288 



NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



No. 41,759 (immature), Mericla, Yucatan (Dr. Scliott), is remarkably light 

 colored, or, rather, is unusually variegated with whitish above ; the tail, also, 

 is almost white ; the bands, however, very conspicuous. The lower parts are 

 as thickly spotted as in specimens from Washington Territory. 



The young bird of this western style is as different from that of the 

 eastern as is the adult, and the essential differences are about the same, — 

 i. e. darker colors, or a predominance, or, rather, increase in size, of the dark 

 markings. The numerous heavy transverse spots on the tibia constitute a 

 persistent feature of the young of the var. calurus, as compared with the 

 almost, or perfectly, immaculate white of those in var. Iwrealis. 



It being certain that the Buteo montanus of Nuttall is really the B. swain- 

 soni, and not the variety of borealis so called by Mr. Cassin, it becomes 

 necessary to drop this name in connection with the present bird, and transfer 

 it as a synonyme to swainsoni. In its place, Mr. Cassin's name calurus must 

 be substituted, under which was described the melanistic condition of the 

 present variety of borealis. 



In describing his B. montanus, ISTuttall cites Audubon's plate of " Falco 

 buteo," which, of course, is a name by which the B. swainsoni was first desig- 

 nated before it was distinguished from the B. vulgaris of Europe. Audu- 

 bon's plate represents, unmistakably, the adult female of the Buteo swainsoni. 

 Habits. The well-known Red-tailed Hawk is widely distributed through- 

 out North America from the West Indies and Central America to the Arctic 



regions, and from the Atlantic 

 to the Pacific. 



According to Sir John Eich- 

 ardson, it is common in the fur 

 countries, which it visits in 

 summer, and where a few are 

 known to breed. Specimens 

 were taken by his party on the 

 Rocky Mountains, the plains 

 of the Saskatchewan, and at the 

 York factory. These were all 

 between the 53d and the 57th 

 parallels of latitude. 



Mr. Salvin cites it as gen- 

 erally and plentifully distrib- 

 uted throughout Guatemala, 

 from whence numerous ex- 

 amples in all stages of plu- 

 mage, from the young to the 

 adult, were transmitted by Mr. Skinner. It was also found at Duenas by 

 him. Mr. Swainson states that this Hawk was taken on the plains of 

 Mexico by Mr. Taylor. A single specimen was received by Mr. Lawrence 



Buteo borealis (adult). 



