682 



S YS TEMA TIC S Y NOP SIS. — RA P TOR ES — A CCIPI TRES. 



limbo of the A. 0. U. Hypothetical List as No. 14, " probably the light phase of J5. harlanV 

 See KiDGW. Auk, 1884, p. 253 ; 1885, j). 165.) 



B. har'laiii. (To Dr. R. Harlan.) Harlan's Buzzard. '' Black Warrior." Form 

 strong and heavy, like horealis, but still more robust; tibial ]ilumes unusually developed, 

 long and loose, their ends reaching to or beyond base of toes ; lateral toes nearly equal. Four 

 outer primaries with inner webs cut. Wing 14.25-15.75; tail 8.8U-10.00: culmen r.OO ; 

 tarsus 2.75-3.25 ; middle toe 1.50-1.70. Nearly uniform black, varying from a sooty to a 

 carbonaceous tint, with more or less concealed pure white. Adult : Tail confusedly mottled 

 longitudinally with grayish, dusky, and white, often tinged or mi.xed with rufous, the diflereut 

 shades varying in relative amount in different individuals ; a subterminal band of black. 

 Young : Tail grayish-brown, crossed by about 9 very regular and sharply defined broad bands 

 of black about equal in width to gray ones. (Ridgway.) Louisiana and Texas to Kansas ; an 

 obscure species, variously interpreted by writers. DiflFerent " black hawks " have been called 

 " hai'lanif" such as the melanistic phases of both borealis and sivainsoni, and harlani has been 

 supposed to be not different from borealis. A few specimens in the Smithsonian Institution, 

 identified with Audubon's bird by Mr. Ridgway, agree suificiently with the plate and descrip- 

 tion, and the alleged species may contiime to stand upon its own demerits, as in former editions 

 of the Key. The latest theory on the subject extends the range of the bird from Pennsylvania 

 to Central America, and makes it out to be a subspecies of B. borealis, with ^^cooperi" for a 

 " light phase " of itself. B. harlani Aud. folio pi. S6, 1830, and of most authors ; A. 0. U. 

 List, 1st ed. 188(), No. 338. B. borealis harlani Ridgw. Auk, Apr. ]890, p. 205; A. 0. U. 

 List, 2d ed. 1895, No. 337 d. 



B. borealis. (Lat. borealis, northern. Figs. 466, 467, 468.) Red-tailed Buzzard. 

 " Hen Hawk." Adult ^ 9 : Upper surface of tail rich chestnut, with white tip and usually a 



black subterminal zone, 

 with or without other nar- 

 rower and more or less im- 

 perfect black bars ; some- 

 times barred throughout. 

 From below, the tail ap- 

 ])ears pearly whitish with 

 a reddish tinge, eitlier 

 (juite uniform, or barred 

 throughout with whitish 

 and blackish. In general, 

 9 with most barred or 

 completely barred tail, ^ 

 with uniform tail, only 

 subterminally once-zoned. 

 Upper parts blackish- 

 brown, with indetermi- 

 nate amount of light va- 

 riegation, gray, fulvous, 

 and whitish; feathers of liind head aud nape with cottony white bases, showing when dis- 

 turbed; those of hind neck usually with fulvous edging; of scapular region showing most 

 variegation with tawny or whitish, or both, the scapulars and adjoining feathers being largely 

 bai-red, and only blackish on their exposed portions ; upper tail-coverts showing much tavrny 

 and white. Ground color of under parts white, more or less buff- toned ; dark color of upper 

 parts reaching nearly or quite around throat, flanks and lower belly heavily marked with dark 

 brown or blackish, but a large pectoral area, with tibia^ and crissum, mostly free from mark- 



Fig. 4(;i>. — Red-tailed Buzzard. 



