FALCONID.E. II YPOTKIORCHIS FEMORALIS. 15 



M. D'Orbigny states that the femoralis prefers a dry, open country with scattered 

 bushes, which Mr. Darwin confirms. Mr. Bishop also informs me that he met with 

 this Hawk in the greatest abundance upon those vast plains of South America 

 known as the Pampas, in which no trees except the ombii are found, and that it 

 there nests exclusively on the tops of low bushes hardly more than a foot or two 

 from the ground. The bird is not at all shy, like most Hawks, but is easily ap- 

 proached so nearly as to be readily recognized. 



Mr. Bridges states, in the Proceedings of the London Zoological Society (1843, 

 p. 109), that the H. femoralis is trained in some parts of South America for the 

 pursuit of smaller gallinaceous birds, and that it is highly esteemed by the Chilian 

 falconers. It very soon becomes quite docile, and will even follow its master within 

 a few weeks of its capture. 



I am indebted to my esteemed friend, Mr. Nathaniel H. Bishop, of Medford, 

 Massachusetts, a young and enthusiastic naturalist, whose zeal in the study of 

 natural history prompted him, alone, unaided, and at the risk of his life, to explore 

 the arid plains of South America, while yet a mere lad in years and stature, though 

 his observations there exhibit the close and careful study of maturer years, for two 

 fine specimens of the eggs of this Hawk. They were obtained by him in the midst 

 of the Pampas. The nest contained but these two, and was built on the top of a 

 low bush or stunted tree, hardly two feet from the ground. It was constructed, 

 with some pains and elaboration, of withered grasses and dry leaves. 



The eggs in my possession measure, one l^f inches in length by 1^-J inches in 

 breadth, the other Iff inches by If. This does not materially vary from the measure- 

 ment given by Darwin. The ground color of the egg is white. This, however, is so 

 thickly and so generally studded with fine brown markings, that the white ground 

 to the eye has a rusty appearance, and its real hue is hardly distinguishable. Over 

 the entire surface of the egg is distributed an infinite number of fine dottiugs, of a 

 color most nearly approaching a raw terra-sienna brown. Over this again are larger 

 blotches, lines, and splashes of a handsome shade of Vandyke-brown. In the egg 

 represented in the plate (Plate 3, fig. 22), these larger markings are much more 

 frequent than in the other specimen, and produce quite a fine effect. The latter 

 specimen is chiefly marked with the finer rusty dottings, but with only a few 

 blotches of Vandyke-brown. It has, in consequence, a more dingy and less pleas- 

 ing effect. 



