D im en s io n s
Of the female.
Inches.
Length from the tip of the bill to the end of
Lines.
the tail . • . . .. 25 0
,, of the tail . . • , 10 0
„ of the longest quill feather . 16 0
„ of the bill measured along its ridge 1 6
Inches. Lines. Length of the bill from the angle of the
mouth , . . , ■ , . 1 9
,, of the tarsus . . . . 3 , 3
,, of the middle toe . . . 1 10
[16.] 3. B uteo lagopus. Rough-legged -Falcon.
G e n u s . Buteo. R a t .
Rough-legged Falcon. P e n n . Arct. Zool., ii., p. 200, No. 92. Old female.
Chocolate-coloured Falcon. I dem, ii., p. 201, No. 94, pi. 200, f. 2. ? *
Placentia Falcon. L a t h . Syn. Suppl., p. 19, sp. 57» Old bird, autumn. I d e m , Syn., i., p. 76, sp. 57• ?
Falco lagopus. L a t h . Ind., i., p. 19, sp. 33.
Falco Sclavonicus. I d e m , i., p. 26, sp. 54.
Falco spadiceus. I d e m , i., p. 27, sp. 57, excl. syn. Phil. Trans.
Buse gantée. Vaill. Ois. FA fr., i., pi. 18.
Rough-legged Falcon. (Falco lagopus.) W il s o n , iv., p. 59, pi. 33, f. 1.
Falco lagopus. Temm., i., p. 65. B o n a p . Syn., p. 32, No. 18.
P late xxviit.
A specimen of this bird, in most perfect plumage, was killed in the month of
September, by Mr. Drummond, on the Smoking River, one of the upper branches
of the Peace River. It arrives in the fur-countries in April or May, arid,, having
reared its young, retires southwards early in October. It winters on the banks of
the Delaware and Schuylkill, returning to the north again in the spring. It is by
no means an uncommon bird in the districts through which the Expedition travelled,
but, being very shy, only one specimen was procured. A pair were seen
at their nest, built of sticks, on a lofty tree standing on a low, moist, alluvial point
* Although the Chocolate Falcon of P e n n a n t must belong either to this species or to that of F. Sancti-Johannis,
yet the Chocolate Falcon óf F o r s t e r , with whom the name originated, is evidently a different species, perhaps thè
young of F. cyaneus. This author does not describe his specimen, but merely says that it is smaller than the. Moor
Buzzard, which it much resembles. Had this bird been the F. lagopus, he could scarcely have overlooked the feathered
legs. The Bay Falcon, var. A., L a t h a m {Syn., i., p. 54, No. 34), is merely a reference of Forster’s bird to thé
Moor Buzzard. The description of the Placentia Falcon of the same author {Syn., i., p. 76, sp. 57) was taken from
a drawing, and will apply either to F. lagopus or F. Sancti-Johannis ; but the Placentia Falcon, described in hijs
Supplement (p. 19, sp. 57), is undoubtedly F. lagopus, and agrees in every particular with the one we have described
in the text.
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