4 THE DUCK HAWK— PEREGRINE. 



known to occur in Cuba and other of the West India Islands. It 

 probably is also more or less frequent all along the eastern coasts 

 of South America, and Captain King states that it is found in the 

 Straits of Magellan. A few find their -way up the St. Lawrence, 

 and have been observed and killed at Quebec^ Sorel, Montreal, 

 Toronto, Hamilton, at Baptiste Creek, and at Long Point on 

 Lake Erie. On this course they appear to continue, by way of 

 the great lakes and connecting rivers, westward to the slopes of the 

 Rocky Mountains, which appear to bar or limit their flight in this 

 direction. They are, however, again met with rather abundantly 

 on the Peace and Parsnip Rivers in latitude 55°-56°, where they 

 revel on their favorite wild fowl prey, which breed there in unusual 

 numbers. They have also been met with on the McKenzie River, 

 northward to Slave Lake, where, however, according to Ross, they 

 are rare. To the westward of the Rocky Mountains I have not 

 come upon any authentic record of the occurrence of this species, 

 but its place is filled by a closely allied one, the Falco-nigriceps, of 

 Cassin, a bird in every respect similar to the Duck Hawk, except 

 in size, and perhaps stronger coloring of the under parts. This 

 second sttpposed ?,^&c\e?, was first described in 1858 from specimens 

 received from California and Chili. These were undeniably 

 smaller than the Duck Hawk of eastern North America, with 

 the rufous color of the under parts in the young of a stronger 

 tint ; but other specimens since obtained from farther north fully 

 equal those from the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, " and 

 " the slight difference found to really exist between them seem to 

 " be by no means of specific value."'""' 



In Canada proper the Duck Hawk is a rare bird, only being 

 met with in a few localities and at certain seasons. It appears to 

 prefer the sea coast, and makes but hasty visits across the interior 

 lying between the St. Lawi'ence and Hudson Bay. I did not meet 

 with it on any of my explorations in eastern Ontario, between the 

 St. Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers, nor did the inhabitants of this 

 section seem to be aware of the existence of any such Hawk. A 

 fine adult male, however, of this species was obtained by Mr. 

 Marcel at St. Lamberts, near Montreal. It is a rather regular 



*J. A. Allen, in Bulletin Mus. Comp. Zool., Harv. Coll., Cambridge, Mass. (Vol. II., p. 317); 



