Part 216

The numerous South American specimens which have come under my notice all differ in the respects pointed out in the synopsis from West Indian and Floridan examples. The following descriptions of a pair of the southern race will show the average characters of var. sociabilis.

Adult male (Baranquilla, Ecuador, CROWTHER; Coll. G. N. Lawrence). Differing from the Florida male in being much darker; general color plumbeous-black, instead of glaucous-plumbeous; head, wings, and tail deep black. Wing-formula, 3=4, 5–2, 6–7, 1. Wing, 12.90; tail, 7.80; culmen, 1.05; tarsus, 1.65; middle toe, 1.45; hind toe, .80; its claw, 1.10.

Adult female, with traces of immature plumage (53,081, Conchitas, Buenos Ayres, September, 1867; William H. Hudson). Whole plumage (except tail-coverts) brownish-black, deepest black on head and tail; more brownish on wing-coverts and slightly glaucous on the neck. All the feathers, except those of the head, neck, and back, bordered inconspicuously with paler; these edgings more distinct and rufescent on the lesser wing-coverts; tibiæ tinged with rusty. Wing-formula, 3=4, 5–2–6–7, 1. Wing, 14.00; tail, 7.60; culmen, 1.00; tarsus, 1.70; middle toe, 1.60; hind toe, .95; its claw, 1.20.

A specimen from Mexico, supposed to be from Mirador (No. 44,444), is dark in color, like South American examples; the bill is unusually large, the chord of the culmen measuring 1.25; wing, 14.25; tail, 8.30; tarsus, 1.70; middle toe, 1.65.

Specimens examined.—National Museum, 2; Philadelphia Academy, 7; New York Museum, 2; Cab. G. N. Lawrence, 2; Museum, Cambridge, 1; Boston Society, 3. Total, 17.

Rostrhamus hamatus (VIEILL.). Falco hamatus, TEMM. Pl. Col. 61, 231, 1899.—ILLIG. Mus. Berol. Buteo hamatus, VIEILL. Enc. Méth. III, 1223. Rostrhamus tæniurus, CAB. J. für. Orn. 1854, p. lxxx. No. 16,634 (Amazon River; Lieutenant Herndon). Entirely uniform plumbeous, with a glaucous cast, becoming darker on the head, and black on primaries and tail; tail perfectly even, with an obscurely indicated, narrow, interrupted band of dark plumbeous across its middle portion. A specimen in the collection of the Boston Society has the bands on the tail more conspicuous, and agrees with the R. tæniurus of Cabanis. I have seen no young specimens of this species, but, judging from Temminck’s figure, cited above, they are very similar to the same stage of R. sociabilis.

The females and immature males are hard to distinguish, and from the unsatisfactory character of the material at my command I have not succeeded in finding reliable characters by which these plumages of the three races may be distinguished. Consequently I give only the characters of the adult males, in defining the distinctions between them.

Circus cyaneus, var. cyaneus (LINN.). Falco cyaneus, LINN. S. N. 1766, 126. Circus cyaneus, LESS. Man. Orn. I, 105.—GOULD, B. Europe, pl. xxxiii.—BONAP. List, 22.—DEGL. Orn. Eur. I, 74.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 147.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 37, No. 364. Falco pygargus, LINN. S. N. 1766, 126. Circus pygargus, STEPH. Zoöl. XIII, pl. ii, 41.

Specimens examined.—National Museum, 3; Philadelphia Academy, 4; New York Museum, 1; Boston Society, 5. Total, 13.

Circus cyaneus, var. cinereus (VIEILL.). Circus cinereus, VIEILL. Nouv. Dict. H. N. IV, 1816, 454.—DARWIN, Zoöl. Beag. pt. iii, 30.—D’ORB. Synop. Av. Mag. Zool. 1837.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 156.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 37, No. 368. Circus campestris, VIEILL. Enc. Méth. III, 1823, 1213. Circus frenatus, LICHT. Verz. Doubl. 1823, p. 62. Circus histrionicus, QUOY, Zoöl. Journ. III, 1826, 271.

Specimens examined.—National Museum, 7; Philadelphia Academy, 5; Boston Society, 3; Museum Cambridge, 1; Cab. G. N. Lawrence, 1. Total, 17.

Measurements.—♂. Wing, 12.40–13.25; tail, 8.50–9.00; culmen, .62–.63; tarsus, 2.42–2.60; middle toe, 1.20–1.25. Specimens, 11. ♀. Wing, 13.75–14.50; tail, 9.30–10.50; culmen, .75–.80; tarsus, 2.80–3.00; middle toe, 1.40–1.50. Specimens, 5.

Not admissible as having been bestowed by a non-binomial author, and of prior date to the commencement of binomial nomenclature.

In the collection of the National Museum are two specimens of cooperi, var. gundlachi, in the young plumage. They differ from the young of var. cooperi merely in darker colors, the brown markings being larger and more numerous, as well as deeper in tint. That their character may be better understood, I furnish the following more detailed descriptions:—

Young male (41,129, Cuba, Dr. Gundlach). Above dark, blackish vandyke-brown, the feathers bordered inconspicuously with dark rusty; tail dull slate, narrowly tipped with ashy-white, and crossed with four broad bands of dusky, almost equal to the slate; beneath white, much tinged on breast and tibiæ with reddish-ochraceous; thickly striped with umber-brown, except on crissum; the streaks on throat narrow and cuneate, those on breast broad, and on sides changing into broad transverse spots or bars; tibiæ thickly spotted transversely with more reddish, nearly rufous, brown; larger lower tail-coverts with narrow shaft-streaks of black. Occiput showing much concealed white; the ends of the feathers deep black. Wing, 8.60; tail, 7.50; culmen, .68; tarsus, 2.50; middle toe, 1.70.

Young female (41,128, Cuba, Dr. Gundlach). Similar, but more thickly striped beneath, the dark markings about equalling the white in extent; whole sides with large transverse spots of umber, cuneate along shaft. Wing, 10.50; tail, 9.50.

The synonomy of this race is as follows: Accipiter gundlachi, LAWRENCE, Ann. N. Y. Lyc. VII, May, 1860, 252.—GUND. Rep’t, 1865, 224.—SCL. & SALV. Ex. Orn. I, 170.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 33, No. 319. The N. fuscus, var. fringilloides (VIGORS), of Cuba, I have not seen. Its synonomy stands as follows: Accipiter fringilloides, VIG. Zoöl. Journ. III, 1826, 534.—LAWR. Ann. N. Y. Lyc. VII, 1860, 255 (with descriptions and synonomy).—GUNDL. Rep’t, 1865, 224.—GRAY, Hand List, I, 32, No. 311.

Astur palumbarius, var. palumbarius (LINN.). Falco palumbarius, LINN. S. N. 1766, 130. Astur p., CUV. Règ. An. (ed. 1), I, 320; et AUCT. Hab. Europe and Asia.

Specimens examined.—National Museum, 2; Philadelphia Academy, 10; Boston Society, 5; Museum Comp. Zoöl., Cambridge, 1; New York Museum, 1. Total, 19.

Measurements.—♂. Wing, 12.25–13.70; tail, 9.40–10.00; culmen, .80; tarsus, 3.00; middle toe, 1.80. ♀. Wing, 13.80–14.50; tail, 10.10–10.90; culmen, .90–.95; tarsus, 2.80–3.15; middle toe, 2.05–2.20.

Asturina nitida, var. nitida (LATH.). Falco nitidus, LATH. Ind. Orn. I, 40.—DAUD.—TEMM.—SPIX. Astur n., D’ORB. Voy. Ois. p. 95.—BURM. Syst. Neb. II, 68.—LEOTAUD, Ois. Trin. p. 46.—GRAY.—VIG.—STEPHENS.—LESS.—D’ORB. Asturina n., BONAP. Consp. p. 30.—CABAN. in SCHOMB. Guian. III, 737.—PELZ. Orn. Bras. p. 3.—SCL. & SALV. P. Z. S. 1864, 369; 1867, 589; 1868, 173; 1860, 288; 1869, 130.—KAUP.—LAWR. Ann. N. Y. Lyc. VII, 316. Dædalion n., LESS. Tr. Orn. p. 65. Asturina cinerea, VIEILL. Anal. 24, 68; Nouv. Dict. III, 41; Enc. Méth. III, 1260; Gal. Ois. pl. xx.—VIG. Zoöl. J. I, 324, 327.—STEPH. Zoöl. XIII, pt. ii. Cymindis c., LESS. Man. Orn. I, 91. Astur striolatus, CUV. Règ. An. (ed. 2), I, 332.

Specimens examined.—Philadelphia Academy, 8; New York Museum, 1; Cab. G. N. Lawrence, 3; Boston Society, 4 (Brazil); Museum, Cambridge, 2 (Panama). Total, 18.

Measurements.—Sex not indicated. Wing, 9.80–10.20; tail, 7.00–8.00; culmen, .80–.90; tarsus, 2.55–2.78; middle toe, 1.60–1.65.

The type of Craxirex, GOULD (Voyage of Beagle, 1838, 22), is the Buteo galapagoensis, GOULD, a species strictly congeneric with Buteo borealis.

Falco unicinctus, TEMM. Pl. Col. 313, 1820. Morphnus unicinctus, LESS. Man. Orn. I, 1828, 90. Astur unicinctus, CUV. Règ. An. (ed. 2), I, 1829, 332.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 221.—KAUP, Monog. Falc. 1850, p. 66. Buteo unicinctus, GRAY, List B. Brit. Mus. 18.—IB. Hand List, I, 7, No. 55. Nisus unicinctus, LESS. Tr. Orn. p. 61. Hypomorphnus unicinctus, TSCHUDI, Fauna Per. pp. 17, 85. Spizageranus unicinctus, KAUP, Ueb. Senck. 1845, 260. Urubitinga unicincta, LAFR. Rev. Zoöl. 1849, 99.—PELZ. Orn. Bras. I, 1868, 3, No. 10.—IB. IV, 1871, 394. Polyborus tæniurus, TSCHUDI, Av. Consp. Wiegm. Arch. 1844, 264.—IB. Fauna Per. pl. ii, Juv. It seems that the South American birds of this species never attain the simple tricolored plumage assumed by the adult of the North American form, Temminck’s figure (Pl. Col. 313) representing the nearest approach to it that I have seen, in a large series of adult specimens. The following descriptions show the average adult of var. unicinctus:—

Adult male (No. 13,908, Chile; Lieutenant Gilliss). Resembling the immature of var. harrisi, as described on p. 1569 (No. 56,763). Primaries edged terminally with whitish; inner webs of tail-feathers mottled whitish for their basal half, not showing the regular transverse bars seen in the immature of var. harrisi; under surface of primaries almost wholly white, becoming ashy, barred with dusky, towards their ends. Wing, 12.00; tail, 8.30; tarsus, 2.90; middle toe, 1.60. Adult female (No. 13,907, Chile; Lieutenant Gilliss). Similar to No. 13,908, but the tibiæ more strongly barred. Wing, 12.50; tail, 8.30.

Specimens examined.—National Museum, 9; Philadelphia Academy, 9; Boston Society, 4; New York Museum, 1. Total, 23.

Measurements.—♂. Wing, 11.65–13.15; tail, 9.00–10.10; culmen, .82–1.00; tarsus, 2.78–3.40; middle toe, 1.52–1.75. Specimens, 8. ♀. Wing, 12.50–14.60; tail, 9.20–10.50; culmen, .90–1.02; tarsus, 3.10–3.40; middle toe, 1.60–1.85. Specimens, 6.