FALCONID.E — THE FALCONS. 



223 



American sjiecies are intimately related to the two North American ones, 

 and may prove to be only climatic races of the same species ; thus, erythroc- 

 nemis, Gray (Hand List, p. 32, No. 305) may be the intertropical form of 

 fuscics, and chilemis, Ph. and Landb. (Hand List, No. 314), that of coopcri. 

 But the material at my command is too meagre to decide this. 



26588, f . 



Nisus cooprri. 



Nisus cooperi. 



10T59,3. 



Nisus fuscus. 



In consequence of the insufficient material for working up the Soutli 

 American species, I shall omit them all from the following synopsis of the 

 North American species and races.^ 



Species and Races. 



Common Characters. Adult Above bluish slate-color; the tail ^Yith obscure 

 bands of darker, and narrowly tipped with white. Beneath transversely barred 

 with white and pinkish-rufous ; the anal region and crissuni immaculate white. 



^ In the collection of the National Museum are two specimens of coopcri, var. gundlachi, in the 

 young plumage. They differ from the young of var. cooperi mei-ely in darker colors, the brown 

 markings being larger and more numerous, as well as deeper in tint. That their character may 

 be better understood, I furnish the following more detailed descriptions : — 



Young male (41, 129, Cuba, Dr. Gundlach). Above dark, blackish vandyke-browu, the feath- 

 ers bordered inconspicuously with dark rusty ; tail dull slate, narrowly tipped with ashy-white, 

 and crossed with four broad bands of dusky, almost equal to the slate ; beneath white, much tinged 

 on breast and tibite wdth reddish-ochraceous ; thickly striped with umber-brown, except on cris- 

 sum ; the streaks on throat narrow and cuneate, those on breast broad, and on sides changing into 

 broad transverse spots or bars ; tibis thickly spotted transversely with more reddish, nearly rufous, 

 brown ; larger lower tail-coverts with narrow shaft-streaks of black. Occiput showing nnich con- 

 cealed white ; the ends of the feathers deep black. Wing, 8.60 ; tail, 7.50 ; culmen, .68 ; tar- 

 sus, 2.50; middle toe, 1.70. 



Young female. (41,128, Cuba, Di-. Gundlach). Similar, but more thickly striped beneath, the 

 dark markings about erpialling the white in extent ; w'hole sides with large transverse spots of 

 umber, cuneate along shaft. Wing, 10.50; tail, 9.50. 



The synonomy of this race is as follows : Accipiter gundlachi, Lawrence, Ann. N. Y. Lye. 

 Vn, May, 1860, 252. — GuND. Eep't, 1865, 224. — ScL. & Salv. Ex. Orn. I, 170. —Gray, 

 Hand List, I, 33, No. 319. The N. fuscus, var. fringilloidcs (Vigors), of Cuba, I have not 

 seen. Its synonomy stands as follows : Accipiler fringilloides, ViG. Zool. Journ. Ill, 1826,534. 

 — Lawk. Ann. N. Y. Lye. Vll, 1860, 255 (with descriptions and synonomy). — Gundl. Eep't, 

 1865, 224. — Okay, Hand List, I, 32, No. 311. 



