288 



NOllTH AMKHICAN IHKD.S. 



No. 41,759 (iniiuature), ^leridii, Yucatan (Dr. St-hott), is remarkably li<,'lit 

 coloriHl, or, rather, i.s uiiiLsiially variej^atod witli whitish above; tlie tail, also, 

 is ahiiost wliite ; tlie bauds, however, very coiisi)icuous. Tlio lower parts arc 

 as thickly spotted as in .speciini'us from Washington Territory. 



Tlie young bird of tliis western style is as different i'roni that ol' the 

 eastern as is the adult, and the essential did'erences are about the same, ^ 

 i. e. darker colors, or a predominance, or, rather, increase in size, of tlie dark 

 markings. The numerous heavy transverse spots on the tibia constitute a 

 persistent feature of the young of the var. cKliirus, as compared vitli the 

 almost, or perfectly, immaculate white of those in var. horca/i.'i. 



It being certain that the JJiitrn uiontanus f)f Xuttall is really the JJ. sn-.ciu- 

 aoiii, and not the variety of boreal i.'^ so called by Mr. Cassin, it becomes 

 necessary to droji this name in connection with the present binl, and transfer 

 it as a synonyine to .•uriiinsoni. In its jtlace, ^Ir. Cassin's ua: ,; <'<duru)> must 

 be sulistituted, under which was described the melauistic condition of tlie 

 present variety of hormlis. 



In describing Ids B. monfcuuis, Xuttall cites Audubon's plate of "Faico 

 hnhv," which, of course, is a name by whicli the B. swaini^oni was first desig- 

 nated before it was distinguished from the B. vnhjuris of Europe. Audu- 

 bon's plate represents, unmistakably, the adult female of the Btiko swainsoni. 

 Haiuts. Tlie well-known IJcd-tailed Hawk iS widely distributed through- 

 out North America from the West Indies and Central America to the Arctic 



regions, and from the Atlantic 

 to the Pacific. 



According to Sir Tohn Rich- 

 ardson, it is common in tlie fur 

 countries, which it visits in 

 summer, and where a few are 

 known to breed. Specimens 

 were taken by his party on the 

 Eocky ^Mountains, the plains 

 of the Saskatcliewan, and at the 

 York factory. These were all 

 between the H^d and the oTth 

 parallels of latitude. 



Mr. Salvin cites it as gen- 

 evtally and plentifully distrib- 

 uted throughout Guatemala, 

 from whence numerous ex- 

 amples in all stages of plu- 

 mage, from the young to the 

 adult, were transmitted by Mr. Skinner. It was also found at Duenas by 

 liim. ^Ir. Swainson states tliat this Hawk was taken on the plains of 

 Mexico by Mr. Taylor. A single specimen was received by Mr. Lawrence 



B»/M/ hnrinlis uulult). 



