302 
A CC1P1TRIDJE. HAWKS. 
where I have chanced to have been, I have never shot one; indeed I have seen it but once. 
On the fourth of November, 1868, I was crossing one of the mountain passes of Northern 
New Hampshire, in the teeth of a biting wind, for the weather was unusually cold, when 
glancing upward, I saw one of these noble Falcons, flying high over the mountain tops, 
steering northward over the unbroken forests which were, even thus early in the season, 
covered deeply with snow and almost a solitude, being deserted by nearly all the feathered 
tribes. 
The Jer Falcons breed much like the Peregrine Falcons, on inaccessible cliffs in the 
far North and they spend the greater portion of their time in these inhospitable regions, 
even remaining there through the severe winter weather, only occasionally visiting us; so 
rarely, that their occurence may be regarded as merely accidental. Those in the dark 
plumage, described by Audubon as the Labrador Falcon but now regarded by nearly every 
one as only a melanistic stage of the lighter species, appear to favor us with their presence 
rather more frequently than their lighter colored brethren. The Jer Falcons have been 
taken as far south as Connecticut but their normal range is north of Canada. 
FAMILY III. ACCIPITRIDH4. THE SHORT-WINGED HAWKS. 
The sternum does not nearly equal in width the length of the coracoids, nor does the scap¬ 
ular process of the latter meet the furcula. Marginal indentations, two, inclosed. 
This family, in our section, is represented by a single genus, as I restrict it. The 
manubrium is moderately well developed but is not forked and is either pointed or ab¬ 
ruptly truncated. The furcula is stout, much flattened by lateral expansion, wide and 
thick near the base which is rounded and not produced into a point. The terminal expan¬ 
sion is small and the furcula near it is only slightly contracted and furrowed above, and is 
bent downward to a point at about two thirds the height of the keel. The marginal inden¬ 
tations, although varying in size with age, are always inclosed. 
GENUS I. ACCIPITER. THE TRUE HAWKS. 
Gen. Ch. Bill, short, broad, well curved, with the cutting edge of upper mandible distinctly lobed, but the lower is not 
notched. Tarsus, long and nearly naked. Tail, well rounded, considerably exceeding in length one half the length of the 
. wings which are short and not pointed. Nostril, without central tubercle. 
Members of this genus have the leg long and the tarsus is usually naked to the heel behind, but is slightly feathered 
in front. The toes are long and the claws are quite long and pointed. Five outer quills are noticeably incised on the in¬ 
ner webs. * 
The trachea is a little flattened throughout. The sterno-trachealis is short and stout, having its origin quite near the 
larynx, and there is a slender bronchialis extending over all the half rings, but there are no other laryngeal muscles. The 
tympaniform membrane is present and although there is a thin os transversale, it does not support a semilunar membrane. 
The walls of the oesophagus are thin; this is at first nearly straight, then is dilated into a crop, and is again straight and 
opens into a medium sized proventriculus with numerous small, simple, oval glands arranged in a zonular band which meas¬ 
ures POO in Cooperi, from which this and the following dimensions were taken. The stomach is of a rather small size, 
somewhat globular in form, with thin but soft walls, and is lined with a soft membrane. The fold of the duodenum is long, 
measuring 3'00, inclosing an irregularly formed pancreas which only extends about one half its entire length. The cceca, 
when present, are very small. The spleen is an elliptical body lying on or near the proventriculus. Roth lobes of the liv¬ 
er are short, thick, and nearly equal in size. The heart is large, triangular in form, and not very pointed. There are two 
species within our limits. 
