A History of North American Birds; Land Birds; Vol. 3 of 3Baird, Spencer Fullerton
Science
A History of North American Birds; Land Birds; Vol. 3 of 3
Baird, Spencer Fullerton
Birds -- North America
A specimen from Paraguay (58,738, ♂ ? Capt. T. J. Page, U. S. N.)
has the slaty above lighter than in the Mirador male, approaching to
ash. The white bars on the black side-patches are very numerous and
regular; the white of the forehead is more sharply defined, and the deep
rufescent-ochre of the posterior portion of the postocular stripe is
even deeper than that of the tibiæ, etc.; the breast has a few narrow
blackish streaks. The bars on wings and tail, however, are as in Mexican
examples. This specimen probably denotes greater age than any other in
the series.
Another specimen (29,809, ♀, Mirador), perhaps very young, is rather
different from the others in the coloration of the lower parts; the
rufous of the posterior portions is very deep, and the anterior light
places are much tinged with ochraceous, the supraloral stripe being
tinged throughout with the same; across the breast is a series of small
tear-shaped spots of black, forming an imperfect band; there are,
however, no other differences.
Nos. 29,520 (♀, Chile, Berlin Museum) and 29,521 (♂, Venezuela) differ
from the rest only in a deeper tinge of ochraceous anteriorly beneath,
the occipital stripes being very red.
No. 18,497 (♂, from the Rio Pecos, Texas) is in the plumage described
as that of the young male, having the rusty tinge on rump, and more
numerous bands on tail; the breast is almost as deeply ochraceous as the
tibiæ, and the broad black patches of the sides scarcely meet across the
abdomen, being there broken into streaks.
[Illustration: _Falco femoralis._]
A female, nearly adult, from Buenos Ayres (45,692, Conchitas; W. H.
Hudson), has the feathers of the upper parts faintly edged with white;
the rump and upper tail-coverts conspicuously barred with the same.
The head above is decidedly more bluish than in northern examples,
each feather with a shaft-line of black. The tail has only seven white
bars,—these, however, very sharply defined, and very pure white; the
longest primary has eleven white bars. The lower plumage is similar to
that of the immature male from the Rio Pecos, Texas (No. 18,497). This
specimen has the second and third quills equal.
LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.
National Museum, 14; Boston Society, 5; Philadelphia Academy, 2; New
York Museum, 1; G. N. Lawrence, 1; R. Ridgway, 2. Total, 25.
_Measurements._
+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+
|Sex.| Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. |Middle Toe.|Specimens.|
+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+
| ♂ | 9.20–10.70| 6.30–8.00| .60–.68|1.70–1.85| 1.35–1.50| 12 |
+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+
| ♀ |11.00–11.60| 7.80–8.80| .71–.80|1.80–2.00| 1.55–1.70| 9 |
+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+
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