Part 31

Hab. Southern North America; Florida (Audubon); Texas; Mexico (McCall). Abundant in South America. Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.

Obs. The Caracara Eagle has been observed in Florida, and is an inhabitant also of Texas and Mexico. It walks on the ground with facility, and otherwise resembles the Vultures in its habits; and, like them, lives on dead animals for the greater part. The original edition of Molina, in which a scientific name is given to this bird for the first time since the adoption of the binomial nomenclature, we have not seen; but in his second edition, Preface, p. 1 (Bologna, 1810), it is stated to have been published in 1782. His name undoubtedly has priority.

We are inclined to the opinion that this bird, and several more or less nearly allied species of South America, belong properly to the family of Vultures;—of all the habits of which they partake. This opinion is supported somewhat by Molina’s statement, that of the present species the female is the smaller (2d ed., p. 221), as Humboldt and others have observed of the Condor, and as appears to be the case in the family of Vultures, but not in that of the Falcons.

V. GENUS MORPHNUS. Cuvier, Regne. Animal, I. p. 317. (1817.) URUBITINGA. Less., Rev. Zool., 1839, p. 132. SPIZOGERANUS. Kaup, Class., p. 120. (1844.)

Size medium; bill rather long, abruptly curved at the tip, which is acute; edges of upper mandible festooned; wings and tail long; legs long; tarsi and toes strong, the former with wide transverse scales in front; claws strong. A genus of American species, inhabiting the southern portion of the continent.

1. Morphnus unicinctus. (Temm.) Harris’ Buzzard. Falco unicinctus. Temm., Pl. col., I. p. (no page—livraison 53, about 1827.) “Falco anthracinus. Licht.” Gray, Genera, I. p. 27. Buteo Harrisii. Aud., Orn. Biog., V. p. 30. (1839.) Polyborus tæniurus. Tschudy, Wiegm. Archiv., X. p. 263. (1844.)

Temm., Pl. col., 313; Aud., B. of Am., pl. 392: oct. ed., I. pl. 5; Tschudy, Fauna Peruana Orn., pl. 1.

Legs long, and with the feet robust; wings rather short; tail long. Adult. Shoulders, wing-coverts and tibia chestnut-red or bay; other parts very dark umber-brown; upper and under tail-coverts white; tail white at its base, and tipped with white; middle portion presenting the appearance of a very wide band, dark brownish-black, with a reddish or violet tinge. Younger. Upper-parts umber-brown, much mixed with fulvous; shoulders chestnut-red, with dark-brown spots; quills dark-brown; secondaries tipped with yellowish-white; entire under-parts yellowish-white, many feathers on the breast, sides and abdomen, with large oblong and circular spots of brown; tibiæ yellowish-white, with transverse irregular lines of light brownish-red; upper and under tail-coverts white; tail brown, with many bands of a deeper shade of the same color, and with the inner-webs yellowish and reddish-white, and having many narrow bands of dark-brown; base and tip of the tail yellowish-white.

Dimensions. Female—total length, 22 to 24 inches; wing, 15; tail, 10 inches. Young male—total length, 20 inches; wing, 13; tail, 9½ inches.

Hab. Southern States; Mexico, abundant; Texas, frequent (Col. McCall); Mississippi, rare (Dr. Jenkins); Peru; Chili (Lieut. Gilliss); Chili, abundant (Gay, Fauna Chilena). Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.

Obs. Col. McCall, who has seen this bird in large numbers in Texas, represents it as habitually frequenting the ground in the vicinity of water, and especially abundant on both sides of the Rio Grande. It is slow and heavy in flight, and a dull, sluggish bird in all its habits, partaking in these respects of the general characters of the Vultures.

The affinities of this species we regard at present as uncertain, and arrange it provisionally only in the present genus and sub-family, but by no means agreeing in our views with late European ornithologists.

The foregoing are all the birds of this family which can be regarded as well-established species inhabiting that portion of North America, within our prescribed limits.

Respecting their history, one of the most important questions to the naturalist is, the change of plumage from young to mature age, and another change which takes place in assuming their spring or summer and their winter liveries. The latter change is by no means well understood in many species, and to ascertain it completely in any one would yet be an interesting contribution to its history.

A few species are known only as of exceedingly rare occurrence in the United States, but the larger number are sufficiently numerous to be investigated without difficulty. Of the former, the Washington Eagle (Haliaetus Washingtonii), Harlan’s Buzzard (Buteo Harlani), the Black Hawk, the Rough-legged Hawk (Archibuteo sancti-johannis and lagopus,) and nearly all the Western species, may be regarded as particularly requiring further research.

In the winter season, various species resort to the sea-coast, and others to the margins of bays and rivers in considerable numbers. In the vicinity of the cities these have, however, greatly diminished since the introduction of steamboats and railroads. Steam-engines, and especially locomotives, are innovations for which the Eagles and Hawks evidently have no fancy. To the markets appropriated to the accommodation of farmers and traders from the rural districts in all the cities on the Atlantic seaboard, specimens are frequently brought for sale, a demand, reliable to some extent, having arisen from collectors and amateurs.

Occasionally an immense multitude of Hawks soaring high in the air, and in company, has been observed. This curious phenomenon has been seen by our friends, Professor Baird, of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington city; Dr. Hoy, of Racine, Wisconsin; and by ourselves. It occurs in autumn, and is probably incidental to migration; but its exact character and object is unknown, and involves an interesting inquiry. It is necessarily temporary, as the procuring of suitable food by such a large number of rapacious birds would be impossible.

In the western and northern regions of North America, the birds of this family are particularly worthy of the attention of the traveller and naturalist, and would undoubtedly well repay him in the discovery of unknown species. This is the case also in the States of Florida and Texas, to the latter of which, very probably, some of the many Mexican species are visitors, that have not yet been noticed.

In Oregon and Russian-America, there are also very probably species which have not been recognized as inhabitants of this continent, though well known as birds of Northern Asia, and others entirely unknown to naturalists.

Doubtful and obscure species which have been described as inhabiting North America.

1. Falco americanus. Gm., Syst. Nat., I. p. 257. (1788.) The Black-cheeked Eagle. Pennant, Arctic Zoology, I. p. 227.

“With a dusky and blue-bill; yellow cere; head, neck and breast of a deep ash-color, each cheek marked with a broad black bar passing from the corner of the mouth beyond the eyes; back, belly, wings, and tail, black; legs yellow; feathered below the knees. Is about the size of the last (the Golden Eagle) North America,” (Pennant, as above.)

Of this bird, Gmelin gives a short abstract of Pennant’s description, and applies a scientific name. Naturalists relying solely on that abstract, have erroneously considered the species meant as the Golden Eagle (A. chrysaetus), and the name Falco americanus has accordingly been usually quoted as a synonyme. Though “feathered below the knees” is somewhat indefinite, yet, taken in connexion with “legs yellow,” it is clear that this cannot be the Golden Eagle, which has the tarsus densely feathered. There is no North American species known to which the original description applies.

2. Falco candidus. Gm., Syst. Nat., I. p. 258. (1788.) The Louisiana White Eagle. Lath., Syn., I. p. 36. Du Pratz, Hist. Louisiane, II. p. 109. Falco conciliator. Shaw, Gen. Zool. Aves., VII. p. 77. (1809.)

White; tips of the wings black. Smaller than the Golden Eagle.

This bird is represented by Du Pratz as held in high estimation by the aborigines of Louisiana, who used its feathers for ornamenting the calumet or symbol of peace. It may have been an albino of a known species, or distinct and now unknown. The description applies to a beautiful Mexican species, Buteo Ghiesbrectii (Dubus), which is about the size of the Red-tailed Hawk (B. borealis), and should it ever be observed in Louisiana, the question may be considered as settled.

3. Falco variegatus. Gm., Syst. Nat., I. p. 267. (1788.) The Speckled Buzzard. Lath., Syn., I. p. 97.

“Length more than 12 inches; in shape like our common buzzard. The bill is dusky; the whole head and neck as far as the shoulders whitish; the shaft of each feather blotched irregularly with rusty-brown; back and wing-coverts brown, several of the feathers, especially on the wing-coverts, are spotted with white; tail dark brown, crossed with several bars; but these are nearly obsolete, appearing on close inspection; the quills are very dark, almost black; the under parts from the breast are white; down the shaft of each feather is a blotch of brown; these marks spread out larger and broader as they proceed downwards to the belly; thighs pretty much the same; vent plain white; legs yellow; claws black. A fine specimen of this bird is in the Leverian Museum, which came from North America.” (Latham, as above.)