ASTUE. 45 



viz. Astur and Accipiter, and they ave those which chiefly concern us. But to them we 

 add, with considerable doubt, the genus Geranospizias. 



The Accipitrinse generally feed chiefly on other birds and mammals, which they 

 capture and devour fresh, never feeding on carrion or refuse. 



ASTUE. 

 Astur, Lacepede, Mem. de I'lnst. iii. p. 506 (1801) ; Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. i. p. 92. 



The only species of true Astur which is found within our area is A. atricapillus of 

 North America, a near ally of the Old-World A. palumharius, the two birds occupying 

 between them most of the temperate and subarctic regions of the northern hemisphere. 

 The other members of the genus, which are very numerous, some forty species having 

 been described, are denizens of more tropical countries and abound in the islands of the 

 Eastern Archipelago, New Guinea, &c., several also occurring in tropical Africa. 



Astur has of late years been merged with Accipiter by American writers ; but, apart 

 from the difference of size, it may be distinguished by the stouter tarsi covered with 

 short scutella, and by the shorter and stouter toes, the length of the middle toes of the 

 two forms being in especially strong contrast. 



1. Astur atricapillus. 



Falco atricapillus, Wils. Am. Orn. vi. p. 80, t. 52. f . 3 ^ Wagl. Isis, 1831, p. 5171 



^sfMr afncopi^M*, Bp., Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. i. p. 97"; Coues, Birds of tlie N.-West, 



p. 338*. 

 Accipiter atricapillus, Fisher, Bull. U. S. Dep. Agr. no. 3, p. 43, t. 6 '. ♦ 



Astur palumbarius, var. atricapillus, Ridgw. in Baird, Brew., & Ridgw. N. Am. Birds, iii. p. 237'. 

 Astur palumbarius, var. striatulus, Ridgw. in Baird, Brew., & Ridgw. N. Am. Birds, iii. p. 240 \ 

 Accipiter atricapillus striatulus, Ridgw. Pr. U.S. Nat. Mus. viii. p. 355"; Bendire, Life Hist. 



N. Am. Birds, i. p. 199, t. 6. f. 2\ 



Supra cserulescenti-cinereus, pileo toto nigricante, plumis omnibus ad basin albis ; loris efc superciliis albis, 

 niTicante variegatis : subtus griseo-albus, undique griseo transversim irroratus ; racbidibus plumarum 

 omnibus nigris in pectore latioribus ; remigibus nigrioantibus, fasciis griseo variegatis ; subalaribus albis, 

 griseo frequenter transfasciatis ; cauda griseo-fusoa, fasciis pallidioribus variegatis transfasciata : rostro 

 nio-ricante, cera et pedibus flavis. Long, tota circa 20-0, alse 13*5, caudae 10-0, tarsi 3-0. (Descr. maris 

 ex Sonora, Mexico. Mus. nostr.) 



Juv Supra nigricanti-fuscus, plumis omnibus fulvo limbatis : subtus cervino-albus, plumis omnibus medialiter 

 fuscis ; cauda nigricanti-fusca, apice albicante, fasciis griseis quatuor notata. (Descr. feminae juv. ex 

 Sierra de Nayarit, Jalisco, Mexico. Mus. nostr.) 



Hab. NoKTH America generally ^ ^.—Mexico ( Wagler^), Yecsera in Sonora {W. Lloyd), 

 Sierra de Nayarit, 8000 feet {W. B. Richardson). 



The American Goshawk has been divided into two races, now called Accipiter 

 atricapillus and A a. striatulus ^ ^, the latter being the western form. We have 

 examined a fair series of both birds in the British Museum, but fail to appreciate 



