Henninger-Joxes — On Falcones of North America. 311 



Diagnostic Marks. 



Large hawk size, though smaller than an eagle ; feathered 

 tarsus, blackish appearance, crepuscular habits, slow flight ; 

 much hovering over swamps and meadows while feeding. 



Plumage. 



Adult : head and neck white streaked with dusky brown, 

 rest of upper parts brownish-gray with ochraceous markings, 

 outcropping of feathers white, gray, and buffy, upper tail cov- 

 erts and larger part of base of tail white. A broad dusky band 

 across the terminal part of tail, preceded by several narrow 

 bands. Lower parts white or bufify with dusky spots on the 

 breast, irregular broad dusky band across the abdomen, thighs 

 usually tinged with rusty. 



Immature : terminal portion of tail grayish, the band across 

 the abdomen broad, solid, unbroken, otherwise like adult. 



Alelanistic phase : from specimens which are a solid black 

 excepting white-barred tail and basal white on primaries, to 

 somewhat lighter colored specimens, up to the normal phase, 

 not due to age, sex, or season. (This melanistic phase is not 

 found in Europe or Asia in the species higopns proper, which 

 has not been taken in North America, and consequently omit- 

 ted from this list). 



Flight and Habits. 



Large, powerful, but gentle and peaceful, crepuscular, al- 

 most nocturnal in habits : sitting- not very erect ; flight grace- 

 ful, easy, low in general, sometimes soaring high, at other 

 times hovering like a Sparrow Hawk, poising in the air to 

 drop down on its prey. Never fierce, not even when wounded. 

 Prefers places where groves and fields alternate. Catches its 

 food mostly in fields, meadows, and the open prairie, perching 

 on trees in the vicinity of its feeding grounds. 



Food. 



Mice, gophers, rats, shrews, frogs, snakes, lizards, some- 

 times grubs, worms, caterpillars, rarely a bird. 



Voice. 

 High pitched Ki-ah ke-ah — ki-yak. 



