268 BULLETIN 16 7, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



on the wing for it catches the small lizards, which were very common 

 in the mesquite forest and are the swiftest moving reptiles I have ever 

 seen. Mr. Stephens regarded its flight as "Falcon-like and very 

 swift." Colonel Grayson, however, says: "It is rather sluggish in 

 its habits, sitting for hours upon the limb of some decayed tree in 

 apparent listlessness, permitting you to approach very near without 

 moving from his perch, then flying but a short distance before again 

 alighting." 



Voice. — I recorded its cry as a loud plaintive cree-ee-ee, suggestive 

 of the cry of the broad-winged hawk, but louder and not so pro- 

 longed. Frank Stephens (Bendire, 1892) "compares their cry to 

 a loud 'creer', repeated four or five times, and says that at a distance 

 it sounds much like the scream of a peacock." 



Field marhs. — The Mexican goshawk is easy to recognize by its 

 conspicuous field marks. No other hawk looks much like it. The 

 gray breast, the black and white banded tail, and the white under side 

 of the black-tipped wings are all distinctive when seen from below. 

 The view from above shows a darker-gray back, a white rump, and a 

 black tail with white bands. 



DISTRIBUnON 



Range. — Southwestern United States, Central America, and north- 

 ern South America. 



The Mexican goshawk has been recorded breeding north to Arizona 

 (Gila Bend, the Santa Catalina Mountains, and probably Tomb- 

 stone) ; southwestern New Mexico (Fort Bayard) ; and southwestern 

 Texas (probably Lometa) . From this region its range extends south 

 through Mexico (the States and territories of Tamaulipas, San Luis; 

 Potosi, Nayarit, Vera Cruz, Oaxaca, and Quintana Roo) ; Britisli 

 Honduras (Cayo District) ; Guatemala (Naranjo, San LucaS, Finca 

 Carolina, Finca El Espina, Hacienda California, Finca El Cipres, 

 Pueblo Escuintla, Chimalapa, Savana Grande, Retalhulen, and San 

 Geronimo) ; Honduras (Tela and Eoatan) ; Salvador (La Libertad) ; 

 Nicaragua (Sucuya, Lake Nicaragua, San Juan del Sur, and Chinan- 

 dega) ; Costa Rica (La Barranca, La Palma, Nicoya, San Mateo. 

 Acajutla, Santo Domingo, Bolson, and Bebedero) ; Panama (Panama 

 Railroad) ; Colombia (Remolino, Magdalena River, Villa vicencio. 

 Barrigon, Bonda, Don Diego, Fundacion, Mamatoco, and Dibulla) ; 

 Guiana; Ecuador (Babahoyo, Gualaquiza, and Zamora) ; Bolivia 

 (Lower Beni and Rio Surutu) ; and Brazil (Sao Paulo and Matto 

 Grosso). Also recorded from the Lesser Antilles (Trinidad). 



The range above outlined is for the entire species {nitida Latham 

 of some authors), which has been separated into several rather 

 poorly defined races, all confined to tropical regions. Asturina p. 



