Hab. Entire continent of North America, south to Venezuela and Ecuador; West India Islands.
Localities: Ecuador (high regions in winter, Scl. P. Z. S. 1858, 451); Cuba (Cab. Jour. II, lxxxiii, Gundlach, Sept. 1865, 225); Tobago (Jard. Ann. Mag. 116); S. Texas (Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 323, breeding?); W. Arizona (Coues, Pr. A. N. S. 1866, 42); Costa Rica (Lawr. IX, 134); Venezuela (Scl. & Salv. 1869, 252).
LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.
National Museum, 42; Boston Society, 11; Philadelphia Academy, 10; Museum Comp. Zoöl., 7; New York Museum, 3; G. N. Lawrence, 2; R. Ridgway, 4. Total, 79.
| Sex. | Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. | Middle Toe. | Specimens. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ♂ | 7.20–7.90 | 4.90–5.50 | .48–.50 | 1.30–1.40 | 1.15–1.25 | 34 |
| ♀ | 8.00–8.55 | 5.50–6.00 | .55–.60 | 1.55–1.60 | 1.35–0.00 | 32 |
The plumage of the adult male, which is not as often seen as that of the younger stages and adult female, is represented in the Smithsonian Collection by fifteen specimens, from various parts of North America. Of these, an example from Jamaica exhibits the purest shades of color, though agreeing closely with some specimens from the interior of the United States; the cinereous above being very fine, and of a light bluish cast. The upper tail-coverts are tipped with white; the tail is a quarter of an inch longer than in any North American specimen, one half-inch longer than the average; the wing, however, is about the same.
A specimen from Santa Clara, California (4,475, Dr. J. G. Cooper), like most of those from the Pacific coast, has the cinereous very dark above, while beneath the ochraceous is everywhere prevalent; the flanks are strongly tinged with blue; the black bars of the tail are much broken and irregular. A specimen from Jamaica (24,309, Spanish Town; W. T. March), however, is even darker than this one, the stripes beneath being almost pure black; on the tail black prevails, although the bands are very regular. Nos. 27,061, Fort Good Hope, British America, 43,136, Fort Yukon, Alaska, and 51,305, Mazatlan, Mexico, have the streaks beneath narrow and linear; the ochraceous confined to the tibiæ, which are of a deep shade of this color.
Falco columbarius.