Adult female (58,507, Great Salt Lake City, Utah, May; C. King, R. Ridgway). Similar to the male, but pectoral area blackish-brown, like the back; blackish-brown of upper surface untinged with rufous, all the feathers, however, fading on edges; bands of the tail scarcely distinguishable on outer webs; white of forehead very restricted; lining of the wing barred with small cordate or deltoid spots of black; under surface of primaries plain deep slate. Abdomen and sides variegated with a few irregular longitudinal spots, and on the latter, transverse bars of dark brown; tibiæ with faint bars of rufous. Fourth quill longest; third scarcely shorter; second very slightly shorter than fifth; first intermediate between seventh and eighth. Length, 21.50; extent, 54.00; wing, 16.50; tail, 8.50; tarsus, 2.70; middle toe, 1.70. (Weight, 2¾ lbs.)
Young (10,761, Rocky Mountains, September; C. Drexler). Head, neck, and entire lower parts fine delicate light ochraceous, or cream-color; feathers of the crown, occiput, and neck, each with a medial stripe of black, of less amount, however, than the ochraceous; forehead, supraoral region, and ear-coverts, with only a few very fine hair-like shaft-streaks; on the chin, and across the cheeks, are longitudinal spaces of blended streaks of black, the latter forming a conspicuous “mustache”; sides of the breast with large ovate spots of black; middle of the breast with less numerous, smaller, and more longitudinal ones of the same; sides, flanks, and abdomen, with broad hastate spots, more irregular and transverse on the former; throat, tibiæ, anal region, and lower tail-coverts immaculate. Upper surface generally, deep black; feathers bordered with pale ochraceous, the scapulars and middle wing-coverts much variegated with the same. Secondary coverts, secondaries, and primaries narrowly tipped with white. Upper tail-coverts pale ochraceous, barred with black. Tail ashy-brown, very much lighter than the rump (more hoary than in the adult), narrowly, but clearly, tipped with white, and crossed by ten or twelve narrow bands of black, more distinct than in the adult. Under surface of primaries more whitish than in the adult.
(b. Melanistic condition; = B. insignatus of Cassin.)
Adult male (22,567, Onion River; R. McFarlane). Entirely brownish black, whole under surface of wings included; lower tail-coverts equally barred with white and black. Tail blackish slate, narrowly paler at the tip, and crossed with numerous oblique bars of dusky black; upper tail-coverts barred obsoletely with lighter slaty-brown. Wing, 15.00; tail, 8.00; tarsus, 2.20; middle toe, 1.50. Fourth quill longest; third, next; second, shorter than fifth; first, slightly shorter than eighth.
Adult female (12,927, Utah Valley, July; C. S. McCarthy). Similar; lower tail-coverts white, tinged with rusty, and barred with brown; tibiæ tinged with chestnut. Wing, 16.50; tail, 8.80; tarsus, 2.60; middle toe, 1.65. Third and fourth quills equal and longest; third shorter than fifth; first equal to eighth.
LIST OF SPECIMENS EXAMINED.
National Museum, 27; Philadelphia Academy, 2; Boston Society, 1; Museum, Cambridge, 1; Cab. G. N. Lawrence, 2; W. Brewster, 1; R. Ridgway, 5. Total, 39.
| Sex. | Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. | Middle Toe. | Specimens. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ♂ | 14.40–15.25 | 8.25–9.00 | .80–.90 | 2.30–2.65 | 1.50–1.60 | 11 |
| ♀ | 14.75–16.50 | 9.00–0.00 | .80–.95 | 2.50–2.70 | 1.55–1.65 | 11 |
Hab. Western regions of North America, east to the Mississippi Valley, north to the Arctic regions; Wisconsin; Arkansas; Canada; Massachusetts.
Localities: S. Texas (Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 324); Arizona (Coues?); Guatemala (Scl. Ibis, I, 216, “insignatus”).