A History of North American Birds, Land Birds. Volume 3

Wing, 14.40–17.00; tail, 8.00–9.50; culmen, .80–.95; tarsus, 2.30–2.70; middle toe, 1.50–1.70. Weight 1½–3½ lbs. Hab. Western Province of North America, from the Mississippi Valley, and the region of the Great Lakes (Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, to Arkansas, also Canada and Massachusetts) to the Pacific … var. swainsoni.

Wing, 12.00–15.30; tail, 6.50–9.00; culmen, .85–.90; tarsus, 1.95–2.60; middle toe, 1.50–1.60. Colors similar, but the young paler than that of var. swainsoni. Adult unknown. Hab. Middle and South America, and southern border of the western United States, from New Mexico to Buenos Ayres (two specimens, Costa Rica, and Buenos Ayres, Mus. S. I.) … var. oxypterus.

B. Four outer primaries with their inner webs cut.

a. Form light, the legs slender; tail of adult without a subterminal band of black more distinct than the others.

3. B. zonocercus. Wing, 15.50–17.40; tail, 8.50–10.75; culmen, .90; tarsus, 2.50–2.80; middle toe, 1.60–1.85. Entirely deep black, with more or less concealed pure white spotting. Adult. Tail carbonaceous-black, with three very broad zones, of pure white on inner webs and ash on the outer webs. Young. Tail dark brown, the inner webs more or less, sometimes entirely, white, crossed by numerous oblique bands of black. Hab. Mexico (chiefly western?) and adjacent southwestern portions of the United States (Arizona, Coues; Southern California, San Diego, Cooper).

4. B. lineatus. Wing, 11.25–14.25; tail, 8.00–10.00; culmen, .75–.90; tarsus, 2.70–3.25; middle toe, 1.30–1.50. Fourth to fifth quill longest; first shorter than seventh. Outer webs of the primaries with quadrate spots of whitish; lesser wing-coverts dark rufous; lower parts rufous more or less barred with whitish, or whitish spotted longitudinally with dusky. Adult. Head, neck, lesser wing-coverts, and lower parts deep rufous, the lower parts more or less barred posteriorly with whitish. Primaries and tail black; the former with quadrate spots of pure white on the outer webs, and the latter crossed by six narrow bands of pure white, and tipped with the same. Young. Head, neck, and lower parts whitish, usually more or less tinged with ochraceous, and with longitudinal markings of dusky. Primaries and tail dusky; the former mostly ochraceous anterior to the sinuation of their outer webs, the latter crossed by numerous narrow bands of pale grayish-brown, these becoming paler and more ochraceous toward the base. Lesser wing-coverts more or less tinged with dark rufous.

Adult. Lower parts light rufous barred with white. Young. White prevailing on the lower parts. Hab. Eastern Province of the United States … var. lineatus.

Adult. Lower parts deep dark rufous, almost free from bars, except posteriorly. Young. Dark spotting on the lower parts predominating. Hab. Pacific Province, and southern Western Province, of the United States … var. elegans.

b. Form robust and heavy, the tarsus stout; tail of the adult with a subterminal band of black broader than the other.

5. B. borealis. Wing, 13.25–17.75; tail, 8.50–11.30; culmen, .90–1.15; tarsus, 2.70–3.40; middle toe, 1.60–1.95. Weight, 2½ to 4 lbs. Third to fifth quill longest; first shorter than seventh and shorter than tenth. Colors extremely variable, ranging from entirely pure white beneath, through various shades of ochraceous and rusty, and greater or less amount of darker spots and bars, to an entirely uniform brownish-black. Adult. Tail deep rufous, generally paler at the tip; with or without black bars. Young. Tail grayish-brown, crossed by nine or ten bands of black, much narrower than the gray ones. Lower parts always with white predominating.

Tibiæ and lower tail-coverts without transverse bars, at any age. Lower parts with white always predominating. Tail never with more than one bar of black.

Feathers of the head and neck edged laterally with rufous; scapulars and wing-coverts much variegated with whitish; upper tail-coverts white, barred with rufous. Throat with blended streaks of blackish, this usually predominating; tibiæ and lower tail-coverts plain yellowish-white. Hab. Eastern Province of North America, to the Missouri plains … var. borealis.

Similar, but colors much paler, the lower parts entirely pure white, with little or no spotting on the abdomen. Tail usually destitute of the black subterminal band. Hab. Plains, from Texas to Minnesota … var. krideri.

Similar to the last, but lower parts strongly tinged with rufous on the tibiæ, and upper parts much darker. Tail always destitute of the subterminal black band. Young not distinguishable from that of var. calurus. Hab. Cape St. Lucas … var. lucasanus.

Whole head, neck (except the throat), and upper parts, continuously uniform unvariegated brownish-black; that of the neck meeting narrowly across the lower part of the throat, leaving the whole throat almost immaculate white. Posterior lower parts fine, deep pinkish-ochraceous; tibiæ deep reddish-ochraceous; upper tail-coverts plain rufous. Hab. Central America (from Tres Marias, Western Mexico, to Costa Rica and Veragua) … var. costaricensis.

Tibiæ and lower tail-coverts always with distinct transverse bars. Tail often with more or less complete transverse bars of black to the base. Lower parts with an excess of ochraceous and darker markings, frequently wholly blackish.

Varying, from individuals distinguishable from the darker examples of var. borealis only by the presence of bars on the tibiæ and crissum, through others with various degrees of rufous tinge and dusky spotting and barring beneath, to a perfectly melanistic condition, in which the bird is almost uniformly black, and the tail with continuous, regular bars of black to the base. Hab. Western Province of North America, from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific … var. calurus.

6. B. harlani. Wing, 15.00–16.20; tail, 8.80–10.50; culmen, 1.00; tarsus, 2.75–2.90; middle toe, 1.50–1.70. Lateral toes nearly equal; tibial plumes much developed, reaching below the bases of the toes. Entirely brownish-black (except the tail), the concealed bases of the feathers snowy-white. Adult. Tail confusedly mottled with dusky and white, upon a grayish ground; sometimes more or less tinged with rufous. Young. Tail grayish-brown, with nine very regular, sharply defined bands of brownish-black, about equal in width to the gray ones. Lower parts wholly dusky. Hab. Southwestern United States, east of the Rocky Mountains, from Kansas to Texas.

7. B. cooperi. Wing, 15.75; tail, 9.10; culmen, 1.10; tarsus, 3.25; middle toe, 1.70. Adult. Head, neck, and beneath, pure white, the head above and nape streaked with dusky; lining of the wing white, with a large black patch. Above nearly uniform dusky, the primaries plumbeous. Tail longitudinally mottled with light rufous, cinereous, and dusky; the former prevailing. Hab. Santa Clara County, California.

Buteo pennsylvanicus (Wils.)BROAD-WINGED HAWK

Falco pennsylvanicus, Wils. Am. Orn. VI, 92, pl. liv, f. 1, 1812.—Lath. Gen. Hist. I, 263, 1821.—Aud. B. Am. pl. xci, 1831; Orn. Biog. I, 461, 1831.—Bonap. Ann. Lyc. N. Y. II, 29, 434; Isis, p. 1137, 1832.—Nutt. Man. I, 105, 1833.—Temm. Pl. Col. 67, 1836. Buteo pennsylvanicus, Bonap. Ois. Cuv. Règ. An. p. 35, 1830; Eur. & N. Am. B. p. 3, 1838; Consp. Av. p. 19, 1850.—Aud. Syn. p. 7, 1839.—Brew. (Wils). Am. Orn. Syn. p. 648, 1852.—Gray, Gen. sp. 8, 1844; List B. Brit. Mus. p. 16, 1844.—Cass. B. Cal. & Tex. Syn. p. 100, 1854.—Strickl. Orn. Syn. I, 32, 1855.—De Kay, Zoöl. N. Y. II, 11, pl. v, fig. 11, 1844.—Cass. Birds N. Am. 29, 1858.—Gray, Hand List, B. 7, 1869.—Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 325 (Texas). Astur pennsylvanicus, Cuv. Règ. An. (ed. 2), I, 332, 1829.—James. (Wils.) Orn. I, 65. Falco latissimus, Wils. Am. Orn. (last ed.) VI, 92, pl. liv, f. 1, 1812. A. ? latissimus, Jard. (Wils.) Am. Orn. II, 294. Falco wilsoni, Bonap. Obs. Wils. Nouv. Journ. Ac. Sc. N. Y. III, 348. Pœcilopternis wilsoni, Kaup, Mon. Fal. Cont. Orn. p. 75, 1850. Sparvius platypterus, Vieill. Enc. Méth. III, 1273 (quot. Wils. pl. liv, fig. 1), 1823.

Sp. Char. Adult. Upper surface dark umber-brown, the feathers gradually paler toward edges; on the back, the feathers more uniformly dusky, causing a prevalent blackish appearance. Rump and upper tail-coverts blackish vandyke-brown; the latter tipped with pure white, and with a concealed bar of same, about the middle of each feather. Tail dull black, with an obscure terminal band of dull brown, this fading terminally into whitish; across the middle of the tail a broad band of dull light umber (in some individuals approaching dull white) about ¾ of an inch in width; about as far anterior to the main band as this is from the tip is another much narrower and more obscure band of the same color, crossing just beyond the ends of the coverts, or concealed by them. Primaries uniform brownish-black, fading on terminal edge into pale brown. Head above, and broad but inconspicuous “mustache,” running from beneath the lore downward across the cheek, dull black; the crown posteriorly, with the occiput and nape, having the dull black much broken, caused by the lateral streaks of dull rufous on all the feathers; this dull rufous tint prevails on the rest of the head and neck, as well as the breast, leaving the lores and chin and lateral portion of frontlet alone whitish; throat streaked with blackish. Beneath dull brownish-rufous; that of the breast almost unvaried; medially, however, are roundish spots of white on opposite webs, but these are not confluent; posteriorly these spots become gradually more numerous and more transverse, forming on the flanks transverse bands, almost continuous; on the tibiæ the white prevails, the rufous bars being more distant, and connected only by a brown shaft-line; lower tail-coverts less numerous, transverse spots of dull rufous. Lining of the wing ochraceous-white, with sparse, rather small, irregularly deltoid spots of dull rufous; under surface of the primaries unvaried white, as far as their emargination, beyond which they are black. Fourth quill longest; third a little shorter; second intermediate between fifth and sixth; first about equal to the ninth. Female (extremes 30,969, Brookline, Mass., and 30,895, Mirador, Mexico; the latter the larger.) Wing, 11.00–11.30; tail, 6.80–7.10; tarsus, 2.30; middle toe, 1.30. Male (32,309, Moose Factory, Hudson’s Bay Territory). Wing, 10.50; tail, 6.30; tarsus, 2.30; middle toe, 1.20.

Young male, second year? (39,106, Remedios, Cuba, June; N. H. Bishop). Upper parts similar to adult, but a reddish tint appreciably washing the edges of the interscapulars and (less noticeably so) the scapulars. Bands on tail nearly as in adult; but very near the base is a fourth, very narrow and faintly defined, pale band, while the bases of all the feathers are much mottled with white. Dull rufous of the breast not continuous, but in the form of large longitudinal broad spots, occupying the greater middle portion of each feather; abdomen, sides, and tibiæ with smaller and more cordate spots of dull rufous; the lower tail-coverts immaculate; the decided ochraceous tinge beneath, deepest posteriorly.

Young, first year (11,984, Washington, D. C.). The blackish above is much variegated, being broken by the narrow rusty borders to interscapulars, rump, and lesser wing-coverts; the broader and more ochraceous borders to scapulars and greater wing-coverts, and partially concealed whitish spotting on the former. Upper tail-coverts white, with broad bars of blackish-brown; secondaries and primaries edged terminally with whitish. Tail dull umber-brown, growing darker terminally; narrowly tipped with white, and crossed with six obscure, narrow bands of dusky, the (concealed) bases of all the feathers white. Superciliary region, cheeks, chin, throat, and entire lower parts, delicate pale ochraceous, or whitish cream-color; a conspicuous “mustache,” a medial longitudinal series of streaks on the throat, with large longitudinal ovate spots on sides of breast, cordate spots on sides and flanks, and sagittate spots on tibiæ, clear blackish-brown. The ochraceous deepest on the abdomen and crissum. Wing beneath as in adult.

A very young bird, scarcely fledged (33,598, Milltown, Me.; G. A. Boardman), differs from the last in a much more continuous black shade above, the deeper ochraceous beneath, and larger, as well as more numerous, blackish spots beneath.

In the adult plumage of this species, the principal variation is in the continuity or distinctness of the anterior light band on the tail, and the extent and depth of shade of the brown beneath. The first feature is characteristic of most specimens, only one (55,980, ♂, Costa Rica) being without it; it is broadest and most conspicuous, as well as less concealed by the coverts, in the females, and this appears to be the principal sexual difference. The dull brownish-rufous of the under parts is most prevalent in a specimen from Mirador, Mexico (30,895, ♀ ? September; Dr. Sartorius), in which specimen the breast is almost continuously of this color, and the lower tail-coverts are strongly barred (or transversely spotted) with the same; the ground-color beneath is also more ochraceous than in any other individual. In the Costa-Rican specimen (the one lacking the anterior tail-band), the brown beneath is quite different from that of the others, being of a much more ashy shade; the lower tail-coverts are also immaculate. The brown markings beneath are most sparse in 20,389, from Coban, Vera Paz (January; O. Salvin); in this, also, the tail-bands are very distinct, and almost white.

A young bird from Costa Rica (30,412; Dr. Frantzius) is exactly similar to No. 27,048, from Fort Garry, Selkirk Settlement.

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED

National Museum, 18; Philadelphia Academy, 6; Boston Society, 3; New York Museum, 2 (Caraccas); Museum, Cambridge, 2; Cab. G. N. Lawrence, 5; Coll. R. Ridgway, 2. Total, 38.

Hab. Eastern North America southward along Gulf coast through Louisiana, into Mexico and Central America; Cuba, Ecuador, Upper Amazon, Caraccas (N. Y. Museum).

Localities: Ecuador, winter (Scl. 1858, 451); Orizaba (Scl. 1857, 211); Upper Amazon (Scl. 1857, 261); Cuba (Cab. Journ. II, lxxxii; Gundlach, Rept. 1865, 223; resident); Panama (Lawr. VII, 1861, 288); S. E. Texas (Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 325; breeds); Costa Rica (Lawr. IX, 133).

Habits. The Broad-winged Hawk appears to be distributed over eastern North America, somewhat irregularly, as far north as the British Provinces, and as far west at least as the Mississippi. It has been found in Florida by Mr. Wurdemann, where it was said to be not uncommon. It is a resident in Cuba, where it breeds; but it has not been taken in Jamaica. It has also been detected in Guatemala by Mr. Skinner. Audubon states that he never met with it in Louisiana, but Mr. Dresser found it not uncommon from the Nueces eastward. In September he noticed several near the Mission of San Patricio, and during the winter obtained several specimens near San Antonio. In May he shot a young bird on the Medina River, and early in June he found a nest containing young on the Colorado. It was on a high cottonwood-tree, and in an almost inaccessible position.

Buteo pennsylvanicus.

It is not mentioned by Mr. Downes as occurring in Nova Scotia, though I think it quite probable it may be found there; but it is quite common near Calais, both in Eastern Maine and in New Brunswick. Professor Verrill gives it as a common summer visitant in Oxford County, Me., near Norway, and as still more abundant near the Umbagog Lakes, and apparently the most common Hawk in that vicinity. He found its nest, June 12, containing two eggs nearly hatched. It is to be met with throughout Massachusetts, having been found breeding near Williamstown, Springfield, and also in the vicinity of Boston. Its nest was also met with in Middlebury, Vt., by the late Professor Adams. Mr. McIlwraith, of Hamilton, Canada, has noted extensive migrations of this Hawk in March of different years, as many as twenty or thirty being in view at one time, passing at a considerable height, and moving in circles towards the northwest. Others, that appeared to be stragglers from the main body, were met with in the woods. Dr. Hoy states it to be rather common near Racine, and Mr. Kumlien has obtained it in the vicinity of Lake Koskonong. From all these data it may naturally be inferred that this Hawk has a pretty general distribution from Florida to Texas, and from New Brunswick to the Mississippi Valley, probably extending northward into the Saskatchewan Valley and south-westerly to Central America.

The Broad-winged Hawk was first described by Wilson, who shot a single specimen that had been feeding on a meadow-mouse. On his approach it uttered a whining whistle and flew to another tree. Another of the same species was observed, and its movements were in wide circles, with unmoving wings. Nuttall never met with it, and regarded it as very rare.

Audubon characterizes this Hawk as spiritless, inactive, and deficient in courage, seldom chasing other birds of prey, but itself frequently annoyed by the little Sparrow-Hawk, the Kingbird, and the Martin. It only attacks birds of a weak nature, young chickens, and ducklings, and feeds on small animals and insects. It is usually found singly, is easily approached, and when wounded throws itself on its back, erects its top feathers, utters a hissing sound, and attempts to defend itself with its talons.

A nest of this bird, found by Mr. Audubon, is said to have been about the size of that of the Crow, and to have been placed in the larger branches of a tree, near the trunk. It was composed externally of dry sticks and briers; internally, of small roots, and lined with numerous large feathers. The nest found by Professor Adams, near Middlebury, Vt., was quite large, and was coarsely constructed of sticks, and lined only with fibrous roots and fine grass. In this instance the eggs were three. This is the more usual number, though occasionally four or five are found.

Mr. Boardman informs me that Mr. Audubon’s account of the spiritless manner in which one of these Hawks suffered him to capture it on its nest does not at all correspond with his own experience. He has, on the contrary, found it one of the most courageous and spirited of its family. On one occasion, when a man employed by him was ascending to a nest, a parent bird assailed the disturber with great fury, tore his cap from his head, and would have done the man serious injury had it not been shot. In another instance one of these birds attacked a boy climbing to its nest, and fastened its talons in his arm, and could not be removed until it was beaten off and killed with a club.

The eggs of this Hawk have an average length of 2.09 inches, and an average breadth of 1.61. The smallest egg measures 1.94 by 1.50 inches, and the largest 2.11 by 1.72 inches, showing considerable variation in their relative capacity, but not so much as is found among the eggs of other species. In shape, the eggs are of a slightly rounded oval, one end a little less obtuse than the other. The ground-color is of a grayish or dirty white, occasionally with a slightly silvery shading. These are marked, usually over the entire egg, in irregular distribution, with varying shades of brown. The more common is a light tawny or reddish-brown. Intermingled with these blotches are often found a peculiar faint purplish-brown, dull shading of a light yellowish-brown, and a deep rich shade of purplish-brown, approaching occasionally almost in intensity to black. These may occur separately, or they may all be found blended in the same egg. The size, shape, and peculiar coloring of the eggs of this Hawk make them readily recognizable, though not readily permitting a satisfactory description.

A nest of this Hawk, taken by Mr. J. P. Ritchie, May 18, 1863,—the parent female of which was secured also,—is described as having been made of large sticks, very loosely put together, lined with a few pieces of bark. It was placed in the crotch of a tree, close to the trunk, and twenty feet from the ground, and contained two eggs.

Buteo swainsoni, BonapVar. swainsoni, BonapSWAINSON’S HAWK; BAIRD’S HAWK

Buteo swainsoni, Bonap. Comp. List, p. 3, 1838; Consp. Av. p. 19, 1850; Proc. Ac. N. S. Phil. p. 280, 1855; Birds N. Am. 19, 1858.—Heerm. P. R. R. Rep’t, II, 32, 1855.—Strickl. Orn. Syn. I, 30, 1855.—Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 324 (Texas).—Gamb. Journ. Ac. N. S. Phil. n. δ. I, 27.—Coues, Prod. B. Ariz. 9, 1866.—Blakist. Ibis, III, 1861, 317 (fresh eggs).—Gray, Hand List, I, 7, 1869. Falco buteo, Penn. Arct. Zoöl. II, 207, sp. 103 (♀ Juv.), 1785.—Aud. B. Am. pl. ccclxxii, 1831; Orn. Biog. IV, 508, 1831. Falco obsoletus, Gmel. Syst. Nat. p. 268, 1789.—Kerr, Trans. Gmel. II, 501, 1792.—Lath. Ind. Orn. p. 28, sp. 61, 1790; Synop. Supp. I, p. 30; Gen. Hist. I, p. 254, 1821.—Daud. Tr. Orn. II, 104, 1800.—Shaw, Zoöl. VII, 152, 1812. Buteo cinereus, Vieill. Ois. Am. 1807. Buteo vulgaris, Rich. & Swains. F. B. Am. p. 5, 1831.—Jard. (Wils.) Am. Orn. II, 56, 1808.—Brew. (Wils.) Am. Orn. p. 303; Synop. p. 684, 1852. Buteo montanus, Nutt. Man. Orn. U. S. & Canad. I, 112, 1833. Buteo bairdi, Hoy, Proc. Ac. Sc. Phil. VI, 451, 1853.—Cassin, B. of Cal. & Tex. pl. xli, 1854; Birds N. Am. 21, 1858.—Strickl. Orn. Syn. I, 37, 1855. Buteo insignatus, Cass. B. Cal. & Tex. p. 102, pl. xxxi, 1854; Birds N. Am. 23, 1858.—Heerm. P. R. R. Rep’t, VII, 31, 1857.—Strickl. Orn. Syn. I, 38, 1855.—Coues, Prod. B. Ariz. 9, 1866.—Bryant, Proc. Bost. Soc. X, 1865, 90 (= swainsoni). ? Buteo gutturalis, Max. Cab. Journ. VI, 1858, 17 (and eggs).

Sp. Char. Form robust and strong, like B. borealis; wings long and pointed; only three outer primaries with their inner webs cut. Feet robust, the tarsi strong. Dimensions: Wing, 14.40–17.00; tail, 8.00–9.50; culmen, .80–.95; tarsus, 2.30–2.70; middle toe, 1.50–1.70. Weight, 1½–3½ lbs. Colors: Tail dark grayish-brown with a hoary cast, crossed by numerous obscure narrow bands of a darker shade. Adult, uniform blackish-brown above; upper tail-coverts barred with white. Throat and lower parts posterior to the breast white or pale ochraceous; a broad patch across the breast uniform brown,—reddish-rufous in the male, and grayish-umber in the female,—the whole lower surface varying to entirely uniform dull brownish-black, though intermediate shades. Young, with the ground-color of the plumage soft ochraceous, or cream-color; the head, neck, dorsal region, and sides of the breast, with tear-shaped spots of brownish-black, with a faint purple reflection. Upper parts purplish-black, variegated with ochraceous, sometimes almost wholly black. Tail as in the adult, but more hoary.

a. Normal plumage

Adult male (53,105, Truckee River, Nevada, July; C. King, R. Ridgway). Head, neck, and upper parts blackish-brown; scapulars slightly variegated with a rufous mottling; upper tail-coverts white tinged with rufous, and with transverse bars of blackish-brown, about six on each feather. Tail dark brown like the back, approaching black terminally, basally with a slight hoary cast; crossed by about ten narrow, very obscure bands of nearly black. Front and whole throat clear white, immaculate, and sharply defined against the surrounding blackish; lores dusky. Whole breast, cinnamon-rufous (forming a wide, sharply defined band), marked laterally with the brown of the neck; each feather with a shaft-line of black; rest of lower parts, including whole lining of the wing, continuous ochraceous white, the latter region unvariegated; sides with sparse, faint, transverse bars of rufous, and shaft-lines of darker. Under side of primaries light slate anterior to emargination, beyond which they are black; slaty portion crossed by very obscure bars of darker. Fourth quill longest, third scarcely shorter; second equal to fifth; first intermediate between seventh and eighth. Length, 19.75; extent, 48.00; wing, 15.40; tail, 8.00; tarsus, 2.32; middle toe, 1.60. (Weight 1½ lbs.) Bill slate-black, bluish basally; cere, and angle of mouth, light dull lemon yellow; iris deep hazel; tarsi and toes deep chrome yellow, claws black.