BIRDS OF NORTH AND MIDDLE AMERICA 407 



to fifth primaries the longest, second between the sixth and seventh, 

 first longer than the ninth; the white area on the five outermost 

 remiges comprises a very striking white patch on the under surface 

 of the wing; upper tail coverts dark fuscous narrowly tipped with 

 white; tail fuscous-black narrowly tipped with white and crossed by 

 a band of white about 25 mm. wide about one-third of its length 

 from the tip and by a narrow, somewhat mottled grayish white band 

 approximately 25 mm. cephalad to the conspicuous band; sides of 

 head, except for the rather bare loreal area, chin, throat, and entire 

 underparts brownish fuscous to brownish fuscous-black, the feathers 

 of the lower breast, abdomen, sides, flanks, and thighs narrowly edged 

 with grayish tawny (which wears off leaving worn plumaged birds 

 practically unicolorous below) ; under tail coverts brownish fuscous 

 broadly tipped and sometimes also crossed by a median bar of white; 

 under wing coverts dark brownish fuscous; cere and base of bill yel- 

 lowish, tip of bill blackish; iris dark brown; tarsi and toes greenish 

 yellow; claws blackish.^ 



Juvenal (sexes alike). — Above varying from hair brown to fuscous 

 usually darker on the head and nape; the nape, and, to a lesser extent, 

 the crown and occiput, streaked broadly with pale cream-buff to 

 whitish; the scapulars like the back somewhat variegated with cream- 

 buff to pale tawny -buff; upper wing coverts like the back, tipped 

 narrowly and indefinitely mottled on the concealed portion with pale 

 ochraceous; remiges as in the adult; upper tail coverts fuscous barred 

 and tipped with white; tail very different from adult, whitish more or 

 less washed with drab and hair brown, on both webs of the central 

 pair of rectrices and on the outer webs of the others (in one specimen 

 the median pair become almost blackish about a third of the length 

 from the base) narrowly barred with 7-11 bands of fuscous-black, 

 the subtermmal one always the broadest, the narrow blackish bands 

 often reduced to a series of spots on the inner webs of the outer rec- 

 trices and occasionally even on the outer webs of most of the tail 

 feathers; the rectrices tipped with whitish; a superciliary band of 

 whitish to pale buff borders the dark crown; ocular and postocular 

 stripe fuscous-black; malar area whitish to buff with dusky shaft 

 streaks; chin, throat, breast, abdomen, sides, and flanks white to pale 



' Swann (Monogr. Birds Prey, i, 1930, 461) writes that this hawk has an imma- 

 ture plumage similar to that of the adult but, ". . . with a second band of white 

 towards base of tail, and without the rufous margins and frecklings on under- 

 parts." This is not correct; there is no definite immature plumage; all adults 

 seen have two white tail bands, one broad, and definite; the other narrow, more 

 or less mottled, and varying in definiteness. The presence of the ochraceous 

 ventral edges depends on wear; the last place where the ju venal plumage seema 

 to linger during the post-juvenal molt is the sides of the head, sometimes until 

 the ochraceous ventral edgings are almost worn off! 



