clouded with black, and their inner webs are barred with white like the primaries. The ternaries
are bluish-grey, with some black. Under surface. The throat, posterior part of the
belly, under tail coverts, and thigh feathers, are pure white, without spots. The breast has a
brown tinge. The flanks and sides of the breast are marked prettily with roundish and heart-
shaped black spots. The linings of the wings and under surface of the quill feathers are white,
the former spotted with black and the latter barred with lead-grey. The tail is pale-buff
colour beneath, with dark marks corresponding to those on the upper surface. Bill bluish-
grey, with a blackish tip ; lower mandible horn-coloured at the base. Cere yellow. Iris
dark-brown. Legs yellow. Claws black.
F orm, &c.—The bill is short, strong, convex on its sides, much curved, and very acute.
Just anterior to the nostrils there is a slight undulation of the cutting margin of the upper
mandible ; and half way between that and the tip there is an acute tooth, which fits into a
notch in the lower mandible : the latter is strong and truncated at the tip. The cere is very
short, and the nostrils are circular, with a central column. The wings are much pointed,
the primaries greatly exceeding the secondaries in length. In some specimens the second, in
others the third, quill feather is thé longest; the first is three-quarters of an inch shorter than
these, and in most specimens is perceptibly shorter than the fourth ; the remaining feathers
are each in succession half an inch shorter. The second and third have their outer webs
sinuated ; and the inner webs of the first and second are also sinuated. All these sinuations
are shallow and oblique, though that on the inner web of the second feather is less sb than the
others. The tail is moderately rounded, the outer feathers being half an inch shorter than
the central ones. The tarsus is pretty strong, considering the size of the bird. It is covered
with short white feathers, on its anterior surface only, for nearly half an inch below the joint;
the remainder of it is protected anteriorly by a double row of scales larger than those behind,
and by a single row of three large transverse oval ones immediately adjoining the articulation
of the middle toe. The middle toe is about two-thirds of the length of the tarsus ; the others
are about a quarter of an inch shorter than the middle one. Under each joint there is a conspicuous
round cushion, covered with warty integument, like the rest of the under surface of
the foot. The claws are much curved, and are grooved underneath with acute edges.
Dimensions
Of the male.
Lines. Length oft he bill from the angle of the mouthIn ch0e s. Li8n£es.
6 „ o f the tarsus . . . . 1 5
6 „ of the middle toe . . . 0 11
6 ,, of its claw . . . . - 0 4
DESCRIPTION,
Length from the tip of the bill to the end
of the tail . . . . . ggfi
,, of the tail . . . . 5
„ of the longest quill feathers . . 6
Of a mature female, killed May, 1827, at Carlton House.
C olour of the head nearly the same as in the male, the seven black marks being equally
conspicuous ; the rust-coloured mark on the crown, however, and its surrounding coronet,
are varied by the shafts of the feathers being blackish. The whole dorsal aspect is reddish-
brown, duller than the corresponding parts of the male, and regularly crossed by brownish-
black bars, several on each feather. There are twelve black bars on the middle tail feathers,
and nine on the outer ones ; and the outer webs of the latter are nearly white. The flag
feathers are coloured externally, as in the male ; but the white marks on their inner webs are
deeply tinged with brown. The throat, posterior part of the belly, and under tail coverts, are
white, as in the male; the breast, fore part of the belly, and the flanks, are soiled-white,
marked longitudinally with oblong yellowish-brown spots. On the linings of the wings the
yellowish-brown is the ground colour, and is spotted with white. The under surfaces of
the quill and tail feathers are slightly tinged with buff-colour, and are Crossed by brownish-
grey bars.
The total length of the specimen is one foot; that of the tarsus one inch and a half: the
other dimensions correspond with those of the male, the female of this species scarcely
exceeding the other sex in size.
A young male had nearly the plumage of the female, differing only in the black
bars on the wings being more distinct, those on the tail narrower, and in the
upper tail coverts being brownish-red, without spots.
In a young female the tips of the flag feathers were margined with white and
the whole abdomen was marked with yellowish-brown spots.
[10.] 4. F a l c o c o l u m b a r iu s . (Linn.j Pigeon-Hawk.
G en u s . Falco. L in n . A u c t o r u m .
Falco columbarius. F o r s t e r . Phil. Trans., lxii., p. 382, No. 1.
Pigeon-Hawk. P e n n . Arct. Zool., ii., p. 222, No. 111.
Falco columbarius. L a t h . Ind., i., p. 44, sp. 106.
Pigeon-Hawk. (F1. columbarius.) W il s o n , ii., p. 107, pL 15, f. 3. Male.
Falco columbarius. B on ap. Syn., p. 38, No. 11.
Pepecooseesh. Cr e e I n d ia n s .
This fierce little Falcon makes it appearance on the coast of Hudson’s Bay in
May, and, having reared its young, retires to a warmer climate in September. It
is not uncommon about York Factory, in latitude 57°, and probably wanders
much farther north. Early in the spring of 1825, I observed a small Hawk
on the north shore of Great Bear Lake, in latitude 66°, which, if not of this
species, belongs to a still smaller one, that is hitherto undescribed as a North
American bird. It had taken possession of a tree, and was so unwilling to go away,
that, when I threw stones at it, it merely made two or three circles round my head,
with much clamour, and returned to its former perch. The want of a gun at the
time prevented me from procuring the specimen.