Part 33

“Length ten inches; bill violet; cere, irides, and legs, yellow; tail marked with whitish bars more apparent beneath than above; under tail-coverts and flanks brown, with two or three round white spots on each side of the shaft; thighs ferruginous, with black shafts. Inhabits Carolina, observed by Bosc.” (Shaw, as above.)

Probably the young of either Hypotriorchis columbarius or Accipiter fuscus, but quite impossible to identify from such a meagre description.

14. Falco glaucus. Bartram, Travels, p. 290. (1791.) Barton, Fragments of the Nat. Hist. of Penna., p. 11. (1799.)

“The sharp-winged hawk, of a pale sky-blue color, the top of the wings black.” (Bartram, as above.)

This insufficient description has been supposed to be intended for the adult of the Marsh Hawk (Circus hudsonius), but Barton (as above) applies it to the Nauclerus furcatus. It is probably one or the other.

15. Falco subceruleus. Bartram, Travels, p. 290. (1791.)

“The sharp-winged hawk, of a dark or dusky blue color.” (Bartram, as above.)

Impossible to identify, from its brevity. It may be either the Mississippi Kite (Ictinia mississippiensis), the Fork-tailed Hawk (Nauclerus furcatus), or the adult Marsh Hawk (Circus hudsonius).

16. The following names have been given without descriptions, by the authors cited:—

Falco regalis. The great Gray Eagle. Bartram, Trav., p. 290. Barton, Frag. Nat. Hist. Penna., p. 11. Falco gallinarius. The Hen Hawk. Bartr. Trav., p. 290. Falco pullarius. The Chicken Hawk. Bartr. Trav., p. 290. Falco ranivorus. The Marsh Hawk. Bartr. Trav., p. 290. Falco piscatorius. The Fishing Eagle. Bartram, Trav., p. 290. Barton, Frag. Nat. Hist. Penna., p. 2, 17. Falco cæsius. The Blue Hawk. Ord., Zool. N. A., in Guthrie’s Geog, I. p. 315.

The above embrace all the names and descriptions of birds of this family that have come under our notice, except those of such as are now well ascertained to inhabit other countries exclusively, and for which nearly allied species of North America have been mistaken. Of the latter we may more particularly mention the European Falco rusticolus (Linn.), which is given by Fabricius as a bird of Greenland, but stated by Holboll to have been the young of F. anatum, and Buteo vulgaris and Hypotriorchis æsalon, both of which are also European species, and have never been found in America to our knowledge, though there are species which are nearly related to them.

The student may advantageously bear in mind that of those above, which were originally described by Pennant, in English, abstracts or compilations only, in Latin, are given by Gmelin in his edition of the Systema Natura of Linnæus. These abstracts are mostly very short, and not always to be relied on as conveying strictly the sense of the originals. Nor are they at all improved by Turton in his edition of Linnæus, in which, so far as relates to these species, he merely retranslates into English the Latin text of Gmelin without reference to Pennant. In the study of the obscure species alluded to, the original descriptions only can be consulted without risk of error.

FALCO POLYAGRUS.—Cassin. The American Lanier Falcon. PLATE XVI.—Male and Female.

The researches of late naturalists have tended to demonstrate that the animals of Western North America have a more intimate relationship with those of Asia and the old world generally than those of the Eastern portion of this continent. Nor is this affinity restricted, apparently, to any one class, or to such as might have migrated, but is found to exist in a greater or less degree in classes of animals, as that of reptiles, possessing powers of locomotion too limited to admit of such supposition. When, too, we have had our attention directed to the family of Sparrows and Finches, to the beautiful Jays and Magpies, or the various species of Grouse, Partridges, and many other families, we have been almost persuaded to entertain the opinion that the birds of Western America are of a higher grade of organization than those of the Atlantic States. Whether such is the case in other classes of animals, we are not prepared to say, but, if true, it is singularly accordant with the fact that, of the aboriginal American races of men, the West has produced the superior. And it is remarkable, too, that there are Western tribes which very intimately resemble the Mongolian variety of the human race, if they do not really belong to it; thus connecting themselves with the Chinese and Japanese, and other nations of Northern Asia.

The remarkable Falcon which we now have the pleasure of introducing to the reader, is one of the species that show close affinity to an Asiatic congener. It is so much like a common Falcon of India, a bird much used for the purposes of falconry, and known by the name of the Jugger, in the valley of the Indus and other parts of India (Falco jugger. Gray, Ill. of Indian Zoology, II. pl. 26, and Jerdon, Ill. Indian Orn., pl. 44), that it can scarcely be distinguished from it by any character, except size. It is in fact one of the most remarkable instances of close proximity to an Asiatic relative to be found in American birds. It is larger than the Indian Jugger, and more powerful and robustly organized.

Though trained for the chase, the Asiatic bird alluded to is not held in as high estimation as several others; the greatest favorites being the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), nearly related to the Duck Hawk of the Atlantic coast of America (F. anatum), and the Indian Goshawk (Astur palumbarius), which is also a relative of an American species. Falconry, though now little cultivated in Europe, is yet a much-pursued and favorite pastime in several countries of the East. In addition to the Hawks just mentioned, several others, a few of which are more or less nearly related to species of this country, are employed. Some of the smaller Hawks of India are so easily trained that they are set free at the close of a hunting season, the Falconer not considering them of sufficient value to induce him to keep them until another.

The home of the bird now before us, appears to be the mountainous regions of Oregon and California, from which it descends in the winter season to the lower districts, in the valleys of the rivers, and on the shores of the Pacific. In the former country, near the sources of the Platte river, the first specimen that we ever saw, was obtained by the late Dr. John K. Townsend during his trip across the continent in the year 1834, and in whose collection, now belonging to the Philadelphia Academy, it yet remains. Since that period it has been observed in the Rocky Mountains and on the Columbia river, by the naturalists attached to the United States Exploring Expedition, in the Vincennes and Peacock. In the fine zoological collection made by this expedition, is preserved the only female specimen, in the dark plumage, described below, yet known to have been brought to the attention of naturalists. In California, Dr. Heermann particularly noticed this bird, and his collection contains several specimens which he obtained in the plains near Sacramento city.

DESCRIPTION AND TECHNICAL OBSERVATIONS.

Genus Falco. Linnæus, Syst. Nat., I. p. 124. (1766.)

General form compact and strong; bill strong, short, with a distinct and sharp tooth in the upper mandible; wings long, pointed; tail moderate, or rather long; tarsi short, robust; toes long, claws large, curved, sharp; tarsi covered with hexagonal or circular scales. A genus of birds remarkable for their courage and very rapid flight, species of which are found in all countries.

Falco polyagrus. Cassin, Birds of California and Texas, I. p. 88. (1853.)

Form robust; wings rather long, second and third quills longest, and nearly equal; tail rather long; bill short, rather wide at base; tooth in the upper mandible prominent.

Dimensions. Female. Total length of skin, about 20 inches; wing, 14; tail, 8 inches.

Colors. Female nearly adult. Narrow frontal band, line over the eye, and entire under parts white; narrow stripe from the corner of the mouth running downwards, dark brown; some feathers on the breast, and abdomen with longitudinal stripes and spots of brown, which color forms a large and conspicuous spot on the flank. Entire upper parts brown, paler on the rump, many feathers with rufous edgings; tail above pale grayish-brown, with transverse bars of white, and narrowly tipped with white; quills dark grayish-brown, with numerous bars of white On their inner-webs; under wing-coverts dark brown; edge of the wing at the shoulder and below, white, spotted with brown. The brown of the back extending somewhat on to the breast at the wing. Bill, bluish horn color, under mandible yellow at its base. Large space around the eye, bare, with a narrow edging of brown on the first plumage by which it is encircled.

Younger female. Entire plumage above and below, brownish-black; throat white; many feathers on the under parts with edgings and circular spots of white; under wing-coverts also with circular spots of white, and the under tail-coverts with wide transverse stripes of the same.

Young male? Frontal band nearly obsolete; entire upper parts uniform pale brown, with narrow rufous stripes on the head; under parts white, with a tinge of fulvous, and nearly every feather with a narrow longitudinal stripe of blackish-brown; large spaces on the flanks, brown; tarsi and feet, lead-colored.

Hab. Oregon and California. Spec. in Nat. Mus., Washington; and Mus. Acad., Philada.

Obs. This is the only American Falcon yet discovered, which belongs to the group forming the sub-genus Gennaia, Kaup., which contains Falco laniarius, Linn., (Gould, B. of Eur., I. pl 20); Falco biarmiaus, Temm., (Pl. col., 324); Falco jugger, Gray, and several other species. It especially resembles the last, but is larger, and we are at present of opinion that the young of the two species differ in the colors of their plumage.