A Synopsis of the Birds of North America. John James Audubon
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Male. Tarsus with a few scutella; toes terminally scutellate. Male with the bill, cere, iris, and feet yellow; the head, the neck for half its length, the rump, upper and lower tail-coverts, and tail white; the rest of the plumage chocolate-brown, the terminal margins of all the feathers pale greyish-brown. Female similar. Young with the bill brownish-black, iris dark brown, feet yellow; the general colour of the plumage very dark chocolate, uniform, the feathers without edgings, all white at the base, that colour appearing more or less on the hind part, and more especially on the fore part and sides of the neck, and on the sides of the body and lower wing-coverts; quills and tail-feathers brownish-black, tinged with grey toward the base; the latter with the greater part of the inner webs, and a portion of the outer brownish-white, freckled with dusky. In more advanced stages the colours of the plumage vary considerably in different individuals. The general tint continues brown for several years, a variable and often a large proportion of white, or brownish-white, appearing on the neck, the lower part of the body, the sides, and under the wings, the tail meanwhile gradually becoming white in freckled patches, some have a large patch of brownish-white across the breast. When the feathers are new, they are of a glossy deep brown, but when old and worn they present a bleached appearance, and the upper parts are often patched with pale brown or brownish-white. On account of these circumstances, individuals of different ages, and shot at different periods of the year, differ so much from each other in appearance, that one might, without a very extended comparison, conceive that in a collection of specimens, there might be several species. The bill remains dark until the head and tail become white; the anterior tarsal scutella differ from none to six, the posterior from nine to twelve; those on the hind toe are four, on the middle toe from nine to thirteen.
Male, 34, 84.
Throughout North America. Resident in the south and west.
Bald Eagle, Falco Haliaetus, Wils. Amer. Ornith. v. iv. p. 89. Adult.
Sea Eagle, Falco ossifragus, Wils. Amer. Ornith. v. vii. p. 16. Young.
Falco leucocephalus, Bonap. Synops. p. 26.
Aquila leucocephala, White-headed Eagle, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor Amer. v. ii. p. 15.
White-headed or Bald Eagle, Falco leucocephalus, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 72.
White-headed Eagle, Falco leucocephalus, Aud. Ornith. Biog. v. i. p. 160, v. ii. p. 160, v. v. p. 354.
GENUS V. PANDION, Sav. OSPREY.
Bill short, as broad as deep at the base, the sides convex, the dorsal outline straight at the base, decurved towards the end; upper mandible with a festoon on the edges at the curvature, the tip trigonal, very acute; lower mandible with the edges slightly arched, the tip obtusely truncate. Nostrils oval, oblique, large, half-way between the ridge and the cere. Legs rather long; tarsus very short, remarkably thick, covered all round with hexagonal scales; toes also remarkably thick, the outer versatile larger than the inner, all scutellate only towards the end, and covered beneath with prominent, conical, acuminate scales; claws long, curved, convex beneath, tapering to a fine point. Plumage compact, imbricated; feathers of the head and neck narrow, acuminate; of the tarsus short and very narrow, without the elongated external tufts seen in all the other genera. Tail rather long, a little rounded. Intestine extremely long and slender, its greatest width 21/4 twelfths, the smallest 1/2 twelfth.
15. 1. Pandion Haliaetus. Common Osprey.—Fish Hawk. Fishing Eagle.
Plate LXXXI. Adult male.
Bill bluish-black, cere light blue, feet pale greyish-blue tinged anteriorly with yellow. General colour of upper parts deep umber-brown, the tail barred with whitish on the inner webs; the upper part of the head and neck white, the middle part of the crown dark brown; a broad band of the latter colour from the bill down the side of the neck; lower parts white, the neck streaked with light brown; anterior tibial feather tinged with brown. Young with the feathers of the upper parts broadly tipped with brownish-white, the lower pure white.
Male, 23, 54. Female, 251/2, 58.
From Texas northward, and throughout the interior, as well as along the north-west coast. Resident in the south.
Fish Hawk, Falco Haliaetus, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. v. p. 13.
Falco Haliaetus, Bonap. Syn. p. 26.
Fish Hawk or Osprey, Falco Haliaetus, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. i. p. 415, v. v. p. 362.
GENUS VI. ELANUS, Sav. ELANUS.
Bill short, small, very wide at the base, much compressed toward the end; upper mandible with the dorsal line convex and declinate to the end of the cere, then decurved, the sides slightly convex, the tip narrow and acute, the edges with a distinct festoon, lower mandible with the angle very wide and long, the dorsal line very short, and slightly convex, the tip obliquely truncate, and narrow. Nostrils elliptical, rather large, about half-way between the cere and ridge. Head rather large, broad, flattened above; neck short; body compact. Legs rather short; tarsus very short, stout, roundish, feathered anteriorly for half its length, the rest covered with small roundish scales; toes short, thick, scaly, with a few terminal scutella; claws long, curved, conical, rounded beneath, acute. Plumage very soft, and rather blended. Wings very long and pointed, the second quill longest. Tail of moderate breadth, long, emarginate, and rounded.
16. 1. Elanus dispar, Temm. Black-shouldered Elanus.
Plate CCCLII. Male and Female.
Ash-grey above; head, tail, and lower parts white, with a large bluish-black patch on the wing above, and a smaller beneath; feet orange-yellow. Young with the upper parts brownish-grey, the larger feathers tipped with white, the patches on the wings brownish-black.
Male, 14, 40. Female, 163/4, 411/2.
From Texas to North Carolina. Rare. Never far inland. Migrates southward.
Black-winged Hawk, Falco melanopterus, Bonap. Amer. Orn. v. ii.
Falco melanopterus, Bonap. Syn. p. 31. Falco dispar, App. p. 435.
Black-shouldered Hawk, Falco dispar, Aud. Amer. Orn. v. iv. p. 397.
GENUS VII. ICTINIA, Vieillot. ICTINIA.
Bill very short, wide at the base, much compressed toward the end; upper mandible with the dorsal line decurved in its whole length, the sides slightly convex, the tip narrow and acute, the edges with an obtuse lobe; lower mandible with the angle very wide, the dorsal line ascending and convex, the tip rather broad and obliquely truncate. Nostrils round, lateral, with a central papilla. Head rather large, roundish, broad, flattened; neck short, body compact. Legs rather short; tarsus stout, covered anteriorly with scutella; toes scutellate above, scabrous beneath, with pointed papillæ; claws rather long, curved, acuminate, flattened beneath. Plumage rather compact. Wings very long, the third quill longest. Tail long, emarginate.
This genus is easily distinguished from Elanus; the tarsi and toes being scutellate in this, and scaly in that; and the festoon on the upper mandible is much more prominent in Ictinia, while the nostrils, instead of being elliptical, are round, as in the Falcons.
17. 1. Ictinia plumbea, Gmel. Mississippi Ictinia.—Mississippi Kite.
Plate CXVII. Male and Female.
Head, secondary quills, and lower parts light ash-grey; back and wing coverts dark leaden-grey; primaries black, margined externally with deep red; tail bluish-black; scutella dark purplish-red.
Male, 14, 36. Female, 15.
From Texas, where it is abundant, to North Carolina; up the Mississippi to Natchez. Migratory.
Mississippi Kite, Falco Mississippiensis, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. iii. p. 80.
Falco plumbeus, Bonap. Syn. p. 90.
Mississippi Kite, Falco plumbeus, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. ii. p. 108, v. v. p. 374.
GENUS VIII. NAUCLERUS, Vig. SWALLOW-TAILED-HAWK.
Bill short, wide at