Part 26

5. Buteo pennsylvanicus. (Wilson.) The Broad-winged Hawk. Falco pennsylvanicus. Wils., Am. Orn., VI. p. 92. (1812.) Falco latissimus. Wils., Am. Orn., VI. p. 92. (1812. Copies printed later than those containing the preceding name.) Sparvius platypterus. Vieill., Ency. Meth., III. p. 1273. (1823.) Falco Wilsonii. Bonap., Jour. Acad. Philada., III. p. 348. (1824.)

Wils., Am. Orn., VI. pl. 54, fig. 1; Aud., B. of Am., pl. 91, oct. ed. I. pl. 10; Nat. Hist. N. Y. Orn., pl. 5, fig. 11.

Smaller than either of the preceding. Adult. Entire upper-parts dark umber-brown; feathers on the back of the neck white at their bases. Throat white, with narrow longitudinal lines of brown, and with a patch of brown on each side, running from the base of the lower mandible; breast with a wide band composed of large cordate and sagittate spots and transverse stripes of reddish-ferruginous tinged with ashy; other under-parts white, with numerous sagittate spots disposed to form transverse bands on the lower part of the breast, flanks, abdomen, and tibiæ. In some specimens, in winter plumage, the ferruginous color predominates on all the under parts, except the under tail-coverts, and all the feathers have large circular spots on each edge; under tail-coverts white. Tail dark-brown, narrowly tipped with white, and with one broad band of white and several other narrower bands nearer the base. Quills brownish-black, widely bordered with pure white on their inner webs. Young. Plumage above umber-brown, edged on the head and back of the neck with fulvous, and with many feathers on other upper-parts edged with the same color and ashy-white; upper tail-coverts spotted with pure white. Under-parts white, generally tinged with yellowish, many feathers having oblong and lanceolate longitudinal stripes and spots of brown; a stripe of brown on each side of the neck from the base of the under mandible. Tail brown, with several bands of a darker shade of the same and of white on the inner webs of the feathers and narrowly tipped with white.

Dimensions. Female—total length, 17 to 18 inches; wing, 11; tail, 6½ to 7 inches. Male—smaller.

Hab. Eastern North America; Florida (Abadie); Long Island (Giraud); Wisconsin (Hoy). Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada.

Obs. This handsome little species is of rather unusual occurrence in the middle and southern States, though according to Dr. Hoy it is abundant in Wisconsin. It is an easily recognized species, though presenting considerable variations in color, according to age and season.

The names Falco pennsylvanicus and Falco latissimus occur in different copies of the sixth volume of the original edition of Wilson (1812), and the probability is that the latter was substituted by the author, in the later printed copies, after he had noticed that he had previously applied the name pennsylvanicus to another species. Of the last three volumes only second editions were published under the editorship of Mr. Ord; the seventh and eighth in 1824, and the ninth in 1825. The statement in Hall’s edition, I. p. 92 (Philadelphia, 1828), that the name latissimus was given by Mr. Ord, is therefore incorrect. That gentleman, now President of the Philadelphia Academy, and of whose advice and instruction we have the great advantage and gratification, informs us that he had nothing to do with either of the names to which we here allude.

6. Buteo Harlani. (Aud.) Harlan’s Buzzard. The Black Warrior. Falco Harlani. Audubon, Orn. Biog., I. p. 441. (1831. Plate pub. 1830) “Buteo borealis.” Gray, Catalogue of Birds in British Museum, Accipitres, p. 34. Buteo albonotatus. Gray, Cat. Brit. Mus., Accipitres, p. 36; Kaup, Isis, 1847, pp. 329, 369?

Aud., B. of Am., pl. 86, oct. ed. I. pl. 8.

“Head very large; neck short; body robust. Feet of ordinary length; tarsus a little compressed, scutellate before and behind, reticularly scaly on the sides; toes scutellate above, scaly on the sides, tubercular and scabrous beneath; claws curved, roundish, very acute. Plumage compact; feathers of the head and neck short and rounded; tibial feathers elongated, and loose at the tips. Wings long; first quill short, third and fifth equal; first primaries cut out on the inner web towards the end. Tail longish, ample, of twelve broad, rounded feathers. Bill light-blue, black towards the end; cere and angles of the mouth yellowish-green. Iris light yellowish-brown. Feet dull greenish yellow; claws black.

“The general color of the plumage is deep chocolate-brown; the under-parts lighter, the feathers there being margined with light-brown. Tail lighter than the back, and rather narrowly barred with brownish-black, the tips brownish-red. Under wing-coverts whitish, spotted with deep-brown. Length, 21 inches; extent of wings, 45; bill, along the back, 1½; along the gap, from the tip of the lower mandible, 1½; tarsus, 1¾.” (Aud., as above.)

Adult? Brownish-black, with a purplish lustre; occipital feathers white at base, and a few white feathers in front at the base of the bill. Under wing-coverts black, with circular spots and irregular bars of white. Quills white on their inner webs for about two-thirds of their length, and transversely barred with pale ashy-brown. Tail above brownish black, tinged with ashy, and with about six to eight bars of black, the widest of which is next to the tip, which is white. Inner webs of the tail-feathers, except the two in the middle, white, mottled with ashy, and with the transverse bars conspicuous; tail beneath ashy-white. Plumage of the back and entire under-parts of the body white at base, and having concealed pairs of circular and oval spots of white most obvious on the abdomen and under tail-coverts. Bill and legs light-colored.

Dimensions. Total length (of skin), 20 inches; wing, 16½; tail, 9½ inches.

Hab. Louisiana (Audubon); Mexico? Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada.

Obs. The only bird that we have ever seen which appeared to be this species is that described above as probably the adult. It is one of two or three species of black Buzzards which inhabit Mexico and Central America, and we suspect it of being identical with B. albonotatus (Gray, as above), though of that species there is no sufficient description published.

7. Buteo insignatus. Cassin. New species. (March, 1854.) The Canada Buzzard.

Form robust; wings rather long, third quill longest, secondaries emarginate at their tips; quills unusually broad; tail rather short, slightly rounded; tarsi feathered in front below the joint, naked behind, and having in front about ten transverse scales. Under wing-coverts and under tail-coverts white, the former striped longitudinally with pale-ferruginous, and some of them transversely with dark-brown, the latter with transverse stripes of pale reddish-brown. Plumage of the tibiæ dark-ferruginous mixed with brown. Throat and a few feathers in front white, with narrow lines of black. Entire other plumage above and below dark-brown, nearly every feather having a darker or nearly black line on its shaft. Quills above brown, with a purple lustre, beneath pale-ashy, with their shafts white, and irregularly barred with white near their bases. Tail above dark-brown, with an ashy or hoary tinge, and having about ten obscure bands of a darker shade of the same color, beneath nearly white, with conspicuous bands of brown, the widest of which is next to the tip, which is paler. Tarsi and feet yellow. Sex unknown.

Dimensions. Total length (of skin), 17 inches; wing, 14½; tail, 7½ inches.

Hab. Canada (Dr. M’Culloch). Spec. in Mus. Nat. Hist. Soc. of Montreal, Canada.

Obs. Of this very remarkable little Buzzard one specimen only has come under our notice, and is that above described. It belongs to the collection of the Natural History Society of Montreal, by whom it was most kindly sent to Philadelphia for examination at our request, through the good offices of M. M’Culloch, M. D., a distinguished physician and naturalist of that city.

In color, though a true Buteo, this bird differs from any known American species, and more resembles in that respect some stages of the young plumage of Circus hudsonius or C. æruginosus. It was captured in the vicinity of Montreal.

II. GENUS ARCHIBUTEO. Brehm, Isis, 1828, p. 1269. TRIORCHIS. Kaup, Syst. Eur. Thier., p. 84. (1829.) BUTAETES. Less., Traité, p. 83. (1831.)

General characters very similar to those of Buteo, but with the tarsus densely feathered to the base of the toes, but more or less naked on the hind part. Toes short; claws moderate; wings rather long. Contains about six species, of both continents.

1. Archibuteo sancti-johannis. (Gmelin.) The Black Hawk. The Rough-legged Buzzard. Falco sancti-johannis and NOVÆ-TERRÆ. Gm., Syst. Nat., I. pp. 273, 274. (1788.) Falco niger. Wils., Am. Orn., VI. p. 82. (1812.) Buteo ater. Vieill., Nouv. Dict., IV. p. 482. (1816.) Falco spadiceus. Gm., Syst. Nat., I. p. 273?

Wilson, Am. Orn., VI. pl. 53, figs. 1, 2; Faun. Bor. Am., Birds, pl. 28; Aud., B. of Am., pl. 422, oct. ed. I. pl. 11.

Large, and rather heavy; wings long; tarsi feathered, a narrow space naked behind; toes naked, and rather short. Adult. Entire plumage glossy black, in many specimens with a brown tinge; forehead, throat, and a large space on the head behind, mixed with white. Tail with one well-defined band of white, and irregularly marked towards the base with the same color. Quills with their inner webs white, most readily seen on the under-surface of the wing. Some specimens have several well-defined bands of white in the tail. Others have the entire plumage dark chocolate-brown, with the head more or less striped with yellowish-white and reddish-yellow. Cere and legs yellow.

Younger. Upper-parts light umber-brown, with the feathers more or less edged with yellowish-white and reddish-yellow; abdomen with a broad transverse band of brownish-black; other under-parts pale yellowish-white, longitudinally striped on the neck and breast with brownish-black; wings and tail brown, tinged with cinereous; quills for the greater part of their length white on their inner webs; tail-feathers white at their bases. Plumage of the tibiæ and tarsi pale reddish-yellow, spotted with brown. Other specimens have the throat and breast with the black color predominating.

Young male? Entire upper-parts light ashy-brown, more or less mixed with white, especially on the head and fulvous; under-parts yellowish white and dark-brown, the latter assuming the form of longitudinal stripes on the breast, and narrow transverse stripes on the abdomen; tarsi and tibiæ dark-brown, striped with dull-white and reddish; greater part of quills and tail white. Cere and legs yellow.