BUTEO. — ASTUEINA. 73 



and obscure greyish bars on the secondaries. Five black tail-bands can be traced, the 

 subterminal one being much broader than the rest, whereas in one Mexican specimen 

 there is scarcely any increase in the width of this bar. Another bird in our collection 

 from Calovevora is jet-black. In both the Veraguan examples there is only a faint 

 trace of white or grey bars on the upper tail-coverts. 



From the evidence at hand, B. hrachyurus is a resident in Florida, though Dr. Ealph 

 states that it is more commonly noticed in spring and summer s. We have a few 

 specimens from that locality, received from Mr. Scott, one white-breasted individual 

 {B. hrachyurus) procured by him at Chasham in November, and two black-breasted 

 birds {B. fuliginosus) obtained at Miami in October and on the Caloosahatchie Eiver in 

 January. Gurney 21 states that in the Norwich Museum there is an example of it from 

 Jalapa, in addition to the type ; Mr. Ferrari-Perez has sent us one from Alvarado ; 

 and Sumichrast has recorded the species from Tonala and Tehuantepec city. Thence 

 we trace its range to Panama and to the northern and central parts of South America, 

 where it doubtless occurs only as a winter visitor. 



ASTUEINA*. 



Asturina, Vieillot, Analyse, p. 24 (1816) ; Sclater & Salvin, P. Z. S. 1869, p. 129 ; Sharpe, Cat. Birds 

 Brit. Mus. i. p. 202. 



This genus is very closely allied to Buteo, and is by many authorities considered an 

 intermediate link between the Buzzards and the Goshawks. With the latter, however, 

 we are unable to trace much affinity, and we prefer to consider the Neotropical genus 

 Asturina as thoroughly Buteonine in its relations. In the ' Catalogue of Birds ' the form 

 of the nostril was considered a character for its definition, but a far better one is the 

 shape of the wing, which is long and pointed in the Buzzards, and rounded in Asturina, 

 in which genus the primaries are but little longer than the secondaries. 



Both the species of Asturina are found within our limits. They are grey birds, 

 having the four outer primaries excised on the inner web ; the young differ considerably 

 from the adults in plumage, so that the immature specimens are liable to be confounded 

 with the young of the species of Buteo. 



1. Asturina uitida. 



Plumbeous Falcon, Lath. Gen. Syn., Suppl. p. 37 \ 

 Falco nitidus, Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 41'; Temm. PI. Col. i. tt. 87, 294'. 



Asturina nitida, Scl. & Salv. P. Z. S. 1864, p. 369 *; Ex. Orn. p. 180' ; Lawr. Ann. Lye. N. Y. 

 vii. p. 316 ' ; Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. i. p. 203 ' ; Hand-1. Birds, i. p. 257 '. 



* The heading to the subfamily AauiLnr-a) was accidentally omitted on p. 54 : it iacludes ArcMbuteo, Buteo, 

 Asturina, llupomis, Urubitinga, Lettcoptemis, Busarellus, Meterospizias, SarpyTialiaetus, Morphnus, Thrasaetus, 

 Aquila, Spizaetus, and Spiziastur. 



BIOL. cfiXTR.-AJidER., Aves, Vol. III., December 1900. 10 



