124 

 Subgenus HIERASPIZIAS, Kauf? 



Hieraspiza Katjp, Class. Siing. u. Yog. 1844, 116. Type, Falco tinus Linn.? 



" Jeraspisa Kaup, 1851 " (fide Gray). 



Teraspiza Kaup, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1867, 171. Same type ? 



Charactees. — Four outer priraaries with iuuer webs emarginated ; 

 third or fourth quill longest. End of inner toe reaching to or beyond 

 middle of second joint of middle toe. 



In the last paper cited above, Kaup includes in his genus " Teraspiza^^ a 

 single American species, Falco tinns Linn., and two Old World species, 

 Falco virgatiis Temm. and Accipiter rJiodogaster Gurney {ex Schlegel). 

 The first of these is probably the type, or, at least, was considered 

 typical, since it was the one selected for illustration of the generic char- 

 acters. This is the only species of those named at present before us, so 

 we cannot state positively whether the other two are sufficiently similar 

 in the details of form to be properly included in the same subgenus. 

 This is also the case with Accipiter collaris Sclater; for, although we 

 have examined a specimen in the museum of the Philadelphia Acad- 

 emy, we are not prepared to say that it is strictly congeneric with ^4. 

 tiniis, although according to our recollection it is extremely similar in 

 the details of form and in relative proportions. Eegarding these species^ 

 Mr. Gurney (Ibis, 1875, pp. 4:70-4:72) speaks as follows: — "J., collaris is 



remarkable in the robust character of its tarsi and feet, and is 



perhaps not properly referable to any of the subgeneric forms into 

 which the genus Accipiter, as used by Mr. Sharpe, may be considered 



to be divisible, being, in fact, very much stj/(/e/ie>'w ]!:s^otwith- 



standing the great resemblance in the character of the coloration which 

 exists between A. collaris and A. tinus in their first dress, and, to a cer- 

 tain extent, in their adult plumage also, I am disposed to assign A. tinus 

 to a group distinct from A. collaris; and in this group I would also include 

 three small African hawks, A. liartlauhi^ A. minullus, and A. erythropus. 



The late Dr. Kaup associated A. tinus and A. minullus in a 



distinct subgenus, first uuder the title Hieraspiza and subsequently 

 under that of TeraSpiza, with A. virgatus and A. rJiodogaster ; but I am 

 disposed to consider that the two latter species belong rather to the 

 group of which A. nisus is the type, though they are in some respects 

 aberrant members of it." Pending the decision of this question, we 

 include the N. collaris provisionally in the subgenus Hieraspizias, along 

 with ^. tinus. 



The two American species agree in the following — 



C0M3I0N CHARACTERS. — Abovc plain plumbeous (adult), sepia-brown 

 or rusty-rufous (young), the j»ileum abruptly darker. Tail plumbeous, 

 crossed with four to five bands of blackish, about equal in width to the in- 

 terspaces (adult) or brown or bright rufous with six to seven narrow bands 

 of dusky (young). Beneath white, with very regular bars of plumbeous 

 (adult), or ochraceous, with similar bars of brown or rusty (young). They 

 may be distinguished by the following diagnoses : — 



1. H. TINUS.— Wing, 5.20-6.50; tail, 3.90-5.50; culmen, 0.45-0.55; 

 tarsus, 1.40-1.90; middle toe, 1.00-1.35. No whitish or ochraceous 

 nuchal collar. Hah, — Brazil to Guatemala. 



2. H. COLLARIS. — Wing, 6.75-7.00; tail, 5.00-5.50 ; culmen, 0.55 ; tar- 

 sus, 1.75-2.00 ; middle toe, 1.28. A nuchal collar of white or ochraceous 

 the feathers dusky-tipped. Hal. — New Granada. 



