FALCONID^ — THE FALCONS. 



115 



the dark streaks predominate, wliile the stripes below are very broad. It 

 approaches quite nearly toward the young of var. sacer. 



The only specimen of this race which I have seen from Continental North 

 America, is a young individual, obtained during the winter of 1864-65, 

 near Providence, E. I., taken by Mr. ISTewton Dexter, and now in the Cam- 

 bridge Museum, where I had the pleasure of seeing it. 



LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED. 



National Museum, 5 ; Boston Society, 3 ; Philadelpliia Academy, 9 ; Coll. G. N. Law- 

 rence, 2 ; Museum Comp. ZooL, 1 ; New York Museum, 5. Total, 25. 



Var. sacer, Forsteb. 



MacFARLANE'S GERFALCON. • 



Falco sacer, Forster, Phil. Trans. LXII, 1772, 383 and 423. — CouES, Birds of New Eng- 

 land, 1868, 6. — Baird, Trans. Chicago Acad. Sc. I, ii, 271. ? Falco cincrcus, Gmel. 

 Syst. Nat. p. 267, 1789. 



Sp. Char. Adult ( (J, 51,689, Yukon, mouth of Porcupine River; Strachan Jones). 

 Whole upper surface with numerous transverse bands of brownish-plumbeous and ashy- 

 white. Anteriorly the light bars are about half the width of the dark ones ; posteriorly 

 they gradually increase, the bands of the two colors being about of equal width on the 

 upper tail-coverts and tail ; with the increase of the lighter bars, they become more ashj^, 

 and, correspondingly, the darker ones are more plumbeous : on the rump there is but 

 little contrast between the bands of the two, causing a prevalent bluish cast. The bands 

 are everywhere continuous, the light ones being interrupted only by the black shaft; 

 there are generally on the anterior portions about three light bars on each feather, the 

 last always terminal. Tail tipped with white, and crossed with equal continuous bands 

 of hoary-plumbeous and ashy-white; the latter eleven in number, and finely sprinkled 

 with deeper ash. Pnmaries brownish-plumbeous, plain past the middle portion, but on 

 the anterior half with quadrate spots of creamy white on the outer web. Head above 

 brownish-plumbeous, this prevaihng; but along the median line the feathers are edged 

 with bufFy white ; forehead dull white, this continuing back in a streaked superciliary 

 stripe to the occiput ; cheeks very thinly marked with fine streaks of dusky, this pre- 

 vailing along the upper border of the ear-coverts ; a deeper dusky suffusion beneath the 

 anterior angle of the eye. Lower surface pure white; chin and throat, only, immaculate; 

 jugulum with very sparse, narrow longitudinal streaks of blackish ; sides with scattered 

 cordate or nearly circular spots, these larger and transverse on the flanks and tibite ; abdo- 

 men with scattered minute elliptical spots ; lower tail-coverts with minute irregular 

 sagittate or transverse spots of dusky. Under surface of the wing white ; each feather 

 of the lining with a medial tear-shaped streak of dusky ; primaries crossed with narrow 

 bars of dusky, fifteen in number on the longest. Wing-formula, 2-3-4-1-5. Wing, 

 13.50; tail, 8.60; culmen, .90; tarsus, 2.15; middle toe, 1.87. 



9 (43,139, Fort Anderson, May 24, 1864, "9 and two eggs"; R. MacFarlane). 



