Part 11

1. Accipiter fuscus. (Gmelin.) The Sharp-shinned Hawk. The Chicken Hawk. Falco fuscus, and dubius. Gm., Syst. Nat. I. p. 280, 281. (1788.) Accipiter striatus. Vieill, Ois. Am. Sept. I. p. 42, (1807.) Falco velox, and Pennsylvanicus. Wilson Am. Orn. V. p. 116, and VI. p. 13, (1812.) Sparvius lineatus. Vieill. Ency. Meth. III. p. 1266. (1823.) Nisus Malfini. Less. Traité I. p. 58. (1831.) Accipiter fringilloides. Vig. Zool. Jour. III. p. 434.? (1827.)

Temm. Pl. col. 67. Vieill, Ois. d’Am. Sept. pl. 14. Wilson, Am. Orn. V. pl. 45, fig. 1, VI. pl. 46, fig. 1. Aud. B. of Am. pl. 374, Oct. ed. I. pl. 25.

Small, tail rather long, with the end nearly even; tarsi and toes slender. Adult, entire upper parts dark brownish black tinged with ashy, occiput mixed with white. Throat, and under tail-coverts, white, the former with very fine lines of black on the shafts of the feathers; other under parts, fine light rufous, deepest on the tibia, and with transverse bands of white; shafts of the feathers with lines of dark brown. Tail, ashy brown, tipped with white, and with about four bands of brownish black. Quills, brownish black, with bands of a darker shade, and of white on their inner webs; secondaries and tertiaries, with large partially concealed white spots. Shafts of quills tinged with reddish. Young. Entire upper parts umber brown, tinged with ashy; neck behind mixed with white; greater wing-coverts and shorter quills, with large white spots partially concealed. Under parts white, with longitudinal stripes and circular spots of reddish brown, changing into transverse bands on the flanks and tibiæ; under tail-coverts, in many specimens, pure white.

Dimensions. Total length, female, 12 to 14 inches, wing 7½; to 8, tail 6½ to 7 inches; male, total length 10 to 11, wing 6 to 6½, tail 5 to 5½ inches.

Hab. Throughout North America. Hudson’s Bay, (Richardson,) Wisconsin, (Hoy,) Texas, (Audubon,) California, (Heermann,) New Mexico, (M‘Call,) Mexico, (Pease.) Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada.

Obs. This little Hawk is one of the most common of the North American species. It is very similar, when adult, to the _Accipiter nisus_ of Europe, but the young differ, as is the case with nearly all our Hawks which resemble birds of the old world. We have never seen a specimen of _A. fuscus_ with the transverse bands on the under parts regular and unbroken, as is commonly met with in the young female of _A. nisus_.

Though we regard the law of priority as of great importance, we have in the case of this species continued Gmelin’s specific name _fuscus_, (1788,) though it had been previously used by Fabricius, (1780; see _Hierofalco sacer_ in this synopsis.) We know of no practical benefit, however, that would now result from the alteration of this long established name, especially as the _fuscus_ of Fabricius is a synonyme itself. Any naturalist, however, being so moved, may call this bird _Accipiter dubius_, if he chooses, and shall not be molested by us.

2. Accipiter Cooperii. (Bonaparte) Cooper’s Hawk. Falco Cooperii. Bonap. Am. Orn. II. p. 1. (1828.) Falco Stanleii. Aud. Orn. Biog. I. p. 186. (1831.)

Bonap. Am. Orn. pl. 1, fig. 1, young. Aud. B. of Am. pl. 36, 141, fig. 3; Oct. ed. I. pl. 24, adult and young.

Larger than the preceding; slender; wings short; tail rounded. Adult, head above brownish black, mixed with white on the occiput; other upper parts dark ashy brown, with the shafts of the feathers brownish black; an obscure rufous collar on the neck behind. Throat and under tail-coverts white, the former with lines of dark brown; other under parts transversely barred with light rufous and white; tail, dark cinereous, with four wide bands of brownish black, and tipped with white; quills ashy brown, with darker bands, and white marks on their inner webs. Young. Head and neck behind yellowish white tinged with rufous, and with longitudinal oblong stripes of brown; other upper parts light umber brown, with large partially concealed spots and bars of white; upper tail-coverts tipped with white; under parts white, with narrow longitudinal stripes of light brown; tail as in adult.

Dimensions. Female, total length 18 to 20 inches, wing 10 to 11, tail 8½; male, 16 to 17, wing 9½ to 10, tail 8 inches.

Hab. The entire territory of the United States. Chili, (Gay.)

Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada.

Obs. Rather a difficult species to the ornithologist, on account of the great variations in its colors, and in size also. It is, in fact, unusual to find two alike in a dozen specimens. Very similar when adult to _A. fuscus_, but much larger. The adults of both sexes are the same in color. We have latterly suspected that the smaller specimens usually considered as young males of this bird, are really the young of the species next below, (_A. Mexicanus_.)

This bird is of frequent occurrence in the United States.

3. Accipiter Mexicanus. Swainson. The Mexican Black-capped Hawk. Accipiter Mexicanus. Swains. Faun. Bor. Am. Birds p. 45, (1831,) not figured.

Smaller than the preceding; tail long, rounded. Adult, head above black; other upper parts dark brownish black, with a tinge of cinereous, darkest on the back. Throat and under tail-coverts white; other under parts fine light rufous, deepest on the tibiæ, and barred and spotted with white nearly obsolete on the breast, sides and tibiæ, the longitudinal dark lines on the shafts of the feathers, (conspicuous in _A. Cooperii_,) barely discernible on the breast. Quills, dark brown, edged exteriorly with ashy, and with bands of darker brown and white on their inner webs; tail, dark cinereous, tipped with white, and with four bands of brownish black, that near the base of the tail obscure. Young, head and neck behind, and upper part of the back, dark rufous, striped with brownish black; other upper parts umber brown; under parts white, with longitudinal narrow stripes of brown; wings and tail as in adult; upper tail-coverts tipped with white. “Iris, carmine,” Dr. Gambel.

Dimensions. Total length, male, 15 inches, wing 9, tail 8 inches.

Hab. California (Dr. Gambel, Mr. Bell); Mexico (Mr. Pease); Eastern? Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada.

Obs. Similar for the greater part, to _A. Cooperii_, but smaller, and with the tail and tarsi comparatively longer, and with the fine red of the under parts more uniform, the white stripes being nearly obsolete. Several specimens of both adults and young were brought in the fine collection made in California by Mr. J. G. Bell, of New York, and it was previously brought from the same country by Dr. Gambel, and from Mexico by Mr. Pease.

III. SUB-FAMILY BUTEONINÆ. THE BUZZARDS.

Bill short, strong, upper mandible curved, and with its edges festooned; wings long and broad; tail moderate, rather short; legs and feet moderate; toes rather short. General form heavy; flight vigorous, and capable of being long continued, but not so swift as in preceding sub-families. This group comprises about twenty-five species of all countries.

I. GENUS BUTEO. Cuvier, Reg. An., I. p. 323. (1817.)

PŒCILOPTERNIS. Kaup, Isis, 1847, p. 329.

Bill short, wide at base, edges of upper mandible festooned; nostrils large, ovate; wings long, wide, fourth and fifth quills usually longest; tail moderate, rather wide; tarsi rather long, and having transverse scales before and behind, but laterally small circular scales; toes moderate, rather short; claws strong. Comprises about twenty species, inhabiting all countries.

1. Buteo borealis. (Gmelin.) The Red-tailed Hawk. The American Buzzard. Falco borealis, leverianus and jamaicensis. Gmelin, Syst. Nat., I. p. 266. (1788.) Falco aquilinus. Bartram, Trav., p. 290. (1791.) Buteo ferruginicaudus. Vieill., Ois. d’Am. Sept., I. p. 32. (1807.) Accipiter ruficaudus. Vieill., Ois. d’Am. Sept., I. p. 43. (1807.) Buteo fulvus and americanus. Vieill., Nouv. Dict., IV. pp. 472, 477. (1816.)

Vieill., Ois. d’Am. Sept., I. pl. 6, 14; Wils., Am. Orn., VI. pl. 52, figs. 1, 2; Aud., B. of Am., pl. 51, oct. ed., I. pl. 7; Gosse, Ill. B. of Jamaica, pl. 2; Lembeye, B. of Cuba, pl. 1. fig. 1.

Adult. Tail bright rufous, narrowly tipped with white, and having a subterminal band of black. Entire upper parts dark umber-brown; lighter, and with fulvous edgings, on the head and neck; scapulars, with a generally concealed basal portion, white, with brown bands; upper tail-coverts generally yellowish white, but frequently on their inner webs of the same rufous as the tail, and with brown spots and bands. Throat white, with brown longitudinal stripes; other under-parts yellowish-white or fawn color, with many longitudinal lines and spots of reddish-brown, tinged with fulvous, most numerous on the breast, and an irregular band across the abdomen of oblong longitudinal spots and narrow transverse bars; under tail-coverts and tibiæ generally immaculate, but the latter frequently spotted, and transversely barred with light rufous. Under surface of the tail silvery white. Young. Tail, in many specimens, pale-brown, with numerous bands of a deeper shade of the same color, and tipped with white; upper tail-coverts white, banded more or less regularly with dark-brown; other upper parts dark umber-brown, many feathers narrowly edged with white and with partially concealed spots of white. Entire under-parts white, sides of the breast with large oval spots of brown, and a wide irregular band on the abdomen composed of similar spots of the same color; tibiæ and under tail-coverts with irregular bands and sagittate spots of brown.

Dimensions. _Female_—total length, 22 to 24 inches; wing, 15½ to 16; tail, 8½ inches. _Male_—19½ to 21 inches; wing, 14; tail, 7½ to 8 inches.

Hab. Eastern North America; Fur-countries (Richardson); Wisconsin (Hoy); Florida (Bartram); Jamaica (Gosse); Cuba (Lembeye).

Obs. One of the most common and easily recognized of the North American species. It is diffused throughout the eastern portion of the continent, but in the west appears to be replaced by the succeeding.

2. Buteo Swainsoni. Bonaparte, Comp. List, p. 3. (1838.) The Western Buzzard. Buteo montana. Nutt., Man. Orn., I. p. 112. (1840.) “Buteo vulgaris.” Rich. and Sw., Faun. Bor. Am. Birds, p. 47. “Falco buteo. Linn.” Aud., Orn. Biog., IV. p. 508.

Faun. Bor. Am. Birds, pl. 27; Aud., B. of Am., pl. 372, oct. ed., I. pl. 6.

General form and appearance very similar to _B. borealis_, but rather larger, and with the wings longer; neck and upper part of the breast brown; tibiæ light rufous, with transverse bars of a deeper shade of the same. Tail bright rufous, narrowly tipped with white, and with a subterminal band of black; upper tail-coverts rufous and white; entire other upper parts dark umber-brown, with partially concealed ashy-white and pale fulvous bands and spots on the scapulars and shorter quills. Lower breast white, tinged and with irregular transverse bands of pale-rufous; abdomen with a broad irregular transverse band composed of longitudinal lines and oblong spots of brown, and tinged with rufous. This abdominal band nearly obsolete in some specimens. Under tail-coverts yellowish-white; under surface of the tail silvery-white, with a reddish shade.

Young. Upper parts dark-brown, edged and spotted with white tinged with rufous; tail above ashy-brown, with dark-brown bands, and tipped with white. Under parts white, on the sides and abdomen with large oblong spots of brown; tibiæ and under tail-coverts white, with transverse bars and large spots of brown.

Dimensions. _Female_—total length, 23 to 26 inches; wing, 16½ to 17; tail, 9 to 10 inches. _Male_—smaller.

Hab. Northern and western regions—Rocky Mountains and Oregon (Dr. Townsend); California (Mr. Bell); Wisconsin (Dr. Roy); Mexico (Rivoli collection).

Obs. Nearly related to _B. borealis_, and much resembling it. We have never seen, however, specimens of the latter with the brown space on the neck and breast so extensive as in specimens of the present species brought from California by Mr. Bell, nor with the transverse bars on the abdomen, as is usual in this species, and as represented in the plate in Fauna Boreali Americana. It is brought frequently in collections from Western America; and the young may be _Buteo ventralis_. Gould.

3. Buteo lineatus. (Gmelin.) The Red-shouldered Hawk. The Winter Falcon. Falco lineatus and hyemalis. Gm., Syst. Nat., I. pp. 268, 274. (1788.) Falco buteoides. Nutt., Man., I. p. 100. (1st edition, 1832.)

Vieill., Ois. d’Am. Sept., pl. 5; Wils., Am. Orn., pl. 53, fig. 3; Aud., B. of Am., pl. 56, 71, oct. ed., I. pl. 9; Nat. Hist. N. Y., pl. 6, fig. 13.

Smaller than the preceding. Adult. Wing-coverts, from its flexure to the body, fine bright rufous; breast and other inferior parts paler rufous; many feathers with narrow lines of black on their shafts, and spotted and barred transversely with white; the latter color predominating on the under tail-coverts. Entire upper-parts brown; on the head and neck much mixed with rufous, and with white spots on the wing-coverts and shorter quills and rump; quills brownish-black, spotted with white on their outer webs, and with bars of a lighter shade of the same color and of white on their inner webs; tail brownish-black, with about five transverse bands of white, and tipped with white. Younger. Under parts with large sagittate spots and wide bars of rufous, tinged with brown. Young. Entire under-parts yellowish-white, with longitudinal stripes and oblong spots of brown; throat brown; upper parts brown, with partially concealed spots and bars of white; quills dark-brown, with wide bars of rufous, and white on both webs; tail brown, with many bands of pale brownish and rufous-white; tail beneath silvery-white.

Dimensions. _Female_—total length, 22 to 24 inches; wing, 14; tail, 9 inches. _Male_—total length, 18 to 20 inches; wing, 11½ to 12; tail, 8 inches.

Hab. North America; Oregon (Townsend); California (Heermann); Wisconsin (Hoy); South Carolina (Gibbes).

Obs. An abundant and rather difficult species to the student. The young bird, which is _Falco hyemalis_ Gm., is the more usually met with, and bears very little resemblance to the adult.

4. Buteo Bairdii. Hoy, Proc. Acad. Philada., VI. p. 451. (1853.)

Female. Rather smaller than _B. lineatus_; wings long and pointed; third primary longest; tail moderate, rounded. Entire upper-parts dark brown, with a purplish-bronze lustre, especially on the primaries; plumage of the head and neck behind, and some feathers on the back, edged and tipped with yellowish-white; upper tail-coverts yellowish-white, with transverse bars of brown. Tail above brownish-cinereous, and having about ten narrow bands of brownish-black, and tipped with white. Under parts pale yellowish-white, or fawn color, with a few sagittate spots of brown on the sides, and a stripe of brown running downwards from the corner of the mouth. Forehead white; under wing-coverts yellowish-white. Cere, legs, and irides, yellow.

Younger? Upper parts very dark-brown, or nearly black, with purplish lustre. Under parts with almost every feather having a large spot of brownish-black, which color predominates on the breast, so as to present a nearly uniform color with the upper parts; throat with narrow stripes of the same color. Flanks and inferior wing-coverts with circular and oval spots of white. Tibiæ dark-brown, with transverse bars and circular and oval spots of reddish-white. Upper tail-coverts reddish-white, with their outer edges brown, and with transverse stripes of the same. Under tail-coverts yellowish-white, with transverse stripes of brown. Forehead white; cheeks yellowish-white. Stripes from the corners of the mouth wide and conspicuous. Sex unknown.

Dimensions. _Female_—total length (of skin), 19½ inches; wing, 15; tail, 8 inches, and about an inch longer than the folded wings.

Hab. Wisconsin. Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada.

Obs. This is a well-marked species, especially in the stage of plumage described above as probably the younger, in which the nearly uniformly brownish-black breast and large spots of the same color on the other under-parts, are striking characters. The first-described plumage resembles that of _B. pennsylvanicus_. We have seen only the two specimens now described, both of which are from the State of Wisconsin.

5. Buteo pennsylvanicus. (Wilson.) The Broad-winged Hawk. Falco pennsylvanicus. Wils., Am. Orn., VI. p. 92. (1812.) Falco latissimus. Wils., Am. Orn., VI. p. 92. (1812. Copies printed later than those containing the preceding name.) Sparvius platypterus. Vieill., Ency. Meth., III. p. 1273. (1823.) Falco Wilsonii. Bonap., Jour. Acad. Philada., III. p. 348. (1824.)

Wils., Am. Orn., VI. pl. 54, fig. 1; Aud., B. of Am., pl. 91, oct. ed. I. pl. 10; Nat. Hist. N. Y. Orn., pl. 5, fig. 11.

Smaller than either of the preceding. Adult. Entire upper-parts dark umber-brown; feathers on the back of the neck white at their bases. Throat white, with narrow longitudinal lines of brown, and with a patch of brown on each side, running from the base of the lower mandible; breast with a wide band composed of large cordate and sagittate spots and transverse stripes of reddish-ferruginous tinged with ashy; other under-parts white, with numerous sagittate spots disposed to form transverse bands on the lower part of the breast, flanks, abdomen, and tibiæ. In some specimens, in winter plumage, the ferruginous color predominates on all the under parts, except the under tail-coverts, and all the feathers have large circular spots on each edge; under tail-coverts white. Tail dark-brown, narrowly tipped with white, and with one broad band of white and several other narrower bands nearer the base. Quills brownish-black, widely bordered with pure white on their inner webs. Young. Plumage above umber-brown, edged on the head and back of the neck with fulvous, and with many feathers on other upper-parts edged with the same color and ashy-white; upper tail-coverts spotted with pure white. Under-parts white, generally tinged with yellowish, many feathers having oblong and lanceolate longitudinal stripes and spots of brown; a stripe of brown on each side of the neck from the base of the under mandible. Tail brown, with several bands of a darker shade of the same and of white on the inner webs of the feathers and narrowly tipped with white.

Dimensions. _Female_—total length, 17 to 18 inches; wing, 11; tail, 6½ to 7 inches. _Male_—smaller.

Hab. Eastern North America; Florida (Abadie); Long Island (Giraud); Wisconsin (Hoy). Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada.

Obs. This handsome little species is of rather unusual occurrence in the middle and southern States, though according to Dr. Hoy it is abundant in Wisconsin. It is an easily recognized species, though presenting considerable variations in color, according to age and season.

The names _Falco pennsylvanicus_ and _Falco latissimus_ occur in different copies of the sixth volume of the original edition of Wilson (1812), and the probability is that the latter was substituted by the author, in the later printed copies, after he had noticed that he had previously applied the name _pennsylvanicus_ to another species. Of the last three volumes only second editions were published under the editorship of Mr. Ord; the seventh and eighth in 1824, and the ninth in 1825. The statement in Hall’s edition, I. p. 92 (Philadelphia, 1828), that the name _latissimus_ was given by Mr. Ord, is therefore incorrect. That gentleman, now President of the Philadelphia Academy, and of whose advice and instruction we have the great advantage and gratification, informs us that he had nothing to do with either of the names to which we here allude.

6. Buteo Harlani. (Aud.) Harlan’s Buzzard. The Black Warrior. Falco Harlani. Audubon, Orn. Biog., I. p. 441. (1831. Plate pub. 1830) “Buteo borealis.” Gray, Catalogue of Birds in British Museum, Accipitres, p. 34. Buteo albonotatus. Gray, Cat. Brit. Mus., Accipitres, p. 36; Kaup, Isis, 1847, pp. 329, 369?

Aud., B. of Am., pl. 86, oct. ed. I. pl. 8.

“Head very large; neck short; body robust. Feet of ordinary length; tarsus a little compressed, scutellate before and behind, reticularly scaly on the sides; toes scutellate above, scaly on the sides, tubercular and scabrous beneath; claws curved, roundish, very acute. Plumage compact; feathers of the head and neck short and rounded; tibial feathers elongated, and loose at the tips. Wings long; first quill short, third and fifth equal; first primaries cut out on the inner web towards the end. Tail longish, ample, of twelve broad, rounded feathers. Bill light-blue, black towards the end; cere and angles of the mouth yellowish-green. Iris light yellowish-brown. Feet dull greenish yellow; claws black.

“The general color of the plumage is deep chocolate-brown; the under-parts lighter, the feathers there being margined with light-brown. Tail lighter than the back, and rather narrowly barred with brownish-black, the tips brownish-red. Under wing-coverts whitish, spotted with deep-brown. Length, 21 inches; extent of wings, 45; bill, along the back, 1½; along the gap, from the tip of the lower mandible, 1½; tarsus, 1¾.” (Aud., as above.)

Adult? Brownish-black, with a purplish lustre; occipital feathers white at base, and a few white feathers in front at the base of the bill. Under wing-coverts black, with circular spots and irregular bars of white. Quills white on their inner webs for about two-thirds of their length, and transversely barred with pale ashy-brown. Tail above brownish black, tinged with ashy, and with about six to eight bars of black, the widest of which is next to the tip, which is white. Inner webs of the tail-feathers, except the two in the middle, white, mottled with ashy, and with the transverse bars conspicuous; tail beneath ashy-white. Plumage of the back and entire under-parts of the body white at base, and having concealed pairs of circular and oval spots of white most obvious on the abdomen and under tail-coverts. Bill and legs light-colored.

Dimensions. Total length (of skin), 20 inches; wing, 16½; tail, 9½ inches.

Hab. Louisiana (Audubon); Mexico? Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada.

Obs. The only bird that we have ever seen which appeared to be this species is that described above as probably the adult. It is one of two or three species of black Buzzards which inhabit Mexico and Central America, and we suspect it of being identical with _B. albonotatus_ (Gray, as above), though of that species there is no sufficient description published.

7. Buteo insignatus. Cassin. _New species._ (March, 1854.) The Canada Buzzard.