Part 54

Nisus cooperi.]

Nisus fuscus.]

In consequence of the insufficient material for working up the South American species, I shall omit them all from the following synopsis of the North American species and races.

Species and Races.

COMMON CHARACTERS. Adult. Above bluish slate-color; the tail with obscure bands of darker, and narrowly tipped with white. Beneath transversely barred with white and pinkish-rufous; the anal region and crissum immaculate white. Young. Above grayish umber-brown, the feathers bordered more or less distinctly with rusty; scapulars with large white spots, mostly concealed; tail-bands more distinct than in the adult. Beneath white, longitudinally striped with dusky-brown.

1. =N. fuscus.= Middle toe shorter than the bare portion of the tarsus, in front; tarsal scutellæ fused into a continuous plate in the adult male. Tail nearly even. Top of head concolor with the back; tail merely fading into whitish at the tip. Concealed white spots of the scapulars very large and conspicuous. Wing, 6.45–8.80; tail, 5.70–8.20; culmen, .40–.60; tarsus, 1.85–2.25; middle toe, 1.10–1.55. Hab. Whole of North America and Mexico.

2. =N. cooperi.= Middle toe longer than the bare portion of the tarsus, in front; tarsal scutellæ never fused. Tail much rounded. Top of the head much darker than the back; tail distinctly tipped with white; concealed white spots of the scapulars very small, or obsolete. Wing, 8.50–11.00; tail, 7.50–10.50; culmen, .60–.80; tarsus, 2.10–2.75; middle toe, 1.30–1.85. Hab. Whole of North America and Mexico.

Adult. Rufous markings beneath, in form of detached bars, not exceeding the white ones in width; dark slate of the pileum and nape abruptly contrasted with the bluish-plumbeous of the back; upper tail-coverts narrowly tipped with white; scapulars with concealed spots of white. Young. White beneath pure; tibiæ with narrow longitudinal spots of brown. Wing, 9.00–11.00; tail, 8.00–9.80; culmen, .65–.80; tarsus, 2.45–2.75; middle toe, 1.55–1.85. Hab. Eastern region of North America; Eastern Mexico …

var. cooperi.

Adult. Rufous markings beneath, in form of broader bars, connected along the shaft, almost uniform on the breast; black of the pileum and nape fading gradually into the dusky plumbeous of the back; upper tail-coverts not tipped with white, and scapulars without concealed spots of the same. Young. White beneath strongly tinged with ochraceous; tibiæ with broad transverse spots of brown. Wing, 8.50–10.60; tail, 7.50–10.50; culmen, .60–.75; tarsus, 2.10–2.75; middle toe, 1.30–1.75. Hab. Western region of North America; Western Mexico …

var. mexicanus.

Nisus fuscus (GMEL.) KAUP.

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK.

Falco fuscus, GMEL. Syst. Nat. p. 283, 1789.—LATH. Ind. Orn. p. 43, 1790; Syn. I, 98, 1781; Gen. Hist. I, 283, 1821.—MILL. Cim. Phys. pl. xviii, 1796.—DAUD. Tr. Orn. II, 86, 1800.—SHAW, Zoöl. VII, 161, 1809.—AUD. B. Am. pl. ccclxxiii, 1821; Orn. Biog. IV. 522, 1831.—BREW. (WILS.) Am. Orn. 685, 1852.—PEAB. B. Mass. III, 78, 1841.—THOMP. Nat. Hist. Verm. p. 61, 1842.—NUTT. Man. 87, 1833. Accipiter fuscus, BONAP. Eur. & N. Am. B. p. 5, 1838; Consp. Av. 32, 1850.—GRAY, List B. Brit. Mus. 38, 1844; Gen. B. fol. sp. 4, 1844.—CASS. B. Cal. & Tex. 95, 1854; Proc. Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil. 1855, 279; Birds N. Am. 1858, 18.—STRICKL. Orn. Syn. I, 108, 1855.—WOODH. Sitgr. Exp. Zuñi & Colorad. p. 61, 1853.—COOPER & SUCKLEY, P. R. R. Rep’t, VII, ii, 146, 1860.—HEERM. Williamson’s Rep. 33.—NEWB. Williamson’s Rep. 74.—COUES, Pr. Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil. Jan. 1866, p. 7.—BLAKIST. Ibis, III, 1861, 317 (fresh eggs).—GRAY, Hand List, I, 32, 1869. Astur fuscus, DE KAY, N. Y. Zoöl. II, 17, pl. ii, fig. 2 (juv. ♂), 1844.—GIRAUD, B. Long Isl’d, p. 19, 1844. Nisus fuscus, KAUP, Monog. Falc. Cont. Orn. 1850, p. 64. Falco dubius, GMEL. Syst. Nat. 1789, p. 281.—LATH. Ind. Orn. p. 43, 1790; Syn. Supp. I, 37, 1802; Gen. Hist. I, 279, 1821.—DAUD. Tr. Orn. 1800, II, 122. Falco velox, WILS. Am. Orn. pl. xlv, f. 1, 1808.—BONAP. An. Lyc. N. Y. II, 29, 1433; Isis, 1832, p. 1137. Accipiter velox, BEECH. Voy. Zoöl. p. 15. Astur velox, JAMES. (WILS.) Am. Orn. I, 68, 1831. Falco pennsylvanicus, WILS. Am. Orn. pl. xlvi, fig. 1, 1808.—LATH. Gen. Hist. I, 280, 1820.—TEMM. Pl. Col. 67. Accipiter pennsylvanicus, VIG. Zoöl. Journ. I, 338.—STEPH. Zoöl. XIII, ii, 32, 1815.—RICH. Faun. Bor.-Am. II, 44, 1831.—JARD. (WILS.) Am. Orn. II, pp. 210, 215, 1832.—SWAINS. Classif. B. II, 215, 1837. Astur pennsylvanicus, LESS. Man. Orn. I, 92.—James. (Wils.) Am. Orn. I, 70, 1831. Nisus pennsylvanicus, CUV. Règ. An. (ed. 2), I, 334, 1829.—LESS. Tr. Orn. p. 59, 1831. Falco columbarius, var., SHAW. Zoöl. VII, 189, 1809. Accipiter ardosiacus, VIEILL. Enc. Méth. III, 1274, 1823. Accipiter fringilloides (not of VIGORS!), JARD. (WILS.) Am. Orn. II, 215, 1832. ? Nisus pacificus, LESSON, Man. et d’Oiseaux, 1847, 177 (Acapulco to California. Square tail). Accipiter fuscus, BREWER, Oölogy, 1857, 18, pl. III, f. 23, 29; pl. V, f. 54.

SP. CHAR. Adult male (11,990, District of Columbia; A. J. Falls). Above deep plumbeous, this covering head above, nape, back, scapulars, wings, rump, and upper tail-coverts; uniform throughout, scarcely perceptibly darker anteriorly. Primaries and tail somewhat lighter and more brownish; the latter crossed by four sharply defined bands of brownish-black, the last of which is subterminal, and broader than the rest, the first concealed by the upper coverts; tip passing very narrowly (or scarcely perceptibly) into whitish terminally. Occipital feathers snowy-white beneath the surface; entirely concealed, however. Scapulars, also, with concealed very large roundish spots of pure white. Under side of primaries pale slate, becoming white toward bases, crossed by quadrate spots of blackish, of which there are seven (besides the terminal dark space) on the longest. Lores, cheeks, ear-coverts, chin, throat, and lower parts in general, pure white; chin, throat, and cheeks with fine, rather sparse, blackish shaft-streaks; ear-coverts with a pale rufous wash. Jugulum, breast, abdomen, sides, flanks, and tibiæ with numerous transverse broad bars of delicate vinaceous-rufous, the bars medially somewhat transversely cordate, and rather narrower than the white bars; laterally, the pinkish-rufous prevails, the bars being connected broadly along the shafts; tibiæ with rufous bars much exceeding the white ones in width; the whole maculate region with the shaft of each feather finely blackish. Anal region scarcely varied; lower tail-coverts immaculate, pure white. Lining of the wing white, with rather sparse cordate, or cuneate, small blackish spots; axillars barred about equally with pinkish-rufous and white. Wing, 6.60; tail, 5.70; tarsus, 1.78; middle toe, 1.20. Fifth quill longest; fourth but little shorter; third equal to sixth; second slightly shorter than seventh. Tail perfectly square.

Adult female (19,116, Powder River; Captain W. F. Raynolds, U. S. A.). Scarcely different from the male. Above rather paler slaty; the darker shaft-streaks rather more distinct than in the male, although they are not conspicuous. Beneath with the rufous bars rather broader, the dark shaft-streaks less distinct; tibiæ about equally barred with pinkish-rufous and white. Wing, 7.70; tail, 6.90; tarsus, 2.10; middle toe, 1.40. Fourth and fifth quills equal and longest; third equal to sixth; second equal to seventh; first three inches shorter than longest.

Young male (41,890, Philadelphia; J. Krider.) Above umber-brown; feathers of the head above edged laterally with dull light ferruginous; those of the back, rump, the upper tail-coverts, scapulars, and wing-coverts bordered with the same; scapulars and rump showing large, partially exposed, roundish spots of pure white. Tail as in adult. Sides of the head and neck strongly streaked, a broad lighter supraoral stripe apparent. Beneath white, with a slight ochraceous tinge; cheeks, throat, and jugulum with fine narrow streaks of dusky-brown; breast, sides, and abdomen with broader longitudinal stripes of clear umber (less slaty than the back), each with a darker shaft-line; on the flanks the stripes are more oval; tibiæ more dingy, markings fainter and somewhat transverse; anal region and lower tail-coverts immaculate white.

Young female (12,023, Fort Tejon, California; J. Xantus). Similar in general appearance to the young male. Markings beneath broader, and slightly sagittate in form, becoming more transverse on the flanks; paler and more reddish than in the young male; tibiæ with brownish-rufous prevailing, this in form of broad transverse spots.

HAB. Entire continent of North America, south to Panama; Bahamas (but not West Indies, where replaced by A. fringilloides, Vig.).

Localities: Oaxaca (SCL. 1858, 295); Central America (SCL. Ibis, I, 218); Bahamas (BRYANT, Pr. Bost. Soc. VII, 1859); City of Mexico (SCL. 1864, 178); Texas, San Antonio (DRESSER, Ibis, 1866, 324); Western Arizona (COUES); Mosquito Coast (SCL. & SALV. 1867, 280); Costa Rica (LAWR. IX, 134).

LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.

National Museum, 51; Philadelphia Academy, 14; New York Museum, 7; Boston Society, 5; Museum, Cambridge, 9; Cab. G. N. Lawrence, 1; Coll. R. Ridgway, 4; Museum W. S. Brewer, 1. Total, 92.

Measurements.

+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ |Sex.| Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. |Middle Toe.|Specimens.| +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♂ | 6.45–7.00| 5.70–5.90| .40–.00|1.85–1.95| 1.10–1.20| 30 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+ | ♀ | 7.50–8.80| 6.90–8.20| .50–.60|2.20–2.25| 1.45–1.55| 40 | +----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+

Specimens from different regions vary but little in size. The largest are 4,198, ♀, San Francisco, Cal., winter, 16,957, ♀, Hudson’s Bay Territory, and 55,016, ♀, Mazatlan, Mexico, in which the wing ranges from 8.40 to 8.50, the tail 7.00. The smallest females are 45,826, Sitka, Alaska, and 11,791, Simiahmoo, W. T., in which the wing measures about 7.80. A female (32,499) from Orizaba, Mexico, one (8,513) from Fort Yuma, Cal., and one (17,210) from San Nicholas, Lower California, have the wing 8.00, which is about the average. The largest males are 54,336, Nulato, Alaska, 58,137, Kodiak, Alaska, 27,067, Yukon, mouth of Porcupine, and 55,017, Mazatlan, Mexico, in which the wing measures 7.00, the tail 5.60. The smallest males are 5,990, Orange, N. J., 8,514, Shoalwater Bay, W. T., 21,338, Siskiyou Co., Cal., 37,428, Orizaba, Mexico, and 5,584, Bridger’s Pass, Utah; in this series the wing measures 6.50–6.70, the tail 5.40–5.60. A specimen from Costa Rica measures: wing 6.70, tail 5.35. Thus the variation in size will be seen to be an individual difference, rather than characteristic of any region. Some immature specimens from the northwest coast of North America (as 45,828, ♂, Sitka, Rus. Am., 5,845, ♂, Fort Steilacoom, W. T., 11,791, Simiahmoo, Puget Sound, and 8,514, Shoalwater Bay, W. T.) are much darker than others, the brown above inclining to blackish-sepia; no other differences, however, are observable. An adult from the Yukon (54,337, ♀) has the rufous bars beneath remarkably faint, although well defined; another (19,384, ♀, Fort Resolution), in immature plumage, has the longitudinal markings beneath so faint that they are scarcely discernible, and the plumage generally has a very worn and faded appearance. A male in fine plumage (10,759, Fort Bridger, Utah) has the delicate reddish-rufous beneath so extended as to prevail, and with scarcely any variegation on the sides and tibiæ; the bars on the tail, also, are quite obsolete.

HABITS. This species is one of the most common Hawks of North America, and its geographical range covers the entire continent, from Hudson’s Bay to Mexico. Sir John Richardson mentions its having been met with as far to the north as latitude 51°. Drs. Gambel and Heermann, and others, speak of it as abundant throughout California. Audubon found it very plentiful as far north as the southern shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It has been obtained in New Mexico by Mr. McCall, in Mexico by Mr. Pease, in Washington Territory by Dr. Cooper and Dr. Suckley, in Alaska by Mr. Dall, at Fort Resolution by Mr. Kennicott, at Fort Simpson by Mr. B. R. Ross, etc. Messrs. Sclater and Salvin give it as a rare visitant of Guatemala. It has been ascertained to breed in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Wisconsin, California, and Pennsylvania, and it probably does so not only in the intervening States and Territories, but also in all, not excepting the most southern, Florida, where its nest was found by Mr. Wurdemann.

Dr. Woodhouse, who frequently observed this bird skimming over the prairies while in search of its prey, states that its flight is so peculiar that there is no difficulty in recognizing it, when taken in connection with its form, short wings, and long tail, being very swift and irregular in its movements, first high in the air, then close to the ground, suddenly disappearing among the grass when it has seized the object of which it was in pursuit.

Mr. Dresser met with this Hawk in Texas, but nowhere south or west of San Antonio, where it remains through the breeding-season, nesting in the dense cedar-thickets.