22 MR. CASSIN'S DESCRIPTION OF 



a memorandum from a journal kept by him at the time they were procured, with 

 the following interesting note of the locality and of the habits of this remarkable 

 species : 



" Philadelphia, April 5th, 1847. 



Dear Sir, — I make the best reply in my power respecting the pair of Hawks, the 

 skins of which and of other birds were brought by me from the Island of Cuba; but 

 not being an ornithologist, the very concise description that I can give of them may 

 not be very intelligible nor useful. 



The locality was towards the north-eastern part of the island, in the vicinity of the 

 port of Gibara, in the province of Holguin. The range of country more especially 

 traversed by me, during six months' residence, extended from the seacoast to thirty 

 miles inland, either into the Savanna or copper region of the mountains. I have 

 particularly described this country in the Transactions of the American Philosophical 

 Society, vol. ix., pp. 204 to 218, where I have also given a reconnoisance map. 



My journal contains a short note made at the time these hawks were shot. My 

 companion and myself saw this pair in company, hovering over the crest of the high 

 limestone mountain called La Silla, about seven miles from the coast. My attention 

 was called to them by my companion, a resident of the island, who asssured mc they 

 were extremely rare, and he hoped we should be able to shoot them ; we were then 

 on the peak of the mountain, and, after a little chase, were so fortunate as to obtain 

 both male and female. My memorandum is literally as follows : 



^'■Gahilan azul, blue hawk of the Spaniards, male and female, very rare and diffi- 

 cult to shoot. Pupil black, with a greenish yellow iris." 



The food of these birds was stated to be various birds, of which doves were the 

 most abundant on the spot, with perhaps an occasional relish of lizards, which were 

 also abundant. I understood that these hawks frequented the most lofty and solitary 

 peaks, and were not often seen below. We considered ourselves extremely fortunate 

 in the acquisition of this fine pair of birds. 



Respectfully, yours, 



Richard C. Taylor. 



Mr. John Cassin. 



The bill in this species is very large in proportion to the size of the bird, much 

 better entitling it to the specific name magnirostris than any other rapacious bird 

 with which I am acquainted ; it agrees, moreover, tolerably well with the descrip- 

 tions of Falco magnirostris, Gm.; so does the young Ctjmindis uncinatus, Illig. All 

 authors, however, except Dr. Latham, appear distinctly to understand the F. mag- 



