Bill short, stout, cerate; upper mandible with the tip elongated and decurved; lower mandible rounded and thin-edged at the end. Head rather large, broadly ovate, feathered. Eyes large, with prominent superciliary ridges. External aperture of ears of moderate size, and simple. Tarsus longer than the middle toe; claws very large, much curved, extremely acute. Plumage full and generally compact. Wings very long and broad. Œsophagus excessively wide and dilated into a crop; stomach large, somewhat membranous, its muscular fasciculi being placed in a single series; intestine short and rather wide, or very long and slender; cœca extremely small. The young, when fledged, generally having the lower parts longitudinally streaked. Eggs from two to six, ovate, or roundish. Nest on trees, rocks, or the ground.
GENUS I. POLYBORUS, Vieill. CARACARA
Bill large, high, rather long, much compressed; cere large, covered with hair-like feathers; upper outline convex and declinate to the edge of the cere, then decurved; edge of upper mandible slightly arched and nearly even, tip of lower compressed and rounded. Nostrils elliptical, oblique, in the anterior part of the cere near the ridge. Eyelids and space anterior to the eye denuded, as is the skin over the crop. Feet rather long; tarsi anteriorly scutellate, sharp-edged and scaly behind; toes rather long, broadly scutellate, the first much shorter than the second; claws long, little curved, that of the middle toe being only slightly arched. Wings long, rounded, the third and fourth quills longest, the first five having the inner web cut out. Tail rather long, rounded.
4. 1. Polyborus Braziliensis, Gmel. Brazilian Caracara. – Caracara Eagle
Plate CLXI. Young.
Adult with the upper part of the head and nape brownish-black, the throat and ear-coverts yellowish-white; the upper parts finely barred with brown and dull white, the rump and tail lighter, the latter with a large terminal brown band; the lower parts similarly barred with reddish-white and brown. Young with the upper part of the head brown, streaked with dusky, the hind neck and part of the breast pale yellowish-red longitudinally variegated with brown; the middle of the back, scapulars, wing-coverts and secondaries dark brown, as are the hind part of the breast and the tibiæ; the tail nearly as in the adult.
Male, 231/2, 48.
Texas and Florida. Resident.
Caracara Eagle Polyborus vulgaris, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. ii. p. 350; v. v. p. 351.
GENUS II. BUTEO, Bechst. BUZZARD
Bill short, with the upper outline nearly straight and declinate to the edge of the cere, then decurved, the sides rapidly sloping, the edges with a slight festoon, the tip trigonal, acute; lower mandible with the dorsal line convex and ascending, the edges arched, at the end deflected, the tip rounded. Head large, roundish, flattened above. Nostrils, obovate, nearer the ridge than the margin. Neck rather short. Body full. Feet short, robust; tarsi roundish, anteriorly feathered half-way down, and scutellate, posteriorly also scutellate; toes of moderate length, scaly for half their length; claws long, arched, compressed, acuminate. Plumage full and rather blended. Space between the bill and eye covered with bristly feathers. Wings long, broad, the fourth quill longest, the first and seventh or eighth about equal; the first four abruptly cut out on the inner web. Tail rather long, broad, slightly rounded. Cere and feet yellow; bill light blue at the base, black at the tip, in all the American species.
5. 1. Buteo Harrisii, Aud. Harris's Buzzard
Plate CCCXCII. Female.
Bill higher and feet more robust than in the other species. Wings much rounded, the first quill four inches shorter than the fourth, which is longest, the seventh longer than the second. Chocolate-brown; wing-coverts and tibial feathers brownish-red; upper tail-coverts, base and end of tail white.
Female, 24, wing 151/4.
Mississippi. Extremely rare. Migratory.
Louisiana Hawk, Falco Harrisii, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 30.
6. 2. Buteo vulgaris, Willoughby. Common Buzzard
Plate CCCLXXII. Female.
Upper parts chocolate-brown; primaries black toward the end, part of their inner webs white, barred with brownish-black; tail with about ten dusky bars on a reddish-brown ground, the last dark bar broader; eyelids whitish; throat white, longitudinally streaked with dusky; the rest of the lower parts yellowish or brownish-white, barred with brown. This species is subject to much variation in colour.
Female, 23 inches, wing 17.
Rocky Mountains, Columbia River, and Fur Countries.
Buteo vulgaris, Common Buzzard, Rich. & Sw. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 47.
Common Buzzard, Falco buteo, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iv. p. 108.
7. 3. Buteo borealis, Gmel. Red-tailed Buzzard. – Red-tailed Hawk. – Hen Hawk
Plate LI. Fig. 1. Male. Fig. 2. Female.
Male with the upper part of the head and hind neck light greyish-brown, the back and scapulars dark brown, the latter broadly margined with brownish-white; smaller wing-coverts chocolate-brown; larger, lighter, tipped with white; primary quills blackish-brown, secondaries lighter, tipped with brownish-white, all barred with blackish; upper tail-coverts whitish, barred with brown; tail bright yellowish-red, with a narrow bar of black near the end, and tipped with whitish. Lower parts yellowish-white, the fore part of the breast with linear, guttiform, or sagittate spots; feathers of the leg and tarsus pale reddish-yellow. Female similar to the male, but with the upper parts darker, the lower nearly white, there being only a few narrow streaks on the sides of the breast. Young with the upper parts brown, streaked with yellowish-red, the tail-coverts yellowish-white barred with brown, the tail light greyish-brown, barred with dark brown and tipped with white; lower parts yellowish-white, with oblong longitudinal brown spots; the feathers of the sides and tibiæ barred with the same.
Male, 201/2, 46. Female, 24.
From Texas northward to the Fur Countries, and westward to the base of the Rocky Mountains. Resident.
Red-tailed Hawk, Falco borealis, Wils. Am. Orn. v. vi. p. 76. Adult.
American Buzzard or White-breasted Hawk, Falco leverianus, Wils. Am. Orn. v. vi. p. 78.
Buteo borealis, Red-tailed Buzzard, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 50.
Red-tailed Hawk or Buzzard, Falco borealis, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 102.
Red-tailed Hawk, Falco borealis, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. 1. p. 265; v. v. p. 378.
8. 4. Buteo Harlani, Aud. Harlan's Buzzard. – Black Warrior
Plate LXXXVI. Fig. 1. Male. Fig. 2. Female.
Size of Common Buzzard, which it resembles in form and proportion. General colour of plumage deep chocolate-brown, glossed with greyish-blue; inner webs of quills white, those of the primaries barred with dusky toward the end; tail lighter than the back, rather narrowly barred with brownish-black, and tipped with brownish-red; lower parts paler, anteriorly streaked, posteriorly barred with brownish-black; lower wing-coverts whitish, spotted with deep brown.
Male, 21, 45. Female, 22.
Louisiana. Extremely rare.
Black Warrior, Falco Harlani, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. i. p. 441. v. v. p. 380.
Black Buzzard, Falco Harlani, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 105.
9. 5. Buteo lineatus, Gmel. Red-breasted Buzzard. – Chicken Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Winter Hawk
Plate LVI. Fig. 1. Male. Fig. 2. Female. Adult.
Plate LXXI. Young male.
Adult with the head, neck, and back light yellowish-red, longitudinally spotted with dark brown; smaller wing-coverts deep yellowish-red, with the centre brown; larger coverts and secondary quills dusky, broadly barred with white; primary quills brownish-black,