margin of the cere. Facial circle of wiry feathers small and very incomplete, being visible only
at the base of the bill and beneath the orbit. The eyebrow projects as in the Falcons, and is
clothed with plumage similar to that on the crown of the head. The bristly feathers at the
base of the bill project forwards and cover the nostrils. Tips of the folded wings about an
inch and a half shorter than the tail. The third quill feather is the longest; the fourth is
three lines, and the second four or five lines, shorter than the third* ; the fifth is an inch and
a quarter shorter than the fourth; the first is an inch and a half shorter than the second, or
about a quarter of an inch shorter than the fifth; the others diminish successively about an inch
each ; the second, third, and fourth have their outer webs abruptly narrowed, or notched ; and
the first to the fourth inclusive have also very deep and abrupt notches on their inner webs.
The barbs of the outer web of the first feather have their points reverted and open f : this is
also the case, though in a less remarkable degree, on the outer margins of the narrowed part
of the three succeeding feathers. The under tail coverts are nearly as long as the tail, and
have pretty strong..shafts, with very downy webs at their bases. The tail is rather short
and rounded, its exterior feathers being nearly an inch shorter than the middle ones. The
clawc, when the leg is stretched out, reach within three inches and a half of the end of the
tail. The thigh feathers reach to the feet. The tarsi are short. The feet and toes are
covered with long white hairlike feathers, which partly conceal the claws : by turning these
hairs aside, two scales may be seen at the base of each claw above. The feathers on the back
part of the tarsus are particularly long and somewhat downy. The inner claw and the middle
one are equal in size, both are grooved beneath, and the latter has a very sharp interior edge.
The two others are rounded beneath and are smaller, particularly the hind one, which is the
shortest of all. All the claws are much curved and very sharp.
D im e n s io n s.
Length from the tip of the bill to the end ofIn ches. Lines.
the tail . . . . . . 25 6
- .,, of the tail . . . . 9 6
- ,, of the longest quill feather . 16 0
,, of the bill, measured along its ridge 1 9
‘ j of the cere oh its ridge . . 0 9
Inches. Lines. Length of the bill in a straight line from the
comer of the mouth . . . 2 0
,, of the tarsus .' . . . 1 6
„ of the middle toe . . 2 0
, „ - of its claw, following its curvature 1 6
,, of the fore claw in a straight line 1 3
Temminck remarks, that the younger the individuals are, the more is their
plumage spotted and barred; and that the very old birds are pure white, without
* There is some variation in the lengths of the quill feathers in different specimens. The second, third, and fourth
are obviously longer than the others in all, the second and fourth being nearly equal. The first quill feather is sometimes
longer than the fifth.
f The different formation of the exterior laminae of the quill feathers, in Falcons and Owls, does not appear to have
excited that attention which the subject deserves. In Falco sparverius, and probably in all the kindred species, the
external laminae of the quills are concave, with a semi-central shaft, analogous to the quill itself. The outer vane is
formed of still more minute laminae; but the inner vane, which is by far the broadest, is perfectly entire, and of a
homy texture, being concave beneath it thus reposes, with great compactness, upon the next lamina of the quill. In
the Owl this structure is beautifully modified to admit a free passage for the air, by which the flight of these birds is
noiseless. The homy vane above mentioned is no longer entire, but is split into minute laminae along its entire length;
.the end, instead of reposing on the next, is recurved outwards, thus giving the appearance of a dentated margin.—Sw.
any brown spot. These white individuals are, in Wilson’s opinion, always males;
but, judging from the size of some white specimens I have seen, I should think
he is mistaken.
A specimen from Hudson’s Bay, preserved in the British Museum, is entirely
white, with the exception of a brown spot near the tip of the first quill feather and
two on the second feather. The length of the specimen is twenty-six inches.
Another specimen, killed on the eastern declivity of the Rocky Mountains, and
from its size supposed to be a female, has the plumage on the dorsal aspect more
generally spotted and barred, and also many bars on the long feathers that cover
each side of the abdomen. The throat, vent feathers, under tail coverts, and
linings of the wings, are, however, pure white. In this, the second and fourth
quill feathers are equal to each other and two lines shorter than the third;
the first and fifth are also equal to each other, and about an inch and a half
shorter than the third.
D im en sio n s
Of a Rocky Mountain specimen.
Length from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail .I2nc9hes . Li0nes.
„ of the tail . . . . . . . 10 0
,, of the longest quill feather . . . . 16 6
3. Profile of the head.