FALCOXIU.E — THE FALCONS. 



21)3 



Sp. CriAR. Form strong an,l la.avy, like /;. borenlh, hut still iimiv rnliust; tibial plimios 

 unusually dovclopc.,1, lon.i.^ a„.l l„„s.. thfir .m,!. rea.'hin- t., or boyoiul the has. of ,1,,'. 

 toes; latoral toos ncaily .Miual. Four o,.n.r i.riu:..n,.s ,vith ii,uor webs cut. Dini.Misions • 



r-7'l-^;""r';'""^\'""' ''^"-l'^""; ™'"'""- l-^'U; tarsus. 2.7^-;i.2:i; nu.l.U.. to.; 

 i->" i./U. t.olors: ^^.arly unilorni black, v.irving Irom a sooty to a carbonaoeon.s tint 

 wit. more or less of eoneealed pure while. .1,/,,//. Tail ,-onfu.se,llv n.ot(le,l lonfrilmli- 

 nally, with grayish, .lu.sky, nnil white, olten tin^^e.l or niix.Ml with "ruth.is. the dillerent 

 Sbmles varynig m relative mnount in .liUerenl lu.lividuals; a snhterminal han-l of hlaek. 

 loang lail grayish-brown, crossed by about nine very regular and sharply defined, 

 broad bands of black, about e.pml in width to the gray ones. 



AduU male (Lawrence, Kaus.is, Oct., LS71 ; in Col-" 

 le<'tion of Kansas University). (Jeneral color deep, 

 almost carbonaceous, l,lnck, showing much exposed 

 white on the head, neck, and breast, all the leathers 

 of which are snowy white beneath the surfa.c the 

 black being merely in the form of tear-shaped spots 

 on the terminal portion of the feather : chin lores 

 and front pure white ; upper parts in general, the 

 posterior lower parts and the linin- of the wing, with 

 the black unbroken, hut all the feathers — excqit the 

 under wing-eoverts— more or le.ss .spotted with while 

 iieneath the surface, on a grayi.sh ground ; these spots 

 being u.sually arranged in pairs on each side of the 

 shaft, on the tlanks; tail-eoverta, above imd below, 

 spotted irregularly with bright rufous, in nearly etiual 

 amount with the black and white. Aluhe, primary 

 coverts, and primaries, with quadrate spots of phiiiibj- 

 ous on their outer webs, forming transverse bands; 

 under surface of j.rimaries plumbeons-gray except at 

 ends, but much broken by coarse marbling of white, 

 this prevailing anteriorly, where it is much confused, 

 but posteriorly about equal with tlie grayish, and ex- 

 hibiting a tendency to form quadrate .spots. Tail, with the ground-color white, but this 

 nearly hidden on the upper surface by a longitudinal mottling of dark and licrht ashy this 

 growing more uniform terminally, where it becomes slightlv snflused with reddish and 

 crossed by a subtermin.al, broad but broken and irregular, band of black, the tip a-ain 

 very narrowly grayish and reddish. 



Wing-formula, 4,.-3,5-2,G; 1 = 10. Wing, 1,5.00; tail, 8.80; eulmcn, 1.00; tarsus 

 2.7o; middle toe, l.-W; lateral toes equal. Plumage of the Hanks, abdomen, tibia) and 

 erissum remark.ibly lengthened and lax, the latter reaching within two inches of the tip 

 of the tad, and the tibial plumes reaching to the base of the toes. 



AduU female (G,851. Rio Grande, lat. ^2° ; Dr. T. C. Henry, U.S. A.). Whole pluma-e 

 purplish black, or chocolate-black, with a purplish lustre; feathers everywhere pure wlii'le 

 at bases, this expo.sed, however, only on the occiput, or where the feathers are disarranged. 

 Forehead, lores, and cliin white. Secondaries and primaries more brown than oIIum- por- 

 tion.s, cros.sed by distinct bands of black, -about six on the secondaries. Whole linin- 

 of the wing and upper tail-coverts eontinuou.s, unvariegated black. Under surface of the 

 primaries ashy-white, more .sl.^ty terminally; ends with distinct, and other portions with 

 olKsolete mottled, bars of dusky. Tail ashy-brown on outer webs, white on inner: both 

 with a confused, rather longitudinal mottling of blackish; terminally, there is a broad 

 nearly continuous subterminal l)and indicated by lilotches, these mixed very slightly with 

 a rufous tinge. Primaries injured by shot, therefore proportions of the quills cannot he 



0851. 



Buteo hnrlani' 



