BIRD NOTES AFIELD 



larger than this. Upper parts grayish brown, the feathers with buffy or 

 whitish edgings; under parts white, spotted with rather small brown 

 darts, the sides barred with brown; throat pure white, bordered with a 

 distinct line of brown; wing-quills and tail like back, the former with 

 numerous large white spots on inner webs, the latter white or buff tipped 

 and barred. A rather rare species, breeding in both the Coast Range 

 and Sierra Nevada Mountains, and south in winter through the valleys. 



27. Duck-Hawk; Falco peregrinus anatum (Bonap.). 



Size about as in preceding. Adult, above dark bluish gray in color, 

 the feathers more or less spotted or barred with a darker shade. Under 

 parts white or buffy, the breast with few or no markings, the sides and 

 belly with blackish brown bars. Tail bluish gray, closely barred with 

 black. Inner webs of wing-quills spotted with white. Immature birds 

 are dark brown above, the feathers edged with light buff, and white 

 or buffy below, streaked or spotted with dark brown. The broad 

 blackish streak below eye, forming a border to the white throat, is a 

 characteristic mark in both plumages. Irregularly distributed in Cali- 

 fornia, occurring upon the islands of the southern coast and at various 

 points in the interior; breeding in the mountains. 



28. Pigeon-Hawk; Falco columbarius Linn. 



Size small (length eleven inches). Upper parts of male bluish gray 

 or slaty, varied with fine black lines. Tail slate, with three broad bands 

 of black, and a white tip. Wing-quills dark and with numerous large 

 white spots on inner webs. Under parts white, becoming buffy on breast 

 and streaked with dark brown lines. The female has the bluish gray 

 color of the back replaced by dark brown. A rare species, probably 

 breeding in the dense forests of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and occa- 

 sionally wintering in the valleys and foothills. On the northwest coast 

 is a darker variety distinguished as the Black Merlin. (F. columbarius 

 suckleyi, Ridgw.) 



29. Desert Sparrow-Hawk ; Falco sparverius deserticola Mearns. 

 One of the smallest and most familiar of American falcons. Length 



of male nine, of female eleven inches. Top of head bluish gray, enclos- 

 ing a patch of chestnut; back reddish brown in the female, barred with 

 black; wings bluish gray or slaty, the quills brownish black with numer- 

 ous white markings; tail reddish brown, white tipped, and with one 

 broad black bar in the male, and with numerous narrow bars in the 

 female. The sides of the head are conspicuously marked with lines of 

 black and white below the eyes. Under parts white, buffy or rufous, 



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