DESCRIPTION AND TECHNICAL OBSERVATIONS.
Genus Falco. Linnæus, Syst. Nat., I. p. 124. (1766.)
General form compact and strong; bill strong, short, with a distinct and sharp tooth in the upper mandible; wings long, pointed; tail moderate, or rather long; tarsi short, robust; toes long, claws large, curved, sharp; tarsi covered with hexagonal or circular scales. A genus of birds remarkable for their courage and very rapid flight, species of which are found in all countries.
Falco polyagrus. Cassin, Birds of California and Texas, I. p. 88. (1853.)
Form robust; wings rather long, second and third quills longest, and nearly equal; tail rather long; bill short, rather wide at base; tooth in the upper mandible prominent.
Dimensions. Female. Total length of skin, about 20 inches; wing, 14; tail, 8 inches.
Colors. Female nearly adult. Narrow frontal band, line over the eye, and entire under parts white; narrow stripe from the corner of the mouth running downwards, dark brown; some feathers on the breast, and abdomen with longitudinal stripes and spots of brown, which color forms a large and conspicuous spot on the flank. Entire upper parts brown, paler on the rump, many feathers with rufous edgings; tail above pale grayish-brown, with transverse bars of white, and narrowly tipped with white; quills dark grayish-brown, with numerous bars of white On their inner-webs; under wing-coverts dark brown; edge of the wing at the shoulder and below, white, spotted with brown. The brown of the back extending somewhat on to the breast at the wing. Bill, bluish horn color, under mandible yellow at its base. Large space around the eye, bare, with a narrow edging of brown on the first plumage by which it is encircled.
Younger female. Entire plumage above and below, brownish-black; throat white; many feathers on the under parts with edgings and circular spots of white; under wing-coverts also with circular spots of white, and the under tail-coverts with wide transverse stripes of the same.
Young male? Frontal band nearly obsolete; entire upper parts uniform pale brown, with narrow rufous stripes on the head; under parts white, with a tinge of fulvous, and nearly every feather with a narrow longitudinal stripe of blackish-brown; large spaces on the flanks, brown; tarsi and feet, lead-colored.
Hab. Oregon and California. Spec. in Nat. Mus., Washington; and Mus. Acad., Philada.
Obs. This is the only American Falcon yet discovered, which belongs to the group forming the sub-genus Gennaia, Kaup., which contains Falco laniarius, Linn., (Gould, B. of Eur., I. pl 20); Falco biarmiaus, Temm., (Pl. col., 324); Falco jugger, Gray, and several other species. It especially resembles the last, but is larger, and we are at present of opinion that the young of the two species differ in the colors of their plumage.
PIPILO FUSCA.—Swainson.
The Cañon Finch.
PLATE XVII.—Adult Male.
This plain-plumaged and sober-looking bird is another of the feathered inhabitants of the mountainous wilds of California and New Mexico. Numerous specimens have been brought in the various collections which have been made in those countries, and it may be regarded as one of the most abundant of the peculiar species of Western America.
It was first described, however, by Mr. Swainson, from Mexican specimens.
Our friend, T. Charlton Henry, M. D., of the United States Army, a zealous and talented young naturalist, who has been for some years in New Mexico, has noticed this bird at all seasons in that country. For much valuable and satisfactory information relating to the birds to be included in the present work, we are indebted to this gentleman, amongst whose notes in our possession we find the following, relating to the species now before the reader:—
“This bird is common in New Mexico during both summer and winter, and so far as I have observed, lives almost entirely in the mountains. It is very retiring in its habits, and seems to prefer the cañons; indeed, I have seldom observed it far from some shady gorge, where, like its relative of the Eastern States, the Towhe-Bunting (Pipilo erythropthalma), it passes the greater part of its time on the ground, and is generally accompanied by its congener, the Arctic Ground Finch (Pipilo arctica). When disturbed, it seeks the thickest cover, though it is by no means shy nor difficult to approach. Its nest is usually constructed in the thick branches of a cedar or dwarf oak, and I am not aware of its producing more than a single brood in a season.
“The only note that I have ever heard this bird utter, is a simple chirp, somewhat resembling that of the Fox Sparrow (F. iliaca), but more subdued. It is usually to be met with in pairs, at all seasons.”
Col. McCall observed this bird to be abundant also in California, and with his usual kindness, has furnished a notice of it for our present article.
“The habitat of this species, I am inclined to believe, extends throughout California, as I met with it from the upper waters of the Sacramento river to the mouth of the Gila, the former having its origin in the north, the latter debouching at the extreme southern boundary of the State; yet, it is by far the most abundant from Santa Barbara southwardly.
Plate 17
The Cañon Finch
Pipilo fusca (Swainson)
“The habits and manners of this species differ somewhat from those of its relatives, the Towhe and the Arctic Finch (P. erythropthalmus, and P. arctica). Its flight is more even and regular, as it is without that violent jerking of the tail from side to side which gives such singularity and appearance of awkwardness to the movements of the Towhe. It is also less shy and suspicious than the Arctic Finch, which I occasionally met with in the same regions. The latter I had previously observed with attention in New Mexico, where I procured specimens; and all my observations lead me to pronounce the present species less decidedly a Ground Finch than either of the others, although all are doubtless closely allied.
“The favorite abode of this species appeared to be the vicinity of water-courses, where it was generally seen singly or in pairs, though I have at times surprised eight or ten together, under the shade of a large bush, at noon in a summer-day; and at such times I had no difficulty in procuring, with my gun, three or four specimens before the party was dispersed. In fact, it appeared at all times a familiar bird, boldly coming into the roads to feed, and permitting the close approach of a person either mounted or on foot. If compelled to retreat, it darted suddenly into the thicket, but returned again as soon as the cause of alarm had disappeared. Near Santa Barbara, in the month of July, I found thirty or forty of these birds dispersed over an old field of some five acres in extent, lying contiguous to the sea-beach, and through which a small stream of fresh water trickled as it crept silently away to the sea. Here they were feeding on the ground, sheltered by a rank growth of weeds; and when I flushed one of them as I walked along, he almost invariably flew into a neighboring tree, instead of seeking shelter again in the weeds at a little distance.
“At this time, the birds of the year were fully fledged, and scarcely differed in the color of their plumage from the adults. The rufous tints of the head, the wing-coverts, and the lower parts generally, being only rather more bright and distinct in the old birds than in the others.”
The collections made in California by both Mr. Bell and Dr. Heermann, contained many fine specimens of this species. According to the latter (in Journal of the Philadelphia Academy, quarto, II. p. 267), it builds its nest always in a bush or tree, in which respect it differs from the Arctic Ground Finch (Pipilo arctica), another Western species, which builds on the ground, and from others of the same genus, in this respect confirming the observation of Dr. Henry, as given in a preceding page. Dr. Heermann’s observations possess an especial interest, from his having so carefully stated the peculiarities of the construction of the nests and other facts relating to the nidification of many species. He says, respecting the present bird: “I found one nest built in a grape-vine, overhanging the Sacramento river, and all that I have seen were placed in the immediate vicinity of water. The nest is composed of coarse twigs and grasses, and lined with fine roots. The eggs, four in number, are of a pale blue color, dashed with black spots, and interspersed with a few faint neutral tint blotches, which are more abundant at the larger end.”
The name Cañon Finch we have taken the liberty of adopting from Dr. Henry’s manuscript notes in our possession: it was very appropriately given by him with reference to the localities which he has observed to be the favorite haunts of this bird in the mountains of the Far West.