134 NOHTII AMERICAN HIKIJ.S. 



Ill the !i(liilt i)lnina,i,'(! tlio iiriiicipal vaiiation is in the oxteiit and disimsi- 

 tioii nl' tlie l)ar.s liciicatli. In most individuals they avo rogulavly tiansvorsu 

 only latomliy and posteriorly, those on the bully bcinj,' somewhat broken 

 into more irrc.i^ular cordate spots, tliouyh always transverse; in no Anierieau 

 s])oeimen, however, are tiiey as continim .jy transverse as in u male (Xo. 

 1H,<S04) from KurciH', whieh, liowever, in this resju'ct, ve think, i'orms an 

 exception to most European exami)les, at least to those in the Smithsonian 

 Collection. All variations in the form, thickness, and continuity of tlie 

 markings liclow, and in tiie distinctness of the bars above, are individual. 



Very old males (as 4!),7!»0, Port "i'ukon ; 27,1.S8, Moose Factory (type of 

 Elliott's figure of /'. 'pcrcf/rinus, in IJirds of America) ; and 42,097, Sj)anisli- 

 town, Jamaica) lack almost entirely the reddish tinge beneath, and have 

 the lateral and posterior portions strongly tinged with blue ; the latter 

 feature is especially noticeable in the specimen from Jamaica, in which also 

 tlie bars are almost utterly wanting medially. Immature birds from this 

 i.sland also lack to a great degree the ochraceous tinge, leaving tiic whitish 

 everywhere purer. 



A fcimale adult European bird differs from the average of North Ameri- 

 can examples in the conspicuous longitudinal streaks on the Jugulum ; but 

 in a male these are hardly more distinct than in lo,077, 9, Liberty Co., 

 Georgia; 11,083, " United States"; •^r>,4:~>(',, Peel's liiver ; 35,440, 9, and 

 35,44;'), 9, Fort Yukon, Alaska; 35,452, La Pierre's Hous., H. P>. Ter. ; 

 35,450 <?, Fort Anderson; and 28,(100 9, Hartford, Conn. In none of 

 these, liowever, are they so numerous and conspicuous as in a European 

 female from the Schliiter Collection, ■which, however, differs in these respects 

 only from Xortli American specimens. 



A somewliat melanistic individual (in second year ? 32,735, Chicago, 111. ; 

 Kobert Kennicott) differs as follows: Above continuously ]mre black; upper 

 tail-coverts and longer scapulars bordered terminally with rusty-whitish. 

 Tail distinctly ti]i])ed with white; the inner webs of feathers with eight 

 elliptical transverse bars of pale ochraceous, and indications of correspond- 

 ing spots of the same on outer webs, forming as many inconspicuous bands. 

 Beneath ocliraceons-white ; the neck, breast, and abdomen tliickly marked 

 with broa<l longitudinal stripes of (dear black, — those on the jugulum cuneate, 

 and on the breast and abdomen broadly sagittate; the tibiie with numerous 

 cordate spots, and sides marked more transversely ; lower tail-coverts with 

 narrow distant transverse bars. On the chin and throat only, the Avhitish is 

 immacnlate, on the other jiortions being somewhat exceeded in amount by 

 the black. Inner ■web of longest primary with seven transverse elliptical 

 bars of cream-color. Wing, 12.20 ; tail, 0.40. 



Whether the Xorth American and European Peregrine Falcons are or are 

 not distinct has been a question undecided up to the present day ; almost 

 every ornithologist having his own peculiar views upon the relationship of 

 the different forms which have been from time to time characterized. The 



