dashed with dirty white; nape of the neck pure white under the surface; front white; whole lower parts black, with slight tinges of brown, and a few circular touches of the same on the femorals; legs feathered to the toes, and black, touched with brownish; the wings reach rather beyond the tip of the tail; the five first primaries are white on their inner vanes; tail rounded at the end, deep black, crossed with five narrow bands of pure white, and broadly tipt with dull white; vent black, spotted with white; inside vanes of the primaries snowy; claws black, strong and sharp; toes remarkably short.

I strongly suspect this bird to be of the very same species with the next, though both were found to be males. Although differing greatly in plumage, yet in all their characteristic features they strikingly resemble each other. The Chocolatecoloured Falcon of Pennant, and St. John's Falcon of the same author, (Arct. Zool. No. 93 and 94,) are doubtless varieties of this; and very probably his Rough-legged Falcon also. His figures, however, are bad, and ill calculated to exhibit the true form and appearance of the bird.

This species is a native of North America alone. We have no account of its ever having been seen in any part of Europe; nor have we any account of its place, or manner, of breeding.

BLACK HAWK.-(VARIETY.*)

[Plate LIII.-Fig. 2.]

PEALE'S Museum, No. 405.

THIS is probably a younger bird of the preceding species, being, though a male, somewhat less than its companion. Both were killed in the same meadow, at the same place and time. In form, features, and habitudes, it exactly agreed with the former.

This bird measures twenty inches in length, and in extent four feet; the eyes, bill, cere, toes, and claws, were as in the preceding; head above white, streaked with black and light brown; along the eyebrows a black line; cheeks streaked like the head; neck streaked with black and reddish brown, on a pale yellowish white ground; whole upper parts brown black, dashed with brownish white and pale ferruginous; tail white for half its length, ending in brown, marked with one or two bars of dusky, and a large bar of black, and tipt with dull white; wings as in the preceding, their lining variegated with black, white and ferruginous; throat and breast brownish yellow, dashed with black; belly beautifully variegated with spots of white, black and pale ferruginous; femorals and feathered legs the same, but rather darker; vent plain brownish white.

The original colour of these birds, in their young state, may probably be pale brown, as the present individual seemed to be changing to a darker colour on the neck and sides of the head. This change, from pale brown to black, is not greater than some of the genus are actually known to undergo. One great advantage of examining living, or newly killed specimens, is, that whatever may be the difference of colour between any two, the eye, countenance, and form of the head, instantly betray

* As Wilson supposed this is the young of the preceding species. VOL. I.-Q q

the common family to which they belong; for this family likeness is never lost in the living bird, though in stuffed skins, and preserved specimens, it is frequently entirely obliterated. I have no hesitation, therefore, in giving it as my opinion, that the present and preceding birds are of the same species, differing only in age, both being males. Of the female I am unable at present to speak.

Pennant, in his account of the Chocolate-coloured Hawk, which is very probably the same with the present and preceding species, observes, that it preys much on Ducks, sitting on a rock, and watching their rising, when it instantly strikes them.

While traversing our seacoast and salt marshes, between Cape May and Egg-Harbour, I was every where told of a Duck Hawk, noted for striking down Ducks on wing, though flying with their usual rapidity. Many extravagances were mingled. with these accounts, particularly, that it always struck the Ducks with its breast-bone, which was universally said to project several inches, and to be strong and sharp. From the best verbal descriptions I could obtain of this Hawk, I have strong suspicions that it is no other than the Black Hawk, as its wings were said to be long and very pointed, the colour very dark, the size nearly alike, and several other traits given that seemed particularly to belong to this species. As I have been promised specimens of this celebrated Hawk next winter, a short time will enable me to determine the matter more satisfactorily. Few gunners in that quarter are unacquainted with the Duck Hawk, as it often robs them of their wounded birds, before they are able to reach them.

SPECIES 16. FALCO HYEMALIS.

WINTER FALCON.

[Plate XXXV.-Fig. 1.]

TURTON, Syst. p. 156.—Arct. Zool. p. 209, No. 107. PEALE'S Museum, No. 272 and 273.*

THIS elegant and spirited Hawk is represented in the plate of one half its natural size; the other two figures are reduced in the same proportion. He visits us from the north early in November, and leaves us late in March.

This is a dexterous Frog-catcher; who, that he may pursue his profession with full effect, takes up his winter residence almost entirely among our meadows and marshes. He sometimes stuffs himself so enormously with these reptiles, that the prominency of his craw makes a large bunch, and he appears to fly with difficulty. I have taken the broken fragments, and whole carcasses, of ten frogs, of different dimensions, from the crop of a single individual. Of his genius and other exploits I am unable to say much. He appears to be a fearless and active bird, silent, and not very shy. One which I kept for some time, and which was slightly wounded, disdained all attempts made to reconcile him to confinement; and would not suffer a person to approach, without being highly irritated; throwing himself backward, and striking with expanded talons, with great fury. Though shorter winged than some of his tribe, yet I have no doubt, but, with proper care, he might be trained to strike nobler game, in a bold style, and with great effect. But the education of Hawks in this country may well be postponed for a time, until fewer improvements remain to be made in that of the human subject.

* We add the following synonymes: Falco hyemalis. GMEL. Syst. 1, p. 274. -LATH. Ind. Orn. p. 35.

Length of the Winter Hawk twenty inches, extent forty-one inches, or nearly three feet six inches; cere and legs yellow, the latter long, and feathered for an inch below the knee; bill bluish black, small, furnished with a tooth in the upper mandible; eye bright amber, cartilage over the eye very prominent, and of a dull green; head, sides of the neck, and throat, dark brown, streaked with white; lesser coverts with a strong glow of ferruginous; secondaries pale brown, indistinctly barred with darker; primaries brownish orange, spotted with black, wholly black at the tips; tail long, slightly rounded, barred alternately with dark and pale brown, inner vanes white, exterior feathers brownish orange; wings, when closed, reach rather beyond the middle of the tail; tail-coverts white, marked with heart-shaped spots of brown; breast and belly white, with numerous long drops of brown, the shafts blackish; femoral feathers large, pale yellow ochre, marked with numerous minute streaks of pale brown; claws black. The legs of this bird are represented by different authors as slender; but I saw no appearance of this in those I examined.

The female is considerably darker above, and about two inches longer.