232 



NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



daries much darker than the tail, more bluish ; less so, however, than the scapulars. Lores 

 whitish, quite in contrast with the black of the forehead ; cheeks and ear-coverts dark 

 ashy, slightly washed with reddish, and with obscure darker streaks; chin and throat white, 

 with sparse hair-like shaft-streaks of black. Breast, abdomen, sides, flanks, and tibise 

 fine vinaceous-rufous ; feathers (except on tibife) with fine hair-like shaft-streaks of black 

 (much narrower than in cooperi) ; breast, abdomen, sides, and flanks with pairs of trans- 

 verse ovoid white spots, not touching the shaft; on the al^domen the white and rufous 

 bars are of about equal width ; on the tibije the rufous is deepest, and exceeds the white ; 

 anal region barred with rufous, more faintly than the abdomen ; lower tail-coverts snowy- 

 white. Sides of the neck deep reddish-ashy, this washing the whole side of the breast. 

 Lining of the wing reddish-white, with numerous crowded, cordate, somewhat blended 

 spots of rufous ; larger coverts transversely spotted with blackish ; under side of prima- 

 ries silvery-white (blackish for about the terminal inch), crossed with quadrate spots of 

 blackish, of which there are about seven on the longest quill (fourth) ; the basal ones are, 

 however, so much broken, that the number varies in different individuals. 



Young male (Fort Tejon, California). Forehead, crown, occiput, and nape deep rusty- 

 rufous; feathers with broad longitudinal streaks of pure black. Rest of upper parts deep 

 umber, darkest on the back ; feathers of back and rump, the upper tail-coverts, scapulars, 

 and wing-coverts, broadly bordered with rusty ; scapulars with concealed white spots. 

 Tail ashy-umber, tipped (more broadly than in adult) with ashy-white, crossed by four 

 broad bands of brownish-black ; the last (or subterminal) of which is broadest, the first 

 concealed by the coverts. Secondaries and primaries similar in color to the tail, but 

 darker ; the first showing five obsolete darker bands, and tipped (rather broadly) with 

 pale cinnamon-rufous. Ear-coverts and cheeks fulvous-white, thickly streaked with dark 

 brown. Lower parts white, washed with ochraceous on jugulum and breast ; each 

 feather with a central longitudinal lanceolate stripe of clear umber, the shaft of each 

 black ; these streaks are very narrow on the tliroat, broadest on the breast and. flanks. 

 Tibiai with transversely ovate spots, and transverse bars of reddish-umber; lower tail- 

 coverts with narrow shaft-streaks of darker brown. Lining of wing with cordate and 

 ovate spots of dark brown. 



Young female {^2,120), Orizaba, Mexico; M. Botteri). Similar to the young male; 

 feathers of back, etc., less broadly margined with rustj^ Ochraceous wash on lower 

 parts more decided ; stripes beneath broader and less lanceolate ; on the sides broadly 

 ovate, and on the flanks in form of broad transverse bars ; tibiae more thickly spotted 

 transversely; lower tail-coverts immaculate. Wing, 9.00 ; tail, 7.80 ; tarsus, 2.25 ; mid- 

 dle toe, 2.50. Fourth quill longest ; third shorter than fifth ; second intermediate between 

 sixth and seventh ; first, 2.90 shorter than longest. Graduation of tail, .90. 



Hab. Western region of North America ; Mexico. 



LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED. 



National Museum, 22 ; Boston Societ}^, 2 ; Museum, Cambridge, 2 ; Cab. G. N. Law- 

 rence, 2 ; Philadelphia Academy, 2 ; Coll. R. Ridgway, 2. Total, 32. 



Habits. This common Hawk appears to have a very general distribution 

 over the United States, from South Carolina to New Brunswick, on the 

 Atlantic ; from Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, in tlie interior, to tlie 



