294 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



dctciiiiiiii'd. "Winp: l').7") ; tail, !).!(); oiiliiit'ii, 1.00; tdrsus, 2.!)lt; iiiidillo toe, l.fiO; outer, 

 1.].") ; iiiiicr, 1.15. 



Ynuii;/ (Pliil. Aciiil. ("oil.; San Antonio, Texas. 1800; Dr. A. L. Heormann). Like the 

 pi'eeedinj,', bnt liasal \\ ' .te ■allier more exposed, and soniewiiat t'nivons on liie breast ; tiie 

 sides, nxillars, lining' oi' the winjr, and lower tail-covcrt.'f Imve very obsolete triinsverse 

 spot.s ol' the same. I'lider surfaee ol' primaries imvarie-jrated silvery white anterior to 

 their cinaifrinalion. beyond whieli .hey are more hoary, alon^ the edjri" black, this portion 

 with about live transverse s|)ols ol' lilaek. Tail {riayish ashy-brown to the tip, crossed 

 with about nine very sharply delined bands of black, ol' eipial width with the gray ones. 

 Lores grayisli-w-hite. Wiii-f-lbiinnla, 4, 3, o-'2-(l -7 - 8 = 1. Winj:, 14.'2.") ; tail, 10.00; 

 tarsns, .'i.2.") ; middle toe, 1.70. 



IIaii. .Sontheni Mississippi Valley, from Louisiana (And.) and Texas (.Mns. S. I.); 

 north to Eastern Kansas (Coll. Kansas I'niv.). 



Localities (piotcd: Guatemala (Sclatek, Ibis I, 2I(J ('!)); Arizona (Couks, P. A. N. S. 

 1800, 4:i). 



There is not a doubt in my mind as to tlie propriety of separating tliis 

 hird from any close relationsliip to the B. borailis, nor of the correctne,ss of 

 considering it the J>'. harhaii of Auihilxni. It only can he referred to Audu- 

 lion's jdate and descri])tion, Ijoth of which agree perfectly with the younger 

 ])lumage described. 



Tlie specimens Mr. ("assin describes as the "adult" B. liarlnni arc really 

 such ; but those which he describes as the " young " are the young of the 

 "Western Hed-tail {B. hornilis var. raiurm). Tiie California specimens to 

 which Afr. ("assin refers, as identified by Mr. Lawrence as />'. /Ktrlani, are in 

 reality the melanistic condition of B. mirnnsoiii, or the "imii/iititus" of (^assin. 

 The present bird apjH'iirs to be restricted to Louisiana, Te.xas, New Mexico, 

 and adjacent portions, u(U'tli to Kansas, and probaldy Eastern Mexico. 



Hahits. Tills Hawk was first described by Audul)on from a pair obtained 

 by him near St. Francisville, Louisiana. They had bred in tlmt neighbor- 

 hood for two seasons, were shy and difficult of approach, and for a long 

 while ehided his pursuit. The female was shot while sailing over his head, 

 and wounded in the wing. He endea\ored to preserve it alive and to carry 

 it as a present to the Zoological Society, but it refused all foo"d and died in 

 a few days. This specimen is now in the British Museum. The male bird 

 was also obtained a few days later, and this too was brought to him yet alive 

 but also wounded. It was even more fierce and wilder than the female, 

 would erect the feathers on its head, open its bill, and prepare to strike with 

 its talons when any object was brought near to it. 



This species, tiiough smaller than the Ited-tail, to which he regarded it as 

 allied, Audubon thought greatly superior to it in flight and dtiring. Its fliglit 

 is described as ra])id, greatly protracted, and so powerful as to enable it to 

 seize the jirey with apparent ease, or effect its escape from its stronger 

 antagonist, tlie Ked-tail, which pursued it on all occasions. It had been seen 

 to pounce ujion a fowl, kill it iilmost instantly, and afterwards drag it along 

 the ground several liundred yards. It was not seen to prey on hares or 

 s(|uirrels, but seemed to evince a marked preference for poultry, partridges. 



