Its nest and eggs were taken in Utah by Mr. Ricksecker. I have no notes in regard to the former. A finely marked specimen of one of the eggs procured by him is in my cabinet. It measures 2.15 inches in length by 1.65 in breadth. It is of a somewhat less rounded-oval shape than are the eggs of the anatum. The ground-color is a rich cream, with a slightly pinkish tinge, and is beautifully marked with blotches of various sizes, shapes, and shades of a red-brown tinged with chestnut, and with occasional shadings of purplish. These are confluent about one end, which in the specimen before me chances to be the smaller one. It very closely resembles the eggs of the European F. lanarius.
An egg in the Smithsonian Collection (15,596), taken at Gilmer, Wyoming Territory, May 13, 1870, by Mr. H. R. Durkee, has a ground-color of pinkish-white, varying in two eggs to diluted vinaceous, thickly spotted and minutely freckled with a single shade of a purplish-rufous. In shape they are nearly elliptical, the smaller end being scarcely more pointed than the larger. They measure 2.27 by 1.60 to 1.65 inches. The nest was built on the edge of a cliff. Its eggs were also taken by Dr. Hayden while with Captain Raynolds, at Gros Vent Fork, June 8, 1860.
The following synopsis of the three American species of this subgenus may serve to distinguish them from each other, though only two of them (F. aurantius and F. rufigularis) are very closely related. The comparative characters of the several geographical races of the other one (F. communis), which is cosmopolitan in its habitat, being included under the head of that species, may explain the reasons why they are separated from each other.
Species and Races
A. First and second quills equal and longest; first with inner web emarginated, second with inner web slightly sinuated. Young with longitudinal stripes on the lower parts. Adult and young stages very different.
1. F. communis. Wing, 11.50–14.30; tail, 7.00–8.50; culmen, .72–.95; tarsus, 1.65–2.20; middle toe, 1.80–2.30.52 Second quill longest; first shorter than, equal to, or longer than third. Adult. Above plumbeous, darker anteriorly, lighter and more bluish posteriorly; anteriorly plain, posteriorly with darker transverse bars, these growing more sharply defined towards the tail. Beneath ochraceous-white, varying in tint from nearly pure white to deep ochraceous, those portions posterior to the jugulum transversely barred, more or less, with blackish or dark plumbeous; anterior lower parts (from the breast forward) without transverse bars. Young. No transverse bars on the body, above or below. Above blackish-brown, varying to black, the feathers usually bordered terminally with ochraceous or rusty; forehead usually more or less washed with the same. Beneath ochraceous, varying in shade; the whole surface with longitudinal stripes of blackish. Inner webs of tail-feathers and primaries with numerous transverse elliptical spots of ochraceous. Hab. Cosmopolitan.
a. Young dark brown above, the feathers bordered with rusty or whitish. Beneath white or ochraceous, with narrow longitudinal stripes of dusky. Inner webs of tail-feathers with transverse bars.
Auriculars white, cutting off the black of the cheeks with a prominent “mustache.”
Beneath pure white, the breast and middle of the abdomen without markings. Wing, 12.75; tail, 7.30; culmen, .80; tarsus, 2.00; middle toe, 1.80. Hab. Eastern Asia … var. orientalist.53
Beneath pale ochraceous, the breast always with longitudinal dashes, or elliptical spots, of dusky; middle of abdomen barred. Wing, 11.50–14.30; tail, 7.00–8.50; culmen, .72–.95; tarsus, 1.65–2.20; middle toe, 1.80–2.30. Hab. Europe … var. communis.54
Beneath varying from deep ochraceous to nearly pure white, the breast never with distinct longitudinal or other spots, usually with none at all. Middle of abdomen barred, or not. Wing, 11.30–14.75; tail, 6.00–9.00; culmen, .75–1.00; tarsus, 1.60–2.10; middle toe, 1.75–2.20. Hab. America (entire continent) … var. anatum.
Auriculars black, nearly, or quite, as far down as the lower end of the “mustache.”
Beneath varying from deep ochraceous to white, the breast streaked or not. Lower parts more uniformly and heavily barred than in the other races. Young with narrower streaks beneath. Wing, 11.15–12.60; tail, 6.11–8.00; culmen, .81–.90; tarsus, 1.60–2.05; middle toe, 1.75–2.15. Hab. Australia … var. melanogenys.55
b. Young unvariegated brownish-black above. Beneath brownish-black, faintly streaked with white, or nearly unvariegated. Inner webs of tail-feathers without transverse bars.
Wing, 14.90–15.09; tail, 8.50; culmen, .95–1.00; tarsus, 2.10; middle toe, 2.15–2.21. Hab. Northwest coast of North America, from Oregon to Sitka … var. pealei.
B. Second quill longest; first with inner web emarginated, the second with inner web not sinuated. Young without longitudinal stripes on lower parts. Adult and young stages hardly appreciably different.
Above plumbeous or black; beneath black from the jugulum to the tibiæ, with transverse bars of white, ochraceous, or rufous; throat and jugulum white, white and rufous, or wholly ochraceous, with a semicircular outline posteriorly; tibiæ, anal region, and crissum uniform deep rufous, or spotted with black on an ochraceous or a white and rufous ground. Adult. Plumbeous above, the feathers darker centrally, and with obscure darker bars posteriorly; jugulum immaculate. Young. Black above, the feathers bordered terminally with rusty, or else dark plumbeous without transverse bars; jugulum with longitudinal streaks.
2. F aurantius.56 Wing, 9.50–12.00; tail, 5.40–6.25; culmen, .96; tarsus, 1.50–1.60; middle toe, 1.75–2.10. Second quill longest; first longer than third. Crissum ochraceous, or white and rufous, with large transverse spots of black; upper tail-coverts sharply barred with pure white or pale ash. Adult. Above plumbeous-black, the feathers conspicuously bordered with plumbeous-blue. Throat and jugulum immaculate; white centrally and anteriorly, deep rufous laterally and posteriorly. Tibiæ plain rufous. Young. Above uniform dull black, the feathers sometimes bordered inconspicuously with rusty. Throat and jugulum varying from white to ochraceous or rufous (this always deepest laterally and posteriorly). Tibiæ sometimes thickly spotted transversely with black. Hab. Tropical America, north to Southern Mexico.
3. F. rufigularis.57 Wing, 7.20–9.00 (♂, wing, 7.70; tail, 3.95–5.50; culmen, .45–.58; tarsus, 1.20–1.55; middle toe, 1.15–1.40). Second quill longest; first longer than third. Crissum uniform deep reddish-rufous, rarely barred with white and dusky. Upper tail-coverts obsoletely barred
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Extremes of more than one hundred specimens measured!
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Falco communis, var. orientalis (Gmelin). Falco orientalis, Gmel. S. N. 1789, 264.—Lath. Ind. Orn. 22.—Ib. Gen. Hist. I, 162.—Daud. Tr. Orn. II, 76.—Strickl. Orn. Syn. I, 1855, 83. Two specimens examined, from Japan (Nat. Mus., 1; Philad. Acad., 1).
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Falco communis, var. communis (Gmelin). Falco communis, Gmel. S. N. 1789, 270.—Schleg. Krit. übers, p. 14.—Ib. Mus. Pays-Bas, 1862, Falcones, 1.—Pelz. Ueb. der Geier und Falk. 1863, 23. Falco peregrinus, Gmel. S. N. 1789, 272.—Strickl. Orn. Syn. I, 81, et Auct. Seventeen specimens of this race have been examined. They are distributed as follows: Nat. Mus., 5; Bost. Soc., 6; Philad. Acad., 4; Cambridge Mus., 2. Total, 17.
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Falco communis, var. melanogenys (Gould). Falco communis, Lath. New S. Wales Dr. II, No. 4. Falco peregrinus, Vig. Linn. Trans. XV, p. 183.—Ib. Isis, 1830, 260.—Bonap. Consp. 23, No. 2. Falco melanogenys, Gould, P. Z. S. pt. 5, 1837, 139.—Ib. Synop. B. Austr. pt. 3, pl. xl, fig. 2; Birds of Austr. I, pl. 8; Intr. B. Austr. 19.—Gray, Gen. B. fol. sp. 6.—Ib. List. B. Brit. Mus. 51.—Bonap. Rev. Zoöl. 1850, 484.—Kaup, Monog. Falc. in Jardine’s Contr. Orn. 1850, 56.—Sturt, Exp. Austr. App. 14.—Strickl. Orn. Syn. I, 1855, 84.—Gray, Hand List, I, 1869, 19, No. 167. Falco macropus, Swains. An. Menag. 1838, 341. Eight specimens examined, including the types of Gould’s figures and descriptions in the Birds of Australia.
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Falco aurantius, Gmel. (Rufous-bellied Falcon). Falco aurantius, Gmel. Syst. Nat. p. 283, 1789.—Lath. Ind. Orn. p. 48, 1790, Gen. Hist. I, 289.—Daud. Tr. Orn. II, 130.—Shaw, Zoöl. VII, 194.—Steph. Zoöl. XIII, ii, 40.—Cuv. Reg. An. (ed. 2), I, 322.—Less. Tr. Orn. p. 91. Bonap. Consp. Av. p. 25.—Strickl. Orn. Syn. I, 89, 1855. Hypotriorchis aurantius, Kaup, Ueb. Falk. Mus. Senck. p. 257, 1845. Bidens aurantius, Spix, Av. Bras. I, 17, 1824. Falco deiroleucus, Temm. Pl. Col. 348, 1836.—Less. Man. Orn. I, 79.—Gray, List B. Brit. Mus. 1844, p. 25; Gen. B. fol. sp. 12.—Bonap. Rev. Zool. 1850, 486. Falco rufigularis (not of Daudin!) Gray, List B. Brit. Mus. p. 54, 1844.
Sp. Char. Adult (♂, Costa Rica; Coll. G. N. Lawrence). Above bluish-plumbeous, the feathers darker centrally; anteriorly the black increases in extent, first leaving the plumbeous only as a border to the feathers, and then dropping it altogether, the head and nape being plain black; posteriorly the plumbeous predominates, and shows a tendency to form transverse bars. On the head and neck the black occupies the whole upper and lateral portions, reaching down to the throat, involving the whole of the cheeks and maxillæ, which it covers in an angular patch. Primaries and tail deep black; the former immaculate on their outer surface; the latter crossed by six (the last terminal) incomplete very narrow bands of pure white, formed by transverse bars, which touch neither the shaft nor edges of the feathers; upper tail-coverts crossed by about two bars of pure white. Immaculate area of the throat and jugulum deep rufous posteriorly and laterally, pure white anteriorly and centrally; from the jugulum to the tibiæ, and including the entire lining of the wing, continuous black, with transverse bars of white; tibiæ plain rufous; crissum mixed rufous and white,—the former predominating,—and thickly marked with large transverse spots of black; inner webs of primaries with transverse ovate spots of white, touching neither shaft nor edge of the feather; these number seven on the longest quill (second). Wing-formula, 2–1, 3–4. Wing, 9.90; tail, 5.50; tarsus, 1.55; middle toe, 1.75.
Juv. (♂, 51,293, Costa Rica, La Palma, August 25, 1867; José C. Zeledon). Whole upper surface black, deepest on the tail; it occupies the whole head (except the chin, throat, and sides of the neck), the black cheek-patch having considerable prominence; feathers everywhere (except on the head and neck) indistinctly bordered with light brownish, this becoming more distinct posteriorly; upper tail-coverts tipped and barred beneath the surface with pure white; secondaries, primaries, and primary coverts narrowly but sharply tipped with pure white; tail crossed with five very sharp bars of pure white, the last terminal, the first two concealed by the coverts; these transverse spots touch the shaft, but not the edge of the feather; on the lateral feather they are confined to the inner web. Chin, throat, neck, and breast, abdomen, crissum, and lower tail-coverts, deep orange (not chestnut) rufous; in fact, this forms the ground-color of the whole lower parts; but the sides, flanks, and abdomen have such large transverse spots of black (these exceeding the orange in amount), giving the prevailing color; the orange of the jugulum is sharply defined, with a semicircular outline, against the black of the belly, and has distinct lanceolate shaft-streaks of black; the lower part of the abdomen, and the tibiæ, have cordate or broadly sagittate black spots, rather exceeding the orange; the lower tail-coverts have broad transverse spots of black. (The orange is deepest on the jugulum and crissum, being palest where most thickly spotted; it is immaculate only on chin, throat, and neck; the markings are longitudinal only on the jugulum.) Lining of the wing like the belly, that is, the black predominating; under surface of primaries with transverse elliptical spots of pale cream-color, seven in number on the longest. Wing-formula, 2, 1–3. Wing, 9.90; tail, 5.40; culmen, .72; tarsus, 1.40; middle toe, 1.75; outer toe, 1.20; inner, 1.00; posterior, .80.
List of Specimens examined.—National Museum, 1; G. N. Lawrence, 1; Boston Society, 2; Philadelphia Academy, 3. Total, 7.
Falco rufigularis, Daud. Tr. Orn. II, 131, 1800.—Strickl. Orn. Syn. I, 88, 1855. Hypotriorchis rufigularis, Gray, Gen. B. fol. sp. 5, 1844; List B. Brit. Mus. p. 54, 1848; Hand List, I, 21, 1869.—Bonap. Consp. Av. (sub F. aurantius.).—Gray, Hand List, I, 21, 1869. Falco aurantius, β, Lath. Ind. Orn. I, 48, 1790. Falco aurantius, γ, Lath. Ind. Orn. I, 48, 1790. Falco aurantius, Temm. Pl. Col. sub. pl. cccxlviii, 1836.—Licht. Verz. Doubl. p. 61, 1823.—Cass. B. N. Am. 1858, 10.—Elliot, Birds N. Am. pl. xi. Falco albigularis, Daud. Tr. Orn. II, 131, 1800. Falco hæmorrhoidalis, Hahn, Vög. XV, Lief. pl. i, 1818. Falco cucullatus, Swains. An. Menag. p. 340, 1838. Falco thoracicus, Donovan, Nat. Rep. pl. xlv, 1822.
Sp. Char. Adult (♂, 52,820, Mazatlan, Western Mexico; Col. A. J. Grayson). Above dark slate, with a bluish-plumbeous cast, and uniform over whole surface (wings included) from nape to tail. Anteriorly the tint is almost black, this covering continuously the whole upper and lateral portion of the head, reaching down to the throat, and forming a broad angular projection over the cheeks, which are purer black. All the feathers above darker centrally, but the obscure spots so formed mostly concealed; shafts of the feathers inconspicuously black; upper tail-coverts each with two broad transverse spots of black. Secondaries, primary coverts, and primaries uniform dull black; the former, and inner feathers of the latter, very narrowly ashy-whitish on terminal border,—the coverts with a bluish shade terminally. Tail black (dull light brown at apical margin), crossed with about six obsolete narrow bands of plumbeous, these changing to narrower white bars on the inner webs. Chin, base of maxillæ, throat, sides of the neck, and jugulum, ochraceous-white, the ochraceous tinge deepest posteriorly; breast (broadly across) and sides black, with numerous narrow transverse bars of reddish-white, becoming more ashy posteriorly; abdomen, anal region, tibiæ, femorals, and lower tail-coverts uniform deep, almost castaneous, rufous. Lining of the wing dull black, with circular ochraceous-white spots, but former predominating; whole under surface of primaries and secondaries a similar blackish-dusky, the former with narrow transverse elliptical spots of white, of which there are eight (the first and last merely indicated) on the longest quill. Wing-formula, 2–1–3. Wing, 7.70; tail, 3.95; tarsus, 1.20; middle toe, 1.20. Tail slightly emarginated; second and third feathers longest (counting from exterior).
♀ (5,218, Mazatlan; Colonel Grayson). Almost precisely similar to the male; less contrast between blackish-plumbeous of the nape, and more bluish of the back; bands on tail five in number; bars on black beneath more reddish. Wing-formula same. Wing, 8.80; tail, 4.40; tarsus, 1.30; middle toe, 1.30.
Juv. (Bryant Coll. 1,531, Orizaba, Mex.). Above continuous dull black, without bluish cast or concealed spots; tail-bands narrower, purer white; black beneath duller, transverse bars more obsolete, broader, and pale rusty; chestnut-rufous of posterior lower portions lighter and less uniform; lower tail-coverts with broad transverse spots of plumbeous-black. Wing-formula as in adult. Wing, 8.75; tail, 4.40.
Two young males from Tehuantepec, Mexico (Nos. 613 and 613, May 16, 1871; F. Sumichrast), differ from that described above in some remarkable respects: the upper parts are in one black, but without the rusty margins to the feathers; in the other, almost exactly as in the adult plumage described. The lower parts, however, are most different; the throat and jugular are uniform deep soft ochraceous, with a few longitudinal streaks of black near the black abdominal patch; the bars in this last are deep rufous, and the terminal band of the tail is also deep rufous. The weak bill, and soft, blended character of the plumage, indicate unmistakably the very young age of these specimens, which are also marked “very young” by M. Sumichrast.
In colors, as well as in size and form, this very handsome little Falcon closely resembles the F. severus, Horsf., of Manilla and the neighboring East Indian Islands; the main difference is that in that species the lower surface is wholly deep rufous, instead of partly black.
List of Specimens examined.—National Museum, 11; Boston Society, 6; Philadelphia Academy, 7; New York Museum, 3; G. N. Lawrence, 3; R. Ridgway, 2. Total, 32.
