18 
U. S. P. R. R. EXP. AND SURVEYS-ZOOLOGY—GENERAL REPORT. 
The young male of A. Cooperi may he mistaken for the young female of the present bird. The 
three American species of Accipiter, however, may be said to be so much alike in color as to 
almost represent different sizes of one species. It is a group in which size is a specific character. 
List of specimens. 
Catalogue number. 
Sex and age. 
Locality. 
When collected. 
Whence and how 
obtained. 
Original number. 
Remarks. 
Collected by— 
Point of bill to end 
of tail. S' 
o> 
Between tips of out- | 
stretched wings. | 
Wing from carpal 5 
joint. 
5165 
5164 
Sept. 6, 1856 _ 
30.25 
10.25 
5163 
2 
17.00 
29.25 
9.00 
All". 14, 1856_ 
W. S. Wood ... 
6849 
5841 
574 
5846 
An"., 1856 . 
538 
5847 
539 
4590 
6848 
Feb., 1855 .. 
6874 
3 
ACCIPITER FUSCUS, Gmelin. 
Sliarp-sliinned Hawk. 
Falcofuscus et dubius, Gsi. Syst. Nat. I, 280, 281, (1788.) 
Jlccipiter striatus, Vieill. Ois. d’Am. Sept. I, 42, (1807.) 
Falco velox et pennsylvanicus, Wilson Am. Orn. V, 116, and VI, p. 13, (1812.) 
Sparvius lineatus, Vieill. Ency. Meth. Ill, 1266, (1823.) 
Nisus Malfini, Lesson. Traite d’Orn. I, 58, (1831.) 
Figures. —Temm. pi. col. 67 ; Vieill. Ois. d’Am. Sept. pi. 14 ; Wilson Am. Orn. V, pi. 45, fig. 1, and VI, pi. 46, fig. 1; 
Aud. B. of Amer. pi. 374, Oct. ed. I, pi. 25. 
Jldult. —Small, tail rather long ; legs and toes slender ; entire upper parts brownish black, tinged with ashy; occiput mixed 
with white ; throat and under tail coverts white, the former with lines of black on the shafts of the feathers ; other under parts 
fine light rufous, deepest on the tibiae, and with transverse bands of white ; shafts of the feathers with lines of dark brown ; tail 
ashy brown, tipped with while, and with about four bands of brownish black ; quills brownish black, witli bands of a darker shade, 
and of white on their inner webs; secondaries and tertiaries with large partially concealed spots of white. 
Young. —Entire upper parts dull umber brown, tinged with ashy; neck behind mixed with white ; greater wing coverts and 
shorter quills, with large partially concealed spots of white ; under parts white, with longitudinal stripes and circular and ovate 
spots of reddish brown, changing into transverse bands on the flanks and tibiae ; under tail coverts white ; bill dark bluish horn- 
color ; cere and tarsi yellow. 
Total length, female, 12 to 14 inches ; wing 7£ to 8, tail 6| to 7 inches. Male, 10 to 11 inches ; wing 6 to 6- 2 , tail 5 to 5g inches. 
Hal).—Throughout North America and Mexico. Spec, in Nat. Mus. Washington and Mus. Acad. Philadelphia. 
Apparently, tbis handsome little liawk inhabits the whole of North America, from Mexico to 
the confines of the frigid zone. Numerous sjiecimens, from various localities, are in the collec¬ 
tions of the expeditions. 
This little hawk, when in adult plumage, much resembles Accipiter nisus of Europe ; but the 
young are quite different, as is the case with nearly all the species of this family inhabiting 
North America, which resemble species of the Old World. 
