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

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.