Illustrations of the Birds of California, Texas, Oregon, British and Russian America

EMBERNAGRA BLANDINGIANA.—(Gambel.)
Blanding’s Finch.
PLATE XII.—Adult Male.

Blanding’s Finch was discovered in the Rocky mountains by Dr. Gambel, and named by him in honor of one of the most universally respected of American naturalists and friends of science, William Blanding, M. D., formerly a resident of Philadelphia, but now of Providence, Rhode Island. During many years of previous residence in South Carolina, Dr. Blanding omitted no opportunity of facilitating by observation and active exertion in contributing to collections, the advancement of the interests of Natural Science in all its departments, and he has been deservedly complimented by naturalists whose studies he has been the means of promoting, and with whom personally he has for many years maintained relations of the most friendly character. Many of the cultivators of Natural History in America owe much to the advice and encouragement of Dr. Blanding, and among such we gratefully include ourselves.

This bird belongs to a group of which several species are known to inhabit Mexico and South America, and of which one other species is a summer visitor to Texas. All of them are birds of handsome and even elegant general appearance and color of plumage, and partake much of the inoffensive habits of other birds of the family to which they belong, and which includes the Finches and Sparrows. Subsisting for the greater part on seeds, much of their time is passed on the ground, or in undergrowths of shrubbery in the immediate vicinity of fields and meadows, or other grass-bearing localities.

We regard the present species as the handsomest Bird of the family of Sparrows yet discovered in the United States, and regret that it is not in our power to lay before our readers an account of it at all full or satisfactory, little having been placed on record, or having otherwise come to our knowledge, beyond the fact that it inhabits sparingly the Rocky mountains, California and northern Texas. It is probably one of the many species which migrate in summer to those countries from Mexico, and even further southward, as is the case with the greater part of the numerous species of birds which are summer-residents in the eastern portion of this continent. Not more than three specimens of this bird have been brought home in the many extensive collections made by the various naturalists who have visited the countries where it is found, from which we must necessarily infer at present that it is one of the rarest of the birds of California and the Rocky mountains, though more abundant in Texas.

From Dr. Gambel’s paper containing his description of this bird, published in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, I. p. 260, (April 1843,) and subsequently in the Journal of the same society, I. p. 51 (Quarto), we extract the following:

“Of this new and singularly marked species, I procured a single specimen only, in September, on the bank of a small stream in the Rocky mountains, about half-way between New Mexico and the Colorado of the West. It kept in low bushes, in company with Fringilla guttata, and F. graminea, occasionally uttering a single chirp. The throat and breast of this species very much resemble those of Fringilla Pennsylvanica.”

Dr. Woodhouse procured, also, one specimen, only, during Capt. Sitgreaves’ Expedition to the Zuñi, and Colorado rivers, respecting which he observes: “Whilst encamped on the Rio Salado, near San Antonio, Texas, in the beginning of April, I procured a solitary specimen of this beautiful and interesting bird. Its favorite haunts seemed to be the low bushes in the vicinity of the creek; this was the only one that I observed east of the Rio Grande. In the Zuni mountain, and in the vicinity of the pueblo of Zuñi, it was quite abundant.” (Report of an Expedition down the Zuñi and Colorado rivers, by Capt. L. Sitgreaves, of the Topographical Engineer Corps, U. S. Army, Washington, 1853. Zoology, p. 85.)

It was also seen by Dr. Heermann, in California.

Our figure is that of a male, and is about two-thirds of the natural size.

The plant represented, is Nuttallia digitata, a native of California.

DESCRIPTION AND TECHNICAL OBSERVATIONS.

Genus Embernagra. Lesson Traité d’Orn, p. 465, (1851.)

Bill, moderate, conic; wings, short, rounded, usually with the fifth and sixth quills slightly longest; tail, lengthened, rounded at the tip; tarsi and toes, lengthened, strong; claws, short, curved. A genus of birds related to Zonotrichia, and containing several species, all of which are American.

Embernagra Blandingiana. (Gambel.)

Fringilla Blandingiana. Gamb., Proc. Acad. Philada. I. p. 260, (April, 1843)

Fringilla chlorura. Aud. Orn. Biog. V. p. 336?

Form. Rather robust, bill strong, wing short, second, third and fourth quills nearly equal, third slightly longest, tail rather long, legs and feet strong, claws well developed, that on the hind toe large.

Dimensions. Adult. Total length (of skin) from tip of bill to end of tail, about 7 inches; wing, 3⅛; tail, 3¼ inches.

Colors. Head, above, fine rufous chestnut. All other upper parts, yellowish green, tinged with ashy. Throat, white, which color is bordered on each side by a line of ashy black. Sides of the neck, the breast and sides of the body, and flanks, light cinereous, tinged with ochre on the latter and under tail coverts. Middle of the lower part of breast, and of the abdomen, white. Wing, at its flexure and under wing coverts, yellow. Quills and tail-feathers, light greenish yellow on their outer webs.

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

Obs. This species resembles somewhat several others which are natives of the Southern extreme of North America, though not sufficiently to be readily confounded with either of them.

The description of Fringilla chlorura, Aud. in Orn. Biog. V. p. 336, consists of extracts of letters from Dr. Townsend, in which a bird is described, of which he procured no specimens, but evidently like the present, in some respects, but not with sufficient precision to be determined. He represents it as “a true Fringilla. The head of light brownish color spotted with dusky, back varied with dusky and greenish olive, rump brownish spotted with dusky, &c.” Our present bird is by no means a true Fringilla, nor does the description otherwise apply to it with such degree of probability as to be relied on.

CARPODACUS FAMILIARIS.—M‘Call.
The American House-Finch.
PLATE XIII.—Male and Female.

When the winter of our northern climes has abated its rigors, and the season of brighter skies and returning flowers approaches, none of its early tokens are welcomed with more pleasing associations, than the reappearance of those familiar birds, which, like the Wren, the Blue Bird, and the Pewee Flycatcher, come pleasantly into the immediate vicinity of our dwellings, to select accommodations for the construction of their nests, and for rearing their young. They share the hospitality of the splendid mansion and the humble cottage, and are made welcome alike in each.

Of birds of this description, no species is more remarkable for its confiding disposition, than the little Finch now before the reader, and which is a native of the western countries of North America. It not only approaches the abodes of men without hesitation, and occupies habitually the suitable parts of houses and other buildings, but resorts in large numbers to such uncongenial localities as one might think them, as towns and cities. In several of those in New Mexico, and California, this bird is very abundant, and is a great favorite.

Several species of the same genus to which the present belongs, all of which present considerable similarity, inhabit northern countries of this continent, and others are found in the same latitudes of the old world. The males of all the species are clothed in plumage of fine crimson, or of purple of various and delicate shades, when they have attained maturity. The females are however of much plainer appearance, and generally present little similarity of color to their more gay consorts. The Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureus) is the best-known American bird of this group. It is common as a winter visitor in the middle and southern States, and at that season its habits are such only as are adapted to a roving life in the woods. It retires in the spring to the northern states, and the mountains of Pennsylvania, and is there regarded with much favor on account of the beauty of its plumage and its agreeable song.

A species of the old world (C. erythrinus), which is one of several that are natives of northern Russia, of Siberia and Kamtschatka, is very similar in its general appearance to the Purple Finch, and, like it too, it has an extensive range of migration, appearing throughout European and Asiatic Russia, and the northern countries of India. Of the Asiatic species, one is remarkable for having been discovered on Mount Sinai, by an European naturalist, and in reference to that fact, has been named by him the Sinai Finch (Carpodacus sinaiticus.)

Our present bird appears to be the species alluded to by Dr. Gambel as the crimson-fronted Finch, Erythrospiza frontalis (Say), in the Journal of the Philadelphia Academy, Quarto, I. p. 53, in the following passage: “This handsome songster we first observed in New Mexico, particularly about Sante Fé, where it is an abundant and familiar resident, keeping about the corrals and gardens, and building its nest under the portals and sheds of the houses. In July the young were ready to fly, which must have been a second brood, or else they begin to lay much later than in California. Under a long shed or portal, in the Plaza or Square of Sante Fé, they had a great many nests; and the old birds would sometimes fly down about our feet while sitting at the doors, to pick up crumbs, &c. for their young.

“In California, it is also an extremely abundant and familiar resident, and is called by the inhabitants Buriones. During winter they assemble in flocks, frequenting the bushy plains and hill-sides, hedges, vineyards and gardens, living on the various kinds of seeds which are so abundant, and also sometimes doing considerable damage among the grapes. Early in March they commence pairing, and soon are busy building their nests; placing entire confidence in man (which is but too often misplaced) they persist in building about the houses; on the projecting planks under the portals, under the eaves, in sheds, boxes or in any nook they can find. I once found a nest in a small box of seeds which had been stuck up over a door. They will also build on the horizontal branch of a tree in the garden, and a great many nests are made in the willow hedges of the vineyards, but they prefer by far the rafters under the sheds and houses, repaying the inmates for the privilege, with their most melodious song, which is continued during summer, from the roof near the nest. The nest is made of small sticks, or stems of weeds, willow catkins and down of the willow, and lined with horse-hair. They usually lay five eggs, sometimes of a plain bluish white color only, but generally having a few scattering streaks and specks of dark brown on the larger end. Some nests are made principally of feathers, cotton or wool, with a few sticks and dried grass, and lined with horse-hair. Frequently only four eggs are found in the nest, and they often have a very few specks or streaks on one side only.

“It would be impossible, with words, to describe the song of this western Orpheus; and although California contains many song-birds, among others the Mocking-Bird, yet there is none more exhilarating to the feelings, or melodious and tender to the ear, than the song of this Finch.”

This bird was first described satisfactorily as a distinct species, by Col. M‘Call, in the Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy, VI. p. 61, (April 1852.) In a previous paper in the same periodical, V. p. 219 (June 1851) he thus alludes to it:

“I found this charming little Finch abundant at Sante Fé, where it commenced nesting in March, although the weather was still wintry, and so continued, with frequent snow-storms, for more than a month. Notwithstanding this, the song of the male failed not to cheer his mate during incubation, with the liveliest melody. The notes often reminded me of the soft trill of the house-wren, and as often of the clear warble of the canary. The males of the last year, though mated and apparently equally happy and quite as assiduous as their seniors, were not yet in full plumage, having little or nothing of the red colors that mark the adult birds.

“The nests, which were stuck into every cranny about the eaves and porticoes of the houses throughout the town, were variously composed of dry grass, fine roots, horse-hair, long pieces of cotton twine, or strips of old calico; in fine, of countless odds and ends, that were picked up about the yards;—these were curiously and firmly interwoven, so as to make a warm and comfortable abode for the new-comers. Eggs, four or five, pale blue, slightly marked on the larger end. The young were able to fly by the middle or latter part of April. A second brood, and in some cases, I believe a third was raised during the summer, as not a few of them continue to incubate until some time in the month of August. Before the latter part of September, however, nearly all of them had disappeared from about Santa Fé.”

For the following additional account of this species, prepared expressly for the present article, we are also indebted to Col. M‘Call:

“Whilst residing in New Mexico, I always remarked a gentle amity in the character of this lively little songster which failed not to bespeak for him the kindly regard of all with whom he made his abode, whether the wealthy proprietor of the manor-house, or the humble peon, whose miserable hut stood aloof from the mansion. For, the same cheerful melody that soothed the noontide of the former while idly swinging in his hammock, welcomed the appearance of the latter as he came forth at the dawn of day to resume his toil; the same confiding familiarity was observable in his approach to both, and the same merry pranks were played, whether feeding on the bounty of the one, or gleaning a more scanty meal near the ill-furnished table of the other. It was this pleasing trait in his character which prompted me in the choice of his name.

“His disposition also towards other birds, appeared to be mild and peaceful, as I had many opportunities to observe. I will mention one instance: In the piazza of the house I occupied, quite a colony of these birds had their nests: here the work of building and incubation had gone on prosperously for several weeks, although the weather at times was stormy and cold, and ere the genial warmth of spring was fairly felt, the colony might have been said to be fully established. As the season advanced and birds of less hardy nature began to arrive from the south, a pair of Barn-Swallows (H. rufa) made their appearance, and forthwith entered the territory of the Finches. And here they at once, very unceremoniously, began to erect their domicil. This act of aggression would have been fiercely resented by most birds, and violent measures would have been promptly resorted to, to eject the intruders. The conduct of the little finches was quite different: at first they stood aloof and seemed to regard the strangers with suspicion and distrust, rather than enmity. In the mean time the swallows went quietly to work, without showing any inclination to intermeddle; and in a day or two [their mud-walls all the time rapidly advancing] they gained the confidence of their neighbors, and finally completed their work unmolested. Indeed, a perfect harmony was established between the parties, which I never saw interrupted by a single quarrel during the time they remained my tenants.

“This incident, and I would mention others were it necessary, illustrates the character of this species in strong contrast with that of its relative, the Purple-Finch, (C. purpureus,) which both Wilson and Audubon agree in representing, from personal observation, as quarrelsome, tyrannical and domineering in the extreme. This species may, moreover, be considered as a more southern bird than the Purple-Finch, its northern range probably not extending much beyond the limits of New Mexico, on the eastern slope of the Rocky mountains; while that of the other stretches to the Fur countries.

“On the western slope, it is common throughout California, but not in Oregon. At the Missions of San Diego and San Gabriel it nested in the hedge-rows, as well as in the buildings. I often saw it in numbers on the edges of the immense fields of wild mustard, a plant which, introduced by the early Spanish missionaries, now overruns whole districts of that country, and in size and vigor of growth is almost arborescent; but whether it nested in these thickets or not, I did not ascertain. Yet I found the nests of the Red-winged Black-bird (A. phœniceus) in numbers, placed at the distance of 6 or 8 feet from the ground, in the branches of the wild mustard.

“The food of this species, like its congeners, consists at different seasons of buds, fruits, the seeds of various grasses and wild plants, which it often plucks from the capsules while hanging inverted or sidewise on the bending stalk. Insects are also eaten, I believe, at all seasons. But in its half-domesticated condition at Santa Fé, nothing edible seemed to be amiss.”

This species appears to congregate into flocks at the close of the summer season, and to adopt the wandering habits of its near relative the Purple-Finch previously alluded to in this article. They migrate at that period and during the winter to Mexico, and probably to the countries of Central America. The following notice is from Dr. Heermann’s Notes on the Birds of California, (Jour. Philada. Acad. Quarto, II. p. 267,) and relates to this bird:

“Very abundant and found in large flocks in the fall season, feeding on the buds of young trees. I found this species abundant at Guaymas, where it breeds under the eaves of houses, in the branches of the small cactus plants; and one nest I discovered in a deserted woodpecker’s hole, made in the body of an upright cactus, one and a half feet in diameter and about fifteen feet high, with which species of plants the country near Guaymas is covered. In California I found its nest on the dwarf oaks, composed of coarse grasses and lined with fine hair. The eggs, from four to six in number, are pale blue, marked with spots and delicate lines of black.”

Dr. Woodhouse also notices this bird as abundant in New Mexico and California, (Sitgreaves’ Report, Zoology, p. 88.)

The figures in our plate are about two-thirds of the size of life.

DESCRIPTION AND TECHNICAL OBSERVATIONS.

Genus Carpodacus. Kaup Nat. Syst., p. 161. (1829.)

Bill short, conical, wide at base, wings long, pointed, second and third quills longest, tail moderate or rather short, tarsi and feet strong, colors in males usually purple, size small.

Carpodacus familiaris. M‘Call, Proc. Acad. Philada. VI. p. 61. (April 1852.)

Form. Generally similar to that of Carpodacus purpureus (Gm.), but smaller than either that species or Carpodacus frontalis. (Say.) Bill short, strong; shorter, more curved above and more turgid than that of C. purpureus. Wing rather long, with the first, second and third quills longest and nearly equal, secondaries truncate and emarginate, tail slightly emarginate only, not forked as in C. purpureus, legs, feet and claws moderate.

Dimensions of a skin from California: Total length from tip of bill to end of tail about 5½ inches, wing 3¼, tail 2¾ inches. Col. M‘Call gives the total length of the recent bird as 6 inches, 1 line and alar extent 10 inches.

Colors. Male. Head entirely, back, rump, superior tail-coverts, neck before and breast, brownish red, inclining to crimson, most clear and distinct on the rump, superior tail-coverts and front immediately at the base of the bill, and most obscure on the back.

Wings and tail, blackish brown, every feather having paler edgings.

Abdomen and inferior tail-coverts, white, every feather having a longitudinal stripe of brown.

Bill, pale yellowish brown, lighter on the lower mandible.

Female. Without red on any part of the plumage. Body above, dark brownish, every feather having a longitudinal central stripe of a darker shade of the same color, and edged with lighter inclining to cinereous. Body beneath, sordid white, longitudinally dashed with brown.

Young Male. Much resembling the female, but with the red color appearing on the front at the base of the bill, on the neck and rump.

Hab. New Mexico and California. Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada., and Nat. Coll. Washington.

Obs. This bird bears considerable resemblance to Carpodacus purpureus, but is smaller, and has occasionally been mistaken for Carpodacus frontalis. The latter is a distinct and very handsome Western American species, the young of which only has been figured, but of which adult specimens have been brought home by Mr. Bell and others.

It is possible that the present is the bird alluded to by Swainson as Fringilla purpurea? in Fauna Boreali Americana, II. p. 264, and by Sir William Jardine in his edition of Wilson’s American Ornithology, I. p. 121, (London and Edinburgh, 1832, 3 vols. octavo). The Fringilla hæmorrhoa, Wagler Isis, XXIV. p. 525, appears to be too large for this bird and more like the common C. purpureus.

PARUS SEPTENTRIONALIS.—Harris.
The Long-tailed Chickadee.
PLATE XIV.—Male Adult.

The form and general appearance of this little bird resemble those of its congeners, the Black-capped Chickadee (P. atricapillus) and the Carolina Chickadee (P. carolinensis). It is, however, larger than either of those species, and presents other characters which not only fully demonstrate it to be entitled to specific distinction, but, very probably, to possess features in its history different in some respects from any of its relatives.

Its bill is longer and more strongly developed, indicating perhaps a different race of insects as its food. Its tail is unusually long, and its entire organization stronger and larger than either of the species above mentioned, with the larger of which (P. atricapillus), it has erroneously been considered identical by some European authors.

This little bird is strictly a western species, and for its discovery and the first description of it, we are indebted to Edward Harris, Esq., of New Jersey, well known as one of the most eminent cultivators of Zoological science in America. It was discovered by Mr. Harris during a visit to the Upper Missouri and Yellow Stone rivers, in company with the late Mr. Audubon, and which was the last journey ever performed by the latter distinguished gentleman. The description, with some valuable observations on other species of the genus Parus, was first published in the Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy, Vol. II. p. 300, (Dec. 1845,) from which we make the following extract:

“A single specimen of this bird was procured on the 26th of July on the Yellow Stone river, about thirty miles above its junction with the Missouri. It is evidently a bird of the season, with immature plumage, to which may be attributed the dullness of the black on the head and throat. On comparison of this bird with P. carolinensis and P. atricapillus, it will be perceived that, beginning with the smallest bird, the parts which are black, decrease, and the white parts increase in size and intensity, in ascending. In septentrionalis the outer web of the lateral tail-feather is entirely white, except a small portion at the base, where there is a slight tinge of grey next the shaft; and the quills, secondaries and all the tail-feathers are margined more broadly and with a purer white than in the other species.

“The note of this bird is similar to that of P. atricapillus, but its voice more liquid and less harsh and querulous in the utterance. Bill longer and stouter.”

This bird has been received at the Philadelphia Academy in a collection made by Mr. Edward M. Kern, while attached as Artist to the exploring party commanded by Col. Frémont in 1846. A very fine specimen is in the collection made by the surveying party under the command of Capt. Stansbury in the vicinity of the Great Salt Lake of Utah, and is noticed in Prof. Baird’s Zoological appendix to Capt. Stansbury’s Report, p. 316. (June 1852.)

Our figure is of the size of life, and the plant represented is Microsperma Bartonioides, a native of Western America.

DESCRIPTION AND TECHNICAL OBSERVATIONS.

Genus Parus. Linnæus, Syst. Nat. I. p. 340, (1766.)

Parus septentrionalis. Harris, Proc. Acad. Philada., II. p. 300, (1845.)

Form. The largest species of typical Parus yet discovered in America. Wing with the fifth primary longest; tail, long, somewhat fan-shaped; tarsi and toes, rather strong; claws, large, flattened, sharp.

Dimensions. Total length (of skins) 5½ to 6 inches; wing, 2¾; tail, 2¾ to 3 inches.

Colors. Head above and space on the throat, black; cheeks and sides of the neck white, the latter color nearly meeting on the back of the neck. Entire plumage above cinereous with a brownish tinge, plumage beneath only white, with touches of yellowish brown on the sides and flanks. Quills edged externally with white, outer tail-feathers edged also with the same color, which on the external feather occupies the entire outer web. Bill and feet dark.

Hab. Missouri and Utah, Rocky mountains. Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada., and Nat. Coll. Washington.

Obs. This is the largest American species of the genus Parus (as restricted by late naturalists), and is particularly remarkable for its lengthened tail. It is a distinct and well-marked species, related to P. atricapillus and P. carolinensis, but easily distinguished from either by the characters above mentioned.

QUERQUEDULA CYANOPTERA.—Vieill.
The Red-breasted Teal.
PLATE XV.—Male and Female.

This handsomely colored and elegant little Teal, is of frequent occurrence in Western America, though first noticed as a North American species in Louisiana, by E. Pilaté, M. D., a physician and naturalist, residing at Opelousas in that State. In a communication to us accompanying one of the first specimens obtained by him and intended for the collection of the Philadelphia Academy, that gentleman mentions having occasionally seen it in company with other species of ducks, but regards its appearance as unusual in Louisiana. The specimen alluded to, which is that of a male in very fine spring plumage, is now in the collection of the society mentioned. According to Dr. Pilaté, who has paid much attention to Natural History, this bird associates with other small species of water-birds, and appears to possess, in the migrating season, similar habits, and frequents the same places of resort, though rather unusually shy and vigilant.

Our valued friends Capt. Howard Stansbury, of the U. S. Topographical Engineers, in his able Report of a Survey of the valley of the Great Salt Lake of Utah, and Prof. Spencer F. Baird, of the Smithsonian Institution, in a valuable Zoological appendix to that Report, allude to this Duck as commonly met with in Utah, and especially in the vicinity of the Great Salt Lake. It was observed frequenting the rivers and small streams. The collection brought home by Capt. Stansbury containing many objects of the highest interest and scientific value, which are described with his usual great accuracy in Prof. Baird’s Appendix, is now in the National Museum at Washington city. The specimens of the present bird were obtained in the river Jordan, a stream emptying into the Lake, and so named by the settlers in that region, who are principally of the religious denomination of Mormons.

It visits South America in the course of its winter migration, and is frequently to be met with in the western countries of that portion of this continent. The extensive collection in all departments of Natural History made by the party under the command of Lieut. J. M. Gilliss, of the U. S. Navy, during the performance of several years’ duty in making geographical explorations and astronomical observations in Chili and other countries of South America, by order of government, and which is now a portion of the National Museum, contains numerous specimens of the bird now before us. We have seen it, in fact, in all the various collections from western South America that have recently come under our notice.

Dr. Woodhouse represents this species as very abundant in western Texas and New Mexico. (Sitgreaves’ Report, Zoology, p. 103.)

DESCRIPTION AND TECHNICAL OBSERVATIONS.

Genus Querquedula. Stephens, Continuation of Shaw’s Zoology, XII. p. 142, (1824.)

Size small, bill rather long, straight, of nearly equal width throughout its length, lamellæ well defined, wings moderate, pointed, with the second quill usually longest, tail moderate, pointed, tarsi short, toes fully webbed.

Querquedula cyanoptera. (Vieill.)

Anas cyanoptera. (Vieill.) Nouv. Dict., V. p. 104, (1816.)

Anas Rafflesii. King, Zool. Jour., IV. p. 97, (1828.)

“Pterocyanea cœruleata. (Licht.)” Gray, Gen. of Birds, II. p. 617, (1845.)

Form. Small; wing rather long, with the second quill distinctly longest; tertiaries and scapulars, long; two central tail-feathers pointed; bill, rather long.

Dimensions. Total length (of skin), about 15 inches; wing, 8; tail, 3½ inches.

Colors. Male. Top of the head, chin and under tail-coverts, brownish black; head, neck and entire under parts, deep purplish chestnut; abdomen with a large spot of brownish black; back, scapulars, rump and upper tail-coverts, brownish black, edged with dull chestnut; large space on the shoulder and lesser wing-coverts, light sky-blue, succeeded by a transverse band of white, speculum brilliant grass-green; a portion of the two first scapulars blue, and all with a central stripe of pale reddish chestnut. Bill dark; feet yellow.

Female. Shoulders blue as in the male, but no trace of the chestnut color which prevails in the latter, that being replaced by a mottled yellowish and brown, very similar to the females of several other species of ducks. Head above brownish black.

Hab. Utah, California, Louisiana, Chili. Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada., and Nat. Mus. Washington.

Obs. This very handsome species does not resemble any other species likely to be confounded with it. With other species of Teals, it has been placed in a distinct genus under the name Pterocyanea, Bonaparte, in which, however, we fail to perceive sufficient characters to warrant a separation from Querquedula.

SYNOPSIS
OF
NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS.

II. FAMILY FALCONIDÆ. THE FALCONS, HAWKS, EAGLES, KITES.

Head and neck usually covered with feathers, but in a few instances partially naked; bill, usually very strong, curved and very sharp; tarsi and toes, generally strong and muscular; claws, curved, sharp; wings, various, but usually large, and adapted to swift and vigorous flight. Size, very much varied, body generally very compact, and organized for strength and activity of habits, and for the destruction of living animals. Female larger than the male.

Inhabit all parts of the world, numerous in the temperate and torrid regions.

I. SUB-FAMILY FALCONINÆ. THE TYPICAL FALCONS.

Bill, short, hooked, upper mandible always furnished with a well defined tooth; head, rather large; feet and tarsi, very strong; toes and claws, long, the latter very sharp and strong; wings, long, pointed; tail, rather lengthened.

Embracing about fifty species, inhabiting all parts of the earth, and may be regarded as presenting the highest organization of the Rapacious form of Birds.

A.

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

General form, robust and powerful; bill, short, with the upper mandible curved, and with a distinct tooth; nostrils, circular, with a central tubercle. Wings, long, pointed, formed for vigorous and rapid flight; tail, rather long; tarsi, short, robust, covered with rounded or hexagonal scales; middle toe long, claws large, curved, and very sharp. This genus, as restricted, contains from fifteen to twenty species, found in various parts of the world, several of which more or less intimately resemble the Falco peregrinus of Europe, and the Falco anatum of America. They are remarkable for exceedingly rapid flight, and great boldness in attacking animals on which they prey.

1. Falco anatum. Bonap. Comp. List p. 4. (1838.)

“Falco peregrinus Gm.” Wilson, Audubon and other authors.

Edwards’ Birds, I. pl. 3, 4. Wilson Am. Orn. IX. pl. 76. Aud. B. of Am. pl. 16, octavo edition, I. pl. 20. De Kay, Nat. Hist. State of New York Birds, pl. 3. fig. 8. Lembeye B. of Cuba, pl. 1. fig. 2.

Bill, rather short, strong, very sharp, with a well defined tooth in the upper mandible; wings long, legs strong, middle toe long, claws curved, sharp.

Adult. Frontal band white; top of the head, back, wing-coverts and rump, bluish cinereous; every feather crossed transversely with bands of brownish black; rump and lower part of the back lighter, and with the dark bands less numerous.

Throat, sides of the neck and upper part of the breast white, with a tinge of buff without spots, other under parts same color, with a deeper shade, and with cordate or rounded spots of black on the lower breast and abdomen, and transverse bars of the same black on the sides, under tail-coverts and tibiæ. Quills, brownish black, with transverse bars of yellowish white on their inner webs. Tail, brownish black, with transverse bars of cinereous, very pale and nearly white on their inner webs, and narrowly tipped with white.

Cheeks with a patch of black most narrow and clearly defined in the adult bird, and separated from the color of the back of the head by a white space; back of the neck, mixed with yellowish feathers, forming an irregular collar. Bill, light bluish horn color, paler at the base; legs and feet fine yellow. Sexes alike.

Younger. Entire plumage above, brownish black; nearly uniform on all parts, and with little or no appearance of the bars which are seen in the adult. Tail, uniform dark brown, with spots or irregular transverse stripes of reddish white frequently only on the inner webs. Frontal spot of white obscure, large space on the cheek, black not separated posteriorly from the same color of the head above. Under parts, white and yellowish white, every feather, except on the throat, with a wide longitudinal stripe of dark brown; the latter color prevailing on the sides and abdomen. Throat, white, nearly every feather with a very narrow central line of black. Tarsi and feet, bluish lead color.

Dimensions. Female, total length 19 to 20 inches; wing, 14½ to 15; tail, 7½ to 8 inches. Male and young smaller.

Hab. The entire eastern portion of North America, and perhaps western; Greenland? Oregon? (U. S. Ex. Exp.) Jamaica, (Mr. Gosse.) Cuba, (Mr. Lembeye.) Bermuda, (Sir W. Jardine.) Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada.

Obs. In the adult of this species, there is a white frontal band as in the adult of the European F. peregrinus.

It is very similar in color and general characters to that species, but is larger, and the young differ.

Audubon’s figures represent the dark-colored plumage described above as that of young or immature birds. Wilson’s figure is that of a more adult specimen, with the frontal band partially produced; but the bird in completely mature plumage, has never been figured.

This bird frequently appears in the United States, generally on the sea-coast in the autumn and winter, at which seasons, also, according to Mr. Lembeye, it visits the island of Cuba. It flies with extraordinary vigor and rapidity, and is remarkable for its bold and destructive habits.

2. Falco nigriceps. Cassin,[3] new species. The Western Peregrine Falcon.

Very similar to the preceding, but smaller, and with the bill disproportionately weaker. Very similar, also, to Falco peregrinus, but differing from both in the colors of the young bird, and in other characters. Adult. Frontal band of white, very narrow. Head and neck above, and cheeks, clear black, with a tinge of cinereous; other upper parts, bluish cinereous, every feather having transverse bands of brownish black, lighter on the rump and upper tail-coverts.

Throat and breast, pale reddish white; other under parts, lighter, with rounded spots and transverse bands of black, and with a tinge of cinereous on the flanks and abdomen. Tail above, pale bluish cinereous, with transverse bars of brownish black, and narrowly tipped with white. Patch of black on the cheek, very large, and scarcely separated from the same colors of the back of the head and neck.

Dimensions. Total length, females (of skin) about 17 inches, wing 13 to 13½, tail 6 to 6¾ inches; males, total length 14½, wing 11½ to 12, tail 5½ to 6 inches.

Younger. Entire plumage above, dark brown; many feathers, especially on the rump, tipped with rufous; tail above, brown, with a tinge of ashy, and barred with rusty on the inner webs. Under plumage pale reddish ferruginous, paler on the throat, all the feathers with broad longitudinal stripes of black, and many, also, with irregular transverse stripes of the same color, which predominates on the flanks and under wing-coverts, and which are marked with reddish white bars and circular spots. Tibia, with transverse bars of brownish black.

Dimensions. Female (of skin), total length about 17 inches, wing 12, tail 6½ inches.

Hab. Bear creek, California, (Mr. E. M. Kern.) Coast of Lower California, (Dr. Heermann.) Chili, (Lieut. Gilliss.) Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada., and Nat. Mus. Washington.

Obs. This bird, of which we have seen numerous specimens, appears to be distinct from Falco anatum. It is uniformly smaller than either that species or F. peregrinus, but resembles Indian or other Asiatic specimens of the latter strongly. The young differ from the young of the species just mentioned, especially in the deeper and different red color of the under parts of the body. In this character they more resemble Falco peregrinator of India, Falco puniceus of Africa, Falco melanogenys of Australia. It has also generally the cheeks as strongly marked with a black patch as the latter, and can, by that character, be distinguished from either F. anatum or F. peregrinus.

This species appears to inhabit the western portion of America as far south as Chili.

3. Falco polyagrus. Cassin, new species. The American Lanier Falcon.

General form robust; bill, rather short, very strong; tooth, prominent; wing, long, second and third quills longest, and nearly equal; tail, rather long. Female nearly adult. Narrow frontal band; line over the eye, cheeks and entire under parts, white; narrow stripe from the corner of the mouth, dark brown; some feathers on the breast and abdomen, with longitudinal stripes and spots of brown, which color forms a large spot on the flank, plumage on the sides also with spots of brown. Entire plumage of the upper parts, brown, many feathers with rufous edgings; paler on the rump; tail above, grayish brown, with transverse bars of white, and narrowly tipped with the same color. Quills, dark grayish brown, with numerous bars of white on their inner webs; under wing-coverts, dark brown, edge of wing at the shoulder and below, white, spotted with brown. The brown of the back extending somewhat on to the breast at the wing-joint. 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 encircling it.

Younger Female. Entire plumage brownish black, throat white, and many feathers on the under parts with edgings and circular spots of white; under wing-coverts, also, with circular spots of white; under tail-coverts with wide transverse stripes of white. Young Male? Frontal band nearly obsolete; entire upper parts, uniform brown, with narrow rufous stripes on the head; under parts, white, with a tinge of reddish yellow, and nearly every feather with a narrow longitudinal stripe of blackish brown; large spaces on the flanks brown. Tarsi and feet lead colored.

Dimensions. Female (of skin), total length about 20 inches, wing 14, tail 8 inches.

Hab. Sources of the Platte river, (Dr. Townsend.) California, (Dr. Heermann.) Puget’s Sound, (U. S. Ex. Exp. Vincennes.) Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada., and in Nat. Mus. Washington.

Obs. Very similar, in the two first stages of plumage above described, to Falco jugger of India, (Gray’s Illustrations of Indian Zoology, II. pl. 26, and Jerdon’s Illustrations of Indian Ornithology, pl. 44,) but larger. We have, however, never seen the young of F. jugger in the plumage of the young of our species as described above, from Dr. Heermann’s Californian specimens. This is the first species of this group of Falcons (the Laniers and Juggers) yet discovered in America, and is especially remarkable on account of its near affinity to the Asiatic species.