Part 17

Mr. Dall mentions shooting a pair near Nuk´koh, on the Yukon River, that had a nest on a dead spruce. The young, on the 1st of June, were nearly ready to fly. It was not a common species, but was found from Nulato to Sitka and Kodiak.

In regard to general characteristics of this Falcon, they do not apparently differ in any essential respects from those of the better-known _Falco communis_ of the Old World. It flies with immense rapidity, rarely sails in the manner of other Hawks, and then only for brief periods and when disappointed in some attempt upon its prey. In such cases, Mr. Audubon states, it merely rises in a broad spiral circuit, in order to reconnoitre a space below. It then flies swiftly off in quest of plunder. These flights are made in the manner of the Wild Pigeon. When it perceives its object, it increases the flappings of its wings, and pursues its victim with a surprising rapidity. It turns, and winds, and follows every change of motion of the object of pursuit with instantaneous quickness. Occasionally it seizes a bird too heavy to be managed, and if this be over the water it drops it, if the distance to land be too great, and flies off in pursuit of another. Mr. Audubon has known one of this species to come at the report of a gun, and carry off a Teal not thirty steps distant from the sportsman who had killed it. This daring conduct is a characteristic trait.

This bird is noted for its predatory attacks upon water-fowl, but it does not confine itself to such prey. In the interior, Richardson states that it preys upon the Wild Pigeon, and upon smaller birds. In one instance Audubon has known one to follow a tame Pigeon to its house, entering it at one hole and instantly flying out at the other. The same writer states that he has seen this bird feeding on dead fish that had floated to the banks of the Mississippi. Occasionally it alights on the dead branch of a tree in the neighborhood of marshy ground, and watches, apparently surveying, piece by piece, every portion of the territory. As soon as it perceives a suitable victim, it darts upon it like an arrow. While feeding, it is said to be very cleanly, tearing the flesh, after removing the feathers, into small pieces, and swallowing them one by one.

The European species, as is well known, was once largely trained for the chase, and even to this day is occasionally used for this purpose; its docility in confinement, and its wonderful powers of flight, rendering it an efficient assistant to the huntsman. We have no reason to doubt that our own bird might be made equally serviceable.

Excepting during the breeding-season, it is a solitary bird. It mates early in February, and even earlier in the winter. Early in the fall the families separate, and each bird seems to keep to itself until the period of reproduction returns.

In confinement, birds of this family become quite tame, can be trained to habits of wonderful docility and obedience, and evince even an affection for the one who cares for their wants.

This species appears to nest almost exclusively on cliffs, and rarely, if ever, to make any nests in other situations. In a few rare and exceptional cases this Falcon has been known to construct a nest in trees. Mr. Ord speaks of its thus nesting among the cedar swamps of New Jersey; but this fact has been discredited, and there has been no recent evidence of its thus breeding in that State. Mr. Dall found its nest in a tree in Alaska, but makes no mention of its peculiarities.

The eggs of this species are of a rounded-oval shape, and range from 2.00 to 2.22 inches in length, and from 1.60 to 1.90 in width. Five eggs, from Anderson River, have an average size of 2.09 by 1.65 inches. An egg from Mount Tom, Mass., is larger than any other I have seen, measuring 2.22 inches in length by 1.70 in breadth, and differs in the brighter coloring and a larger proportion of red in its markings. The ground is a deep cream-color, but is rarely visible, being generally so entirely overlaid by markings as nowhere to appear. In many the ground-color appears to have a reddish tinge, probably due to the brown markings which so nearly conceal it. In others, nothing appears but a deep coating of dark ferruginous or chocolate-brown, not homogeneous, but of varying depth of coloring, and here and there deepening into almost blackness. In one egg, from Anderson River, the cream-colored ground is very apparent, and only sparingly marked with blotches of a light brown, with a shading of bronze. An egg from the cabinet of Mr. Dickinson, of Springfield, taken on Mount Tom, Massachusetts, is boldly blotched with markings of a bright chestnut-brown, varying greatly in its shadings.

_Subgenus_ ÆSALON, KAUP.

_Æsalon_, KAUP, 1829. (Type, _Falco æsalon_, GMELIN, = _F. lithofalco_, GM.) _Hypotriorchis_, AUCT. _nec_ BOIE, 1826, the type of which is _Falco subbuteo_, LINN. _Dendrofalco_, GRAY, 1840. (Type, _F. æsalon_, GMEL.)

This subgenus contains, apparently, but the single species _F. lithofalco_, which is found nearly throughout the Northern Hemisphere, and in different climatic regions is modified into geographical races. Of these, North America possesses three, and Europe one; they may be distinguished as follows:—

Species and Races.

=F. lithofalco.= Second and third quills longest; first usually shorter than, occasionally equal to, or rarely longer than, the fourth. _Adult female, and young of both sexes._ Above brownish, varying from pale earth-brown, or umber, to nearly black, plain, or with obscure transverse spotting of lighter; tail with five to eight lighter bands, which, however, are sometimes obsolete, except the terminal one. Beneath ochraceous-white, longitudinally striped with brown or dusky over the whole surface. _Adult male_ (except in var. _suckleyi_ and _richardsoni_?). Above plumbeous-blue, with darker shaft-streaks; tail with more or less distinct bands of black, and paler tip. Beneath much as in the female and young, but stripes usually narrower and more reddish. Wing, 7.20–9.00; tail, 4.90–6.30; culmen, .45–.60; tarsus, 1.30–1.60; middle toe, 1.15–1.51.

_a._ Adult male plumbeous-blue above; sexes very unlike in adult dress. Female and young without transverse spotting on upper parts.

_Adult male._ Tail deep plumbeous, tipped with ash, with six transverse series of dusky spots (which do not touch the shaft nor edge of the feathers) anterior to the subterminal zone, the black of which extends forward along the edge of the feather. Inner web of the longest primary with ten transverse spots of white. Streaks on the cheeks enlarged and blended, forming a conspicuous “mustache.” Pectoral markings linear black. The ochraceous wash deepest across the nape and breast, and along the sides, and very pale on the tibiæ. _Adult female._ Above brownish-plumbeous, the feathers becoming paler toward their margins, and with conspicuous black shaft-streaks. Tail with eight (three concealed) narrow bands of pale fulvous-ashy; longest primary with ten light spots on inner web. Outer webs of primaries with a few spots of ochraceous. _Young._ Similar to the ♀ _adult_, but with a more rusty cast to the plumage, and with more or less distinct transverse spots of paler on the upper parts. Wing, 7.60–9.00; tail, 5.10–6.30; culmen, .45–.55; tarsus, 1.35–1.47; middle toe, 1.15–1.35. _Hab._ Europe …

var. _lithofalco_.[58]

_Adult male._ Tail light ash, tipped with white, and crossed by three or four nearly continuous narrow bands of black (extending over both webs, and crossing the shaft), anterior to the broad subterminal zone, the black of which does not run forward along the edge of the feathers. Inner web of longest primary with seven to nine transverse spots of white. Streaks on the cheeks sparse and fine, not condensed into a “mustache.” Pectoral markings broad clear brown. Ochraceous wash weak across the nape and breast, and along sides, and very deep on the tibiæ. _Adult female._ Above plumbeous-umber, without rusty margins to the feathers, and without conspicuous black shaft-streaks. Tail with only five (one concealed) narrow bands of pale ochraceous; outer webs of primaries without ochraceous spots; inner web of outer primary with eight spots of white. _Young._ Like the adult female, but darker. Wing, 7.90–8.25; tail, 5.15–5.25; tarsus, 1.00; middle toe, 1.25. _Hab._ Entire continent of North America; West Indies …

var. _columbarius_.

_b._ Adult male not bluish? sexes similar? upper parts with lighter transverse spots.

_Adult._ Above light grayish-umber, or earth-brown, with more or less distinct lighter transverse spots; secondaries crossed by three bands of ochraceous spots, and outer webs of inner primaries usually with spots of the same. Tail invariably with six complete and continuous narrow bands of dull white. Beneath white, with broad longitudinal markings of light brown, these finer and hair-like on the tibiæ and cheeks, where they are sparse and scattered, not forming a “mustache.” Top of the head much lighter than the back. _Young._ Similar, but much tinged with rusty above, all the white portions inclining to pale ochraceous. Wing, 7.70–9.00; tail, 5.00–6.30; culmen, .50–.60; tarsus, 1.40–1.65; middle toe, 1.20–1.51. Second and third quills longest; first equal to fourth, slightly shorter, or sometimes slightly longer. _Hab._ Interior plains of North America, between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, from the Arctic regions to Texas …

var. (?) _richardsoni_.

_c._ Adult male not bluish? sexes similar? upper parts without transverse spots, and tail without lighter bands, except at the tip.

Above plain brownish-black; the tail narrowly tipped with whitish, but without other markings; inner webs of the primaries without lighter spots. Beneath pale ochraceous broadly striped with sooty-black. Wing, 7.35–8.50; tail, 5.25–5.75; culmen, .50–.55; tarsus, 1.30–1.62; middle toe, 1.25–1.35. _Hab._ Northwest coast region from Oregon to Sitka …

var. _suckleyi_.

Falco (Æsalon) lithofalco (GMELIN).

=Var. columbarius=, LINNÆUS.

PIGEON HAWK; AMERICAN MERLIN.

_Falco columbarius_, LINN. Syst. Nat. 1766, p. 128.—GMEL. Syst. Nat. 1789, p. 281.—LATH. Ind. Orn. I, 44, 1790; Syn. I, 101, sp. 86; Supp. I, 27, 1802; Gen. Hist. I, 278, 1821.—DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, 83, 1800.—SHAW. Zoöl. VII, 188, 1812.—WILS. Am. Orn. pl. xv, fig. 3, 1808.—JARD. (WILS.) Am. Orn. I, p. 254, 1808.—JAMES. (WILS.) Am. Orn. I, 61.—BREW. (WILS.) Am. Orn. I, 683, 1852.—RICH. Faun. Bor. Am. II, 35, 1831.—AUD. Syn. B. A. p. 16, 1839; Orn. Biog. I, 466.—BONAP. Ann. Lyc. N. Y. II, 28; Isis, 1832, p. 1136; Eur. & N. Am. B. p. 4, 1838.—NUTT. Man. I, 60, 1833.—CUV. Règ. An. (ed. 2), I, 322, 1829.—LESS. Tr. Orn. p. 92, 1831.—FORST. Phil. Trans. LXII, 382, 1772.—SWAINS. Classif. B. II, p. 212, 1837.—JARD. Ann. Nat. Hist. XVIII, 118.—GOSSE, B. Jam. p. 17, 1847.—SAGRA, Hist. Nat. Cuba Ois. p. 23.—WEDDERB. Jard. Cont. Orn. 1849, p. 81.—HURDIS, Jard. Cont. Orn. 1850, p. 6.—DE KAY, Zoöl. N. Y. II, 15, pl. iv, f. 9, 1844.—GIRAUD, B. Long Isl. p. 17.—BLACKIST. Ibis, III, 315. _Tinnunculus columbarius_, VIEILL. Ois. Am. Sept. I, pl. xi, 1807; Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat. XII, 104, 1819; Enc. Méth. III, 1236, 1823. _Hypotriorchis columbarius_, GRAY, List B. B. Mus. p. 55, 1844; Gen. B. fol. sp. 11, 1844.—CASS. B. Calif. & Tex. p. 90, 1854.—WOODH. (Sitg.) Exp. Zuñi & Colorad. p. 60, 1853.—HEERM. P. R. R. Rept. II, 31, 1855.—NEWB. P. R. Rept. VI, 74, 1857.—CASS. B. N. Am. p. 9, 1858.—COOPER & SUCK. P. R. R. Rept. XII, 1860, 142.—COUES, Pr. A. N. S. Phil. 1866, 6.—BREWER, Oölogy, 12. _Lithofalco columbarius_, BONAP. Consp. Av. p. 26, 1850. _Æsalon columbarius_, KAUP, Monog. Falc. Cont. Orn. p. 54, 1850.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 21, 1869. _Falco obscurus_, GMEL. Syst. Nat. p. 281, 1789.—LATH. Ind. Orn. p. 44, 1790; Syn. Supp. I, 38, 1802; Gen. Hist. I, 272, 1821.—DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, p. 123, 1800. _Falco intermixtus_, DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, p. 141, 1800.—LATH. Gen. Hist. I, 136, 1821. _F. temerarius_, AUD. B. Am. pls. lxxv, xcii, 1831; Orn. Biog. I, 380, 1831. _F. auduboni_, BLACKW. Res. Zoöl. 1840. _Accipiter palumbarius_, CATESB. Carol. I, pl. iii, 1754.

SP. CHAR. _Adult male._ Above cinereous, varying in shade, but generally of a slaty-bluish cast; each feather with a distinct shaft-streak of black, these lines most conspicuous on the head above. Tail with a very broad subterminal band of black, about one inch in width; there are indications of three other bands, their continuity and distinction varying with the individual, but generally quite conspicuous, and each about half the width of the terminal one; the subterminal black band is succeeded by a terminal one of white, of about three-sixteenths of an inch in width, sometimes broader; on the lateral feathers the black bands are always conspicuous, being in form of transverse oblong spots, crossing the shaft, but less extended on the outer web, which is often immaculate except at the end, the broad terminal band always extending to the edge of the feather. Primaries dusky-black, margined terminally more or less distinctly with whitish (sometimes fading on the edge only); on the inner web is a series of about eight transverse oval spots of white, and generally corresponding to these are indications of bluish-ashy spots on the outer web. Beneath white, this purest on the throat, which is immaculate: there is generally a more or less strong tinge of fulvous beneath, this always prevalent on the tibiæ, and on a distinct collar extending round the nape, interrupting the blue above; the tibiæ frequently incline to ochraceous-rufous. Lateral portions of the head with fine streaks of dusky, these thickest on upper edge of the ear-coverts, leaving a distinct whitish superciliary streak, those of opposite sides meeting on the forehead. Breast, upper part of the abdomen, sides, and flanks, with longitudinal stripes of umber, each with a shaft-streak of black; on the flanks their shape is modified, here taking the form of spots running in chain-like series; tibiæ with narrower and darker streaks; lower tail-coverts with narrow central streaks like those on the tibiæ. Frequently there is a strong bluish shade on flanks and lower tail-coverts, sometimes replacing the brown of the spots on the former, and clouding in a similar form the latter. Length, 11.00; extent, 23.75; wing, 7.75.

_Adult female._ Pattern of coloration as in the male, but the colors different. The blue above replaced by dark umber-brown with a plumbeous cast, and showing more or less distinct darker shaft-lines; these on the head above very broad, giving a streaked appearance; white spots on inner webs of primaries more ochraceous than in the male. Tail dark plumbeous-brown, shading into blackish toward end, with five rather narrow ochraceous or soiled white bars, the first of which is concealed by the upper coverts, the last terminal. White beneath, less tinged with reddish than in the male, the tibiæ not different from the other portions; markings beneath as in the male.

_Juv._ Above plumbeous-brown, tinged with fulvous on head, and more or less washed with the same on the rump; frequently the feathers of the back, rump, scapulars, and wings pass into a reddish tinge at the edge; this color is, however, always prevalent on the head, which is conspicuously streaked with dusky. Tail plumbeous-dusky, darker terminally, with five regular light bars, those toward the base ashy, as they approach the end becoming more ochraceous; these bars are more continuous and regular than in the adult female, and are even conspicuous on the middle feathers. Primaries dusky, passing on edge (terminally) into lighter; spots on the inner webs broader than in the female, and pinkish-ochre; outer webs with less conspicuous corresponding spots of the same. Beneath soft ochraceous; spots as in adult female, but less sharply defined; tibiæ not darker than abdomen.

HAB. Entire continent of North America, south to Venezuela and Ecuador; West India Islands.

Localities: Ecuador (high regions in winter, SCL. P. Z. S. 1858, 451); Cuba (CAB. Jour. II, lxxxiii, Gundlach, Sept. 1865, 225); Tobago (JARD. Ann. Mag. 116); S. Texas (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 323, breeding?); W. Arizona (COUES, Pr. A. N. S. 1866, 42); Costa Rica (LAWR. IX, 134); Venezuela (SCL. & SALV. 1869, 252).

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

National Museum, 42; Boston Society, 11; Philadelphia Academy, 10; Museum Comp. Zoöl., 7; New York Museum, 3; G. N. Lawrence, 2; R. Ridgway, 4. Total, 79.

_Measurements._

+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ |Sex.| Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. |Middle Toe.|Specimens.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♂ | 7.20–7.90| 4.90–5.50| .48–.50|1.30–1.40| 1.15–1.25| 34 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♀ | 8.00–8.55| 5.50–6.00| .55–.60|1.55–1.60| 1.35–0.00| 32 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+

The plumage of the adult male, which is not as often seen as that of the younger stages and adult female, is represented in the Smithsonian Collection by fifteen specimens, from various parts of North America. Of these, an example from Jamaica exhibits the purest shades of color, though agreeing closely with some specimens from the interior of the United States; the cinereous above being very fine, and of a light bluish cast. The upper tail-coverts are tipped with white; the tail is a quarter of an inch longer than in any North American specimen, one half-inch longer than the average; the wing, however, is about the same.

A specimen from Santa Clara, California (4,475, Dr. J. G. Cooper), like most of those from the Pacific coast, has the cinereous very dark above, while beneath the ochraceous is everywhere prevalent; the flanks are strongly tinged with blue; the black bars of the tail are much broken and irregular. A specimen from Jamaica (24,309, Spanish Town; W. T. March), however, is even darker than this one, the stripes beneath being almost pure black; on the tail black prevails, although the bands are very regular. Nos. 27,061, Fort Good Hope, British America, 43,136, Fort Yukon, Alaska, and 51,305, Mazatlan, Mexico, have the streaks beneath narrow and linear; the ochraceous confined to the tibiæ, which are of a deep shade of this color.

A specimen from Nicaragua (No. 40,957, Chinandega) is like North American examples, but the reddish tinge beneath is scarcely discernible, and confined to the tibiæ, which are but faintly ochraceous; the markings beneath are broad and deep umber, the black shaft-streak distinct.

In the adult female there is as little variation as in the male in plumage, the shade of brown above varying slightly, also the yellowish tinge beneath; the bars on the tail differ in continuity and tint in various specimens, although they are always five in number,—the first concealed by the coverts, the last terminal. In 19,382, Fort Simpson, British America, and 2,706, Yukon, R. Am. (probably very old birds), the light bars are continuous and pale dull ashy.

The young vary about the same as adults. Nos. 19,381, Big Island, Great Slave Lake; 5,483, Petaluma, California; and 3,760, Racine, Wisconsin,—are young males moulting, scattered feathers appearing on the upper parts indicating the future blue plumage.

Var. suckleyi, RIDGWAY.

BLACK MERLIN.

SP. CHAR. A miniature of _F. peregrinus_, var. _pealei_. Above, uniform fuliginous-black, the secondaries and tail-feathers very narrowly but sharply tipped with white, and the primaries passing into whitish on their terminal margin; nuchal region with concealed spotting of pale rusty or dingy whitish. Beneath, longitudinally striped with fuliginous-black, or dark sooty-brown, and pale ochraceous; the former predominating on the breast, the latter prevailing on the throat and anal region. Sides and flanks nearly uniform dusky, with roundish white spots on both webs; lower tail-coverts with a broad sagittate spot of dusky on each feather. Lining of the wing fuliginous-dusky, with sparse, small roundish spots of white. Inner webs of primaries plain dusky, without spots, or else with them only faintly indicated. Tail plain dusky-black, narrowly tipped with white, and without any bands, or else with them only faintly indicated.

_Male_ (No. 4,477, Shoalwater Bay, Washington Territory; J. G. Cooper). Wing, 7.35; tail, 5.25; culmen, .50; tarsus, 1.30; middle toe, 1.25.

_Female_ (No. 5,832, Fort Steilacoom, Washington Territory, September, 1856; Dr. George Suckley). Wing, 8.50; tail, 5.70; culmen, .55; tarsus, 1.62; middle toe, 1.35.

HAB. Coast region of Northern California, Oregon, and Washington Territory (probably northward to Alaska). Puget Sound, Steilacoom, Yreka, California (Oct.), and Shoalwater Bay (_National Museum_).

The plumage of this race is the chief point wherein it differs from the other forms of the species; and in its peculiarities we find just what should be expected from the Oregon region, merely representing as it does the melanistic condition so frequently observable in birds from the northwest coast.

The upper parts are unicolored, being continuous blackish-plumbeous from head to tail. The tail is tipped with white, but the bars are very faintly indicated, being in No. 4,499 altogether wanting, while in 21,333 they can scarcely be discovered, and only four are indicated; in the others there is the usual number, but they are very obsolete. In No. 4,499, the most extreme example, the spots on the inner webs of the primaries are also wanting; the sides of the head are very thickly streaked, the black predominating, leaving the superciliary stripe ill-defined; the throat is streaked, and the other dark markings beneath are so exaggerated that they cover all portions, and give the prevailing color; the under tail-coverts have broad central cordate black spots.

Another specimen from this region (4,476, Puget Sound) is similar, but the spots on primaries are conspicuous, as in examples of the typical style; indeed, except in the most extreme cases, these spots will always be found indicated, leading us to the unavoidable conclusion that the specimens in question represent merely the fuliginous condition of the common species; not the condition of _melanism_, but the peculiar darkened plumage characteristic of many birds of the northwest coast, the habitat of the present bird; it should then be considered as rather a geographical race, co-equal to the _Falco gyrfalco_, var. _labradora_, _F. peregrinus_, var. _pealei_, and other forms, and not confounded with the individual condition of _melanism_, as seen in certain species of _Buteones_.

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

National Museum, 6.

_Measurements._

+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ |Sex.| Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. |Middle Toe.|Specimens.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♂ | 7.35–7.70| 5.25–5.60| .48–.50|1.30–1.45| 1.20–0.00| 3 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♀ | 8.25–8.50| 5.70–5.80| .55–.60|1.50–1.60| 1.35–1.40| 3 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+

Second quill longest; first quill equal to, a little shorter than, or a little longer than, the fourth.

Var. richardsoni, RIDGWAY.