FALCONID^ — DIURNAL RAPTORES. 451 



Circus cyaneus var. hudsonius CouES.Key, 1872, 210; Check List. 18T4, No. 333; B. N. 

 W. 1S74, 327.— B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. iii, 1874, 214. 

 Falco uliginosus Gmel. S. N. i. 1788, 278.— WrLS. Am. Orn. vi, 1812. 67, pi. 51, flg. 2. 

 Circus cyanevs? vail americanus Sw. & Rich. F. B.-A. ii, 1831, 55, pi. 2D. 

 Falco cynneus "lilNN." AuD. B. Am. vi. 1843, pi. 356 (nee Linn.) 

 Circus cyaneus "Bole," Nutt. Man. 1833, 109.— AuD. Synop. 1839. 19; B. Am. i, lS4n,in5. 

 pi. 26. 



Hab. The whole of North America; south, in winter, to Panama, north to Hudson's 

 Bay Territory and Alaska; Cuba. Breeding throughout western United States (south to 

 Texas), and in Eastern States chiefly north of 40°. 



Sp. Chae. Adult male (No. 10,764. Washington, D. C, December). Head, neck, breast, 

 and upper parts light cinereous, palest anteriorly where it is uninterrupted or continuous ; 

 occiput somewhat darker, with <a transverse series of longitudinal dashes of white, some- 

 what tinged with reddish. Back, scapulars, and terminal third of secondaries, with a 

 dusky wash, the latter fading at tips; five outer primaries nearly black, somewhat hoary 

 on outer webs beyond their emargination; lesser wing-coverts faintly mottled with 

 paler, or with indistinct dusky spots. Upper tail-eovorts immaculate pure white. Tail 

 bluish cinereous, mottled with white toward base; crossed near the end with a distinct 

 band of black, and with about five njirrower, very obscurely indicated ones anterior to 

 this; tip beyond the subterminal zone fading terminally into whitish. Whole under side 

 of wing (except terminal third or more of primaries) pure white; immaculate, excepting 

 a few scattered transverse dusky spots on larger coverts. Best of under parts pure 

 white everywhere, with rather sparse transverse cordate spots of rufous. Wing, 14.00; 

 tail, 9.20; tarsus, 2.80; middle toe, 1.30. Third and fourth quills equal, and lonitest; 

 second intermediate between flfth and sixth; firsts. 81 inches shorter than longest. 



Adult female (No. 16.7.')8, Hudson's Bay Territory: Captain Blakiston). Umber-brown 

 above, feathers of the head and neck edged laterally with pale rufous; lores, and super- 

 ciliary and suborbital stripes dull yellowish white, leaving a dusky stripe between them, 

 running back from the posterior angle of the eye. Lesser wing-ooverts spattered with 

 pale rufous, this irregularly bordering and indenting the feathers; feathers of the rump 

 bordered with dull ferruginous. Tail deep umber, faintly fading at the tip, and crossed 

 by six or seven very regular, sharply defined, but obscure, bands of blackish; the alter- 

 nating light bars becoming paler and more rufous toward the edge of the tail, the lateral 

 feathers being almost wholly pale cream-color or oehraeeous, darker terminally; this 

 tint is more or less prevalent on the inner webs of nearly all the feathers. Ear-coverts 

 dull dark mfous, indistinctly streaked with dark brown; the feathers of the facial disk 

 fine pale cream-color, each with a middle stripe of dark brown; throat and chin immacu- 

 late dirty white, Uke the superciliary and suborbital stripes. Beneath dull white, with 

 numerous broad longitudinal stripes of umber-brown; these broadest on the breast, 

 growing gradually smaller posteriorly. Under surface of primaries dull white, crossed 

 at wide intervals with dark brown irregular bars, of which there are five (besides the 

 terminal dark space) on the longest quill. 



Toung female (No. 15,585. Bridger's Pass. Rooky Mountains. August: W.S.Wood). 

 Upper parts very dark rich clove-brown, approaching sepia-black; feathers of the head 

 bordered with deep ferruginous, and lesser wing-coverts much spotted with the same, 

 the edges of the feathers being broadly of this color; secondaries and inner primaries 

 fading terminally into whitish; upper tail-coverts tinged with delicate cream-color (im- 

 maculate). Tail with four very broad bands of black, the Intervening spaces being dark 

 umber on the two middle feathers, on the other fine cinnamon-oohre; the tip also 

 (broadly) of this color. Ear-coverts uniform rich dark snuff-brown, feathers of satiny 

 texture; feathers of facial disk the same centrally, edged with fine deep rufoua. Entire 

 lower parts deep reddish oehraeeous or fulvous rufous, growing gradually paler pos- 

 teriorly; immaculate, with the exception of a few faint longitudinal stripes on the breast 

 and sides. Under side of wing as in the last, but much tinged with rufous. 



