FALCONID.E — THE FALCONS. 263 



A nest of this Hawk, taken by Mr. J. 1*. Ititchie, May 18, 18G3, — the 

 parent female of which was secured also, — is described as having been 

 made of large sticks, very loosely put together, lined with a few pieces of 

 bark. It was placed in the crotch of a tree, close to tlie trunk, and twenty 

 feet from the ground, and contained two eggs. 



Buteo swainsoni, Boxap. / ? 



7 



Var. .s^vaitlsoni, Bonap. 



SWAINSON'S HAWK; BAIED'S HAWK. 



Buteo swainsoni, Bonap. Comp. List, p. 3, 1S38 ; C'oiisp. Av. p. 19, 1850 ; Proc. Ac. Is. S. 

 PhU. 11. 280, 1855 ; Birds N. Am. 19, 1858. — Heerm. P. E. R. Rep't, II, 32, 1855.— 

 Strickl. Om. Syn. I, 30, 1855. — Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 324 (Texas). -Game. Journ. 

 Ac. N. S. Phil. n. S. I, 27. — Coves, Prod. B. Ariz. 9, 1866. — Blakist. Ibis, III, 

 1861, 317 (fresh eggs). — Gr.\y, Hand List, I, 7, 1869. Falco buteo, Pexn. Arct. Zool. 

 II, 207, sp. 103 (? Juv.), 1785. — Aud. B. Am. pi. ccclxxii, 1831 ; Orn. Biog. IV, 

 508, 1831. Falco obmlctus, Gmel. Syst. Nat. p. 268, 1789. — Kerb, Trans. Gmel. II, 

 501, 1792. — L.\TH. lud. Om. p. 28, sp. 61, 1790 ; Synop. Supp. I, p. 30 ; Gen. Hist. 

 I, p. 254, 1821.— Daud. Tr. Orn. II, 104, 1800. —Shaw, Zobl. YII, 152, 1812. 

 Suleo ciiiereus, Vieill. Ois. Am. 1807. Buteo vu/ijaris, Rich, k Swains. F. B. Am. 

 p. 5, 1831. —Jard. (Wils.) Am. Orn. II, 56, 1808. —Brew. (Wils.) Am. Orn. p. 303 ; 

 Synop. p. 684, 1852. Buteo montanus, Nutt. Man. Om. U. S. & Cauad. I, 112, 1833. 

 Buteo bairdi, Hoy, Proc. Ac. Sc. Phil. VI, 451, 1853. — Cassix, B. of Cal. & Tex. pi. 

 xli, 1854 ; Birds N. Am. 21, 1858. —Strickl. Orn. Syn. L 37, 1855. Buteo insicjna- 

 tus, Cass. B. Cal. & Tex. p. 102, pi. xxxi, 1854 ; Birds N. Am. 23, 1858. — Heeiim. 

 P. B. R. Rep't, Vll, 31, 1857. — Strickl. Orn. Syn. I, 38, 1855. — Coues, Prod. B. 

 Ariz. 9, 1866. — Bryant, Proc. Bost. Soc. X, 1865, 90 (= swainsoni). 1 Buteo gultu- 

 Talis, Max. Cab. Journ. VI, 1858, 17 (and eggs). 



Sp. Char. Form robust and strong, like B. borealis ; wings long and pointed ; only 

 three outer primaries with their inner webs cut. Feet robust, the tarsi strong. Dimen- 

 sions: Wing, 14.40-17.00; tail, 8.00-9.50; culmen, .80 -.95; tarsus, 2.30-2.70; mid- 

 dle toe, 1.50- 1.70. Weight, li-3|^ lbs. Colors : Tail dark grayish-brown with a hoary 

 cast, crossed by numerous obscure narrow bands of a darker shade. Adult, uniform 

 blackish-brown above ; upper tail-coverts barred with white. Throat and lower parts 

 posterior to the breast white or pale ochraceous ; a broad patch across the breast uniform 

 brown, — reddish-rufous in the male, and grayish-umber in the female, — the whole 

 lower surface varying to entirely uniform dull brownish-black, though intermediate shades. 

 Young, with the ground-color of the plumage soft ochraceous, or cream-color; the head, 

 neck, dorsal region, and sides of the breast, with tear-.shaped spots of brownish-black, with 

 a faint purple reflection. Upper parts purplish-lilack, variegated with ochraceous, some- 

 times almost wholly black. Tail as in the adult, but more hoary. 



a. Normal plumage. 

 Adult male (.53,105, Truckee River, Nevada, .July; C. King, E. Ridgway). Head, 

 neck, and upper parts blackish-brown ; scapulars slightly variegated with a rufous 

 mottling ; upper tail-coverts white tinged with rufous, and with transverse bars of 

 blackish-brown, about six on each feather. Tail dark brown like the back, approaching 

 black terminally, basally with a slight hoary cast ; crossed by about ten narrow, very 

 obscure bands of nearly black. Front and whole throat clear white, immaculate, and 



