138 
gated on their basal half (or more) with ochraceous. Tail deep black, 
crossed by six to eight sharply-defined bands of clear, pale ochra¬ 
ceous, these bands being narrower on the middle feathers, but wider on 
the outer, than the black ones; the terminal ochraceous band much 
narrower than the others. “ Iris brown; cere yellow; feet dull white 7 ' 
(Sumichrast, mss.). Young ? (No. 67884, Nat. Mus. Costa Rica 
Prof. Wm. M. Gabb):—As described above, but the ochraceous deeper, 
and having everywhere, except along the median line below, delicate 
shcfu-streaks of rusty-brown ; the longer scapulars and tertials irregu¬ 
larly bordered and indented with rusty-rufous; the bands on the tail 
are only six in number, including the terminal one, and consist of trans¬ 
verse spots, which on the middle feathers do not touch the edges. Bill 
black; cere and base of lower mandible lemon-yellow ; orbital space 
dusky ; tarsi and toes dull brownish-gray; claws dusky black. 
Biographical notes. 
“This remarkable species is only to be met with in the thick forests 
of the warmer regions. I found it equally as common in the 
locality of Tehuantepec as that of Mazatlau ; northward its range stops 
in the densely wooded districts of the western and southern ports of 
Sonora. It is one of the most peculiar and easily identified hawks of 
this region, not only from its w ell-defined markings, its large and broadly 
crested head, but its w T ell-kuown scream of guaco (pronounced waco), 
which is often repeated for an hour or so at a time, either late in the 
evening or early in the morning. When heard at twilight amid the 
solemn and eternal wmods of these latitudes a feeling of melancholy is 
produced upon the weary traveler, far from his native land, as he threads 
some dark and intricate path, crowded on all sides with impenetrable 
undergrowth, and overhung with the arched branches of trees of im¬ 
mense size and strange forms. This hawk is often found in pairs, and 
the answer to each other’s call makes, at times, a singular medley of 
talking and laughing together. It is seldom seen in an open country, 
or soaring at any great height. Its flight is a quick successive move¬ 
ment of the wings, passing through the woods or across an opening 
with rapid ease. It subsists almost entirely upon reptiles and rodents, 
w T hich its stout claws are well adapted for holding, and its rough, scaly 
legs are armored against their bites. It sometimes, however, preys upon 
birds. 77 — (Grayson, “ Birds of Western and Northwestern Mexico. 7 '— 
Mem. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist. vol. ii, part iii, number ii, p. 300.) 
£ 
© 
r* 
bfj 
o 
eS 
O 
10526 
50410 
39081 
507 TO 
51020 
57843 
59513 
02131 
02089 
07884 
List of specimens in United States National Museum. 
bL 
a 
x c 
u 
o 
Original No. 
Nature of spec¬ 
imen. 
Sex and age. 
3 
9 
012 
9 
cf 
209 
J ad. 
914 
2572 
• « • • 
00 
Ad. 
231 
cf ad. 
Locality. 
When col¬ 
lected. 
Brazil. 
Costa Rica.[ Aug. — 
_do. i Aug. 18 
Mazatlau.I. 
Panama .. 
Tehuantepec.' Dee. 15 
_do. 1 Oct. — 
Calobre, Veragua.j Oct. — 
Tehuantepec.-. 
Talamanca, Costa Ricaj. 
1804 
1808 
1869 
1809 
Fi om whom received.' Collected by— 
Capt. T. T. Page, FT. 
S.3J. 
Dr. A. von Frantzius 
_do. 
Col. A. J. Grayson.. 
J. McLeannan. 
Prof. F. Smniclirast. 
_do. 
O. Salvin. 
Dr. Speer. 
Prof. W. M. Gabb... 
Other specimens examined. —Mus. Pliilad. Acad. N. S., (i j mus. Boston Soc., N. H., 3 
Mus. Comp. Zodl., 1 ; G. N. Lawrence, 2; other sources, 1; total, 23. 
