to be taken into consideration.
“The exact distribution of the Mexican Wild Turkey southward and
westward is not ascertained, nor is it known that it occupies the
western portion of the Mexican country. In Yucatan and Northern
Guatemala it is replaced by a third species, the Ocellated Turkey
(_Meleagris ocellata_), rather less in size, but far more striking in
appearance, being marked in the tail with spots somewhat like the ‘eyes’
of the tail of the Peacock. The three species thus belong to Mexico and
northern parts of Central America.
“Very truly yours,
“C. SARTORIUS.”
[115] _Ortyx virginianus_, var. _cubanensis_. _Ortyx cubanensis_,
“GOULD.”—GRAY & MITCH. Gen. III, 514. _Ortyx_, sp. 2.—GOULD, Mon. Odont.
[116] The Florida bird has been lately characterized as var.
_floridanus_ by Dr. Coues, in his Key to North American Birds.
[117] _Cyrtonyx ocellatus_, GOULD, P. Z. S. IV, p. 78.—IB. MONOG. Odont.
[118] This specimen is the type of _C. ochrocephalus_, AIKEN, Am. Nat.
VII, April, 1873, p. 236.
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