182 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



tlirougliout Central and Southern Chile. It was constantly met with along 

 tlie roads, and wlierever there was a chance of obtaininjf a particle of ilesh 

 or offal. At tlie annual slau_ifhtering of cattle they congregate by hundreds, 

 and remain witliout the corral, awaiting their share of the rejected parts. It 

 was so tamo, from not being molested, that it could be taken with the lasso, 

 but when lluis captured, it tights desperately, and no amount of attention 

 or kindness can reconcile it to the loss of liberty. 



Througliout South America it is one of the most abundant species, its 

 geographical range extending even to Cape Horn. jMr. Darwin found the 

 Poluhorus nowhere so common as on the grassy savannas of the La Plata, 

 and says that it is also found on the most desert plains of Patagonia, even 

 to the rocky and barren shores of the Pacific. 



Genus PANDION, .S.wignt. 



P(zn(ij<m, Savign. 1809. (Type, Falco halkctus, Lis.v.) 

 Triorchis, Leach, 1816. (Same typ«.) 

 Balbusardiis, Fleming, 1828. (Same type.) 



Gen. Char. Bill inflatod, the cere depressed below the arched culmen ; end of bill 

 much developed, fomiiiig a strong, pendent hook. Anterior edge of nostril touching edge 

 of the cere. Whole of tarsus and toes (except terminal joint) covered with rough, some- 

 what imbricated, projecting scales. Outer toe versatile ; all the claws of equal length. 

 In their shape, also, they are peculiar ; they contract in thickness to their lower side, where 

 they are much narrower than on top, as well as perfectly smooth and rounded ; the middle 

 claw has the usual sharp lateral ridge, but it is not very distinct. All the toes perfectly 

 free. Tibiae not plumed, but covered compactly with short feathers, these reaching down 

 the front of the tarsus below the knee, and terminating in an angle. Primary coverts 

 hard, stifif, and acuminate, almost as much so as the quills themselves; third quill longest; 

 fir.=;t longer than fifth ; second, third, and fourth sinuated on outer webs ; outer three 

 deeply emarginated, the fourth sinuated, on inner webs. 



Of this remarkable genus, there appears to be but a single species, wliich 

 is almost completely cosmopolitan in its liabitat. As in the case of the 

 Peregrine Falcon and Barn Owl, different geographical regions liave each a 

 peculiar race, modified by some climatic or local influence. Tliese races, 

 however, are not well marked, and are consequently only definable with 

 great difficulty. 



Species and Baces. 



P. haliaetus. Wing, 15.20-21..50 ; tail, 7.00- 11.11 ; culmen, 1,20-1.40; 

 tarsus, 2.00-2.1,5; middle toe, 1.60-2.00. Second or third quills longest. 

 Above clear dark grayish-brown, inclining to brownish-black, plain, or 

 variegated with white. Tail brownish-gray (the inner webs almost entirely 

 white), nari'owly tipped with white, and crossed by about six or seven 

 nearly equal bands of dusky-black. Head, neck, and entire lower parts, 

 snowy-white ; the breast with or without brown spots or wash. A dusky 

 stripe on side of head (from lores across the ear-oovorts). and top of head 

 more or less spotted, or streaked, with tlie same. Adult. Upper parts plain. 



