FALCO SPAKVERWS. 295 



GENUS I. FALCO. THE TRUE FALCONS. 



CKN. CM. Bill, short, broad, well run--'//, with the ruttiny rtlt/c of upper mandible, distinctly toothed, and the, lower, 

 notshal. Tarsus, not /tint/ tint/ m-arly naktd. Tail, sliyhtly roundrd, not txcecdinyin lenylh one half the lenijlh of the winys 

 v/iiiti fin fon.iiiti raltly elonyalrd and pointed. Nostril, irith central lulu n/r. 



Members c I this genus have tin 1 leg -hort, anil the tarsus is usually naked to the heel behind, but is slightly feathered 

 in front. Tin- ten's are long and the claws are quite short but pointed. Only oneortwo outer quills are noticeably incised 

 on the inner web. 



The traehra is n little flattened throughout. The sterno-traehealis i -.hurt nnd stout, having it*! origin quite near the 

 larynx, and there is a slender bronehialis extending over all the half rings, but there are no other laryngeal muscles. The 

 tympaniform membrane i< present anil although there is a thin os transversale, it does not support a scmilunar membrane. 

 The walls () f [he esophagus are thin: this is at first nearly straight, then is dilated into a crop, nnd is again straight and 

 opens into :\ rather large proventrieulus with numerous small, simple, oval glands arranged in azonular band which meas- 

 ures -70 in colvmbarwt, from which this nnd the following dimensions were taken. The stomach is of a rather small size, 



"v!:at globular in form, with thin but soft walls, and is lined with a soft membrane. The fold of the duodenum is long, 

 measuring 3 '00, inclosing an irregularly formed pancreas which only extends about one half its entire length. The coeca, 

 when pre-ent, are very small. The spleen is an elliptieal body lying on or near the proventriculus. Both lobes of the liv- 

 er arc short, thick, and nearly equal in size. The heart is large and not very pointed. There are four species within our 

 limits. 



FALCO SPARVERIUS. 



Sparrow Hawk. 

 Falco sparverius Lix.v., Syst. Nat., I; 176, 128. 



DESC1U1T10N. 



Sp. CH. Form, rather slender. Size, small. Sternum, stout, with the marginal indentations quite large. Tongue, 

 short, not very fleshy, and about the same width for nearly its entire length, then rounded, bifid, and grooved beneath. Tail, 

 considerably rounded. Wings, with two outer quills incised. Tarsus, slightly feathered in front. There are no traces of 

 any diva. 



OR. Adult male. Top of head, upper wing coverts, and secondaries, bluish-ash, with the two latter more or less 

 spotted and barred with black, which usually extends over the middle of the secondaries. Back, rump, upper tail coverts, 

 and basal portion < f tail, excepting outer welts of outer feathers, bright cinnamon. Tip of tail, outer web of outer feather, 

 and sometimes the entire feather, white, with a subterminal band of varying width, extending across the entire tad, and 

 bandings on outer feather, black. Primaries, dark-brown, barred on the inner webs with white. Throat and sides of 



i. white, the latter having two black spots, one in front of the ear coverts, nearly reaching the eye, and the other back 



of them. There is a narrow line of black crossing the occiput, and the back is more or less banded with it. Under wing 



ts, white, barred and spotted with black. Remainder of under parts, including under tail coverts and tibia, white, 



ovenva-hed. to a greater or less extent, with cinnam >n, -j">ned on the sides, and flanks with black. The top of the head 



is marked with a spot of cinnamon. 



At/u/l female. Similar to the male in general coloration but lack the bluish-ash of the upper wing coverts and sec- 

 ond: : are pale einnamon, barred with black, and these markings extend over the back and tail. The tints below 

 are paler, a iked, excepting on the throat, under tail coverts, and tibia, with reddish-brown. 



Youny. Quito similar to the feiualo but are more finely barred above and these markings extend over the rump nnd 

 npper tail coverts. 



Xi-fllinys. Are at first covered with a yellowish down, then gradually assume the plumage last described. Bill, black, 

 blue at base, cere and feet, orange, iris brown, in all si; 



OBSERVATIONS. 



There are, perhaps, few birds which show a greater amount of variation in markings than the present species. This 

 Me in the males. Two specimens, shot in Southern Florida, present the extremes; one being nearly 

 white on t he under portions, and the other, deep-cirnnmi n even en the under fail coverts and tibia. Thedarkonc has but 

 little einnamon on the head yet the whiter specimen lias this color extending overa greater part of the crown. > 

 the bluish-ash of the win:;- is extended on to the back and in a skin from Miami, this tint crops out in patches on the upper 

 tail covens and tail. Notwithstanding these variations, this species may lie at once known by the cinnamon-red and < 



lied. Di-tril'uud, as a ran It nt, throughout North America. A constant resident south ' i'M;>- 



achusftts, w here they are not as large as those from further north. 



