266 Mearns on the American Sfarro'v Ha-tvks. [J"'y. 



All of the Sparrow Hawks taken by the writer in Arizona, 

 numbering 41 specimens, had the iris hazel ; but, if the collec- 

 tor's notes on labels are to be relied upon, adults from Cape St. 

 Lucas, Lower California, have the iris yellow, young birds hav- 

 ing it colored hazel, as in the other subspecies of sparvcrins. 

 The cere, mastax and tomia are greenish yellow in young l:)irds, 

 changing to yellow in adults, and becoming orange-yellow in 

 some highly developed individuals. In like manner the feet are 

 colored pale yellow in the young, the shade deepening to orange 

 in adolescence, or even vermilion in some old birds. The bill 

 is bluish at base, shading to blue-black at the extremitv. 



The outer tail feathers are varied with black, white, and cinere- 

 ous witliin about the same limits as in eastern sparverius. In a 

 few, mostly young birds, the outer feathers are quite regularly 

 barred with black, white, and gray, while in one specimen (No. 

 51,66s, Am. Mus. coll.) the tail is all rufous except the termi- 

 nal whitish, the subterminal zone of black, and the outer web of 

 the lateral feather, which is white with a black line along the shaft. 



Comparing a large series of specimens of this race from vari- 

 ous parts of the Southwest, they are found to agree in the main 

 with those above described, though manifesting the"^ effects of 

 regional peculiarities to a considerable degree. Thus, in a small 

 series from the mountains of Nevada, collected by Mr. Robert 

 Ridgway, the size is smaller, there is a peculiar reddish colora- 

 tion, and the rusty crown patch is reduced in size ; while the 

 surrounding region affords quite typical specimens of this race. 

 Other examjDles from the Pacific Coast, have, also, a darker 

 coloration than those from the interior and southern portions 

 of California, which latter region furnishes extreme examples 

 of deserticohis^ which ditlbr from those of Arizona in being 

 still paler, and of larger size. A pair from Mazatlan, Mexico, 

 though referable to the Great Basin form, differs appreciably 

 therefrom in being more rufous. Coues's specimens from the 

 Souris River, those collected by Mr. Richmond in Montana, 

 and a number of specimens from Colorado, are too near sparver- 

 ius for reference to this form. Similar intermediates are found 

 in western Texas; but specimens from the eastern (seacoast) 

 district of Texas are similar to those of Louisiana and farther 

 eastward. Farther west, in Montana (mouth of Milk River, 

 Coues) Wyoming, and Utah, all are deserticolus. 



