FALCUNIDyE — THE FxVLCONS. 203 



primaries with more or less rufous. Younij. Beneath wliitisli, striped lougitu- 

 dinally witli Ijrownisli ; above inueli variegated ; tail with several narrow whitish 

 bantls. 



1. I. mississippiensis. Adult. Wings lighter than tlie tail, the secon- 

 daries hoary whitish; inner webs of primaries with only obscure spots of 

 rufous, the outer webs witli a very obscure stripe of the same. Tail wholly 

 black. Young. Stripes beneath reddish-umber; lower tail-coverts with 

 longitudinal shaft-streaks of the same. Second to third quills longest ; first 

 shorter than seventh and longer tlian sixth. Wing, 10.60 - 12 30 ; tail, 

 6.00-7.00; culmen, .GO-.G.j; tarsus, 1.30-1.55; middle toe, 1.00-1.10. 

 Hab. Prairies and savannas ol' the southern United States and Northern 

 Mexico, from Wi.scon.sin and Georgia to Mirador. 



2. I. plumbea.' Adult. Wing concolor with the tail, the secondaries 

 black ; inner webs of the primaries almost wholly rufous ; outer webs with 

 oidy a trace of rufous. Tail with about three bands of pure white, formed 

 by transverse spots on the inner webs. Young. Stripes beneath brownish- 

 black : lower tail-coverts transversely spotted with the same ; upper parts 

 darker. Third quill longest; first shorter or longer than the seventh. Tail 

 more nearly square. Wing, 10.50-12.20; tail, 5.G0 - G.80 ; culmen, .G2- 

 .70; tarsus, 1.15-1.50; middle toe, 1.00-1.05. Ilab. Tropical America, 

 from Paraguay to Southern Mexico. 



Ictinia niississippiensis (Wilson). z , j 



MISSISSIPPI KITE; BLUE KITE. 



Falco mississij>2>iensis, Wils. Am. Oni. pi. 25, f. 1, 1808. — L.vtii. Gen. Hist. I, 275. — 

 Jamks. (Wils.) Am. Orn. I, 72, 1831. A'crtus mississippicu.'iis, BoiE, Isis, 1828, 314. 

 Milvus mississipincnsis, Cvv. Eeg. An. (ed. 2), I, 335, 1829. Ictinia mississippiensis, 

 Gray, Gen. B. fol. sp. 2 ; List B. Brit. Miis. p. 48, 1844 ; Gen. & Sub-Gen. Brit. Mus. 

 p. 6, 1855. —Cass. B. Cal. & Tex. p. 10(5, 1854. — Kaup, Uob. Falk. Mus. Senck. 

 p. 258, 1845 ; Monog. Falc. Cent. Orn. 1850, p. 57. — Strickl. Orn. Syn. I, 140, 1855. 

 — Brf.wei;, Oology, I, 1857, 41. — Cour.s, Prod. Orn. Ariz. p. 13, 1S66. — DiiE.ssiii!, 

 Ibis, 1865, 327 (Texas). — Gray, Hand List, I, 28, 1869. Falco plumbcus, AuD. Orn. 

 Biog. 11, 108, pi. cxvii ; V, p. 374, 1831. Ictinia plumbea, Bonap. Eur. & N. Am. 

 B. p. 4, 1838 ; Ann. N. Y. Lye. II, 30; Isis, 1832, p. 1137. — .Ia]:d. (Wii.s.) Am. 

 Orn. I, 368, pi. 25, f. 1, 1832. — Brew. (Wils.) Synop. 685, 1852. — AuD. Synop. B. 

 Am. p. 14, 1839. — WoODil. (Sitgr.) Exp. Zuni & Colorad. p. 61, 1853. — Nutt. Man. 

 92, 1833. 



Sr. Char. AduU male (No. 1,486, Coll. R. Ri.lgway, Richland Co., lU., August 19, 

 1871). Head, neck, secondaries, and entire lower parts plumbeons-ash, becoming, by a 

 gradual transition, lighter on the head and secondaries, where the shade is pale cinereous; 

 the head anteriorly, and the tips of the secondaries, being silvery-white. Lores and eye- 

 lids black. Rest of tlie plumage dark plumbeous, approaching plumbcous-lilack on the 



1 Ictinia plumbea (Gjiel. ). Falco jilumhcus, Gmel. S. N. 1789, 283. Ictinia plumbea, 

 ViElLL. 1816, 24. — Gray, Hand List, I. Nertus plumbcus, BoiE, Isis, 1828, 314. Paxilop- 

 tcryx plumbcus, Kaup, Ueb. Falk. Mus. Senck. 1845, 258. Milvus cenchris, Vieill. Ois. Am. 

 Sept. 1807, pi. X. Butco cenchris, Cuv. Reg. An. (ed. 2), I, 1829, 337. 



Specimens anmined. — National Museum, 4 ; Philadeljihia Aeademy, 4 ; New York Museum, 

 4 ; Boston Society, 4 ; Museum Comp. Zool., 1 ; Cab. G. N. Lawrence, 2 ; Coll. K. Ridgway, 

 1. Total, 20. 



