60 
Mearns on Birds of Arizona. 
[January 
SOME BIRDS OF ARIZONA. 
EDGAR A. MEARNS. 
(Assistant Surgeon, U. S. A.) 
Zone-tailed Hawk. Buteo abbreviatus Caban. 
Mexican Black PIawk. Urtibitinga anthracina (Liciit.) 
Lafr.) 
My apology for associating the histories of two birds belong- 
ing to widely different genera is that much doubt and some con- 
fusion exists in the minds of ornithologists concerning the identity 
and status as North American birds of the two species under con- 
sideration. 
The first notice of the Zone-tailed Hawk was from the pen of 
Cabanis, in 1848.* It was described and figured by Sclater, in 
1858, as Buteo zonocerctis, which name continued in vogue until 
Sharpef reverted to Cabanis’s original B. abbreviatus; and Mr. 
U. G. Elliot subsequently gave a handsome figure of it in his 
‘Illustrations of Birds of North America’. It was first taken within 
the United States by Dr. J. G. Cooper, who shot the specimen de- 
scribed in his ‘Birds of California,’ on the 23d of February, 1862, 
thirty miles north of San Diego, California, and five from the 
coast; but Dr. Coues first reported its capture in the United States, 
in the ‘Proceedings’ of the Philadelphia Academy, in 1S66, he 
having taken a specimen on the Gila River, in Arizona, on Sep- 
tember 24, 1864. The description of the adult Zone-tailed 
Hawk, by Mr. Ridgway, in ‘North American Birds,’ was based 
on a specimen taken by Dr. Coues, in the month of August, on 
the Hassayampa River, in Arizona. When the great work on 
North American birds, by Baird, Brewer and Ridgway, was pub- 
lished, in 1874, Buteo abbreviatus was still known as a bird of 
the United States only through the published accounts of Drs. 
Coues and Cooper, and was regarded as a very rare straggler over 
our border into Southern California and Arizona ; but Mr.Brewster 
* But Gray’s Buteo albonotatus (Isis, 1847, p. 329) has been doubtfully referred here, 
t Catalogue of Birds in the British Museum, Vol. I, p. 163. iX8r>. 
Mi'.akns on Birds of Arizona 
61 
extended its known North American range into Texas, in 1S79, 
and described its nest and eggs, taken in Comal Co., in that State, 
by Mr. Werner. Later in the same year, Mr. F. Stephens de- 
scribed its breeding habits, as observed by him on the Gila River, 
in New Mexico. These records, to which reference will be made 
further on, give it quite an extensive breeding range across our 
southern border. 
Mr. N. C. Brown noted its presence in Southwestern Texas, in 
the “Nuttall Bulletin,’ in 1882, and again recorded it from that 
State in ‘The Auk’ for April, 1S84. Mr. Brewster, in Vol. VIII 
of the ■Bulletin of the Nuttall Ornithological Club,’ described 
three specimens, taken at Tucson. Arizona, by Mr. F. Stephens, 
who ascertained that it breeds in that locality. 
It is apparent, from the above data, embracing all of the records 
accessible to me in this remote quarter of the globe, that the 
status of lintco abbreviatus as a bird of the United States is es- 
tablished beyond question ; but with Urubititiga anthracina the 
case is different. 
The Mexican Black Hawk’s right to a place in the avifauna of 
the United States rests solely upon the authority of Mr. II. VV. 
Henshaw, which 1 consider to be a very good foundation in- 
deed ; but as doubt has arisen respecting the accuracy of his 
statement that he had twice seen Urubititiga anthracina 
alive in Arizona, and that Captain Bendire had taken eggs 
believed to belong to this species at Tucson, Arizona, I suppose 
that this Hawk properly belongs in the category of challenged 
species in the list of American birds north of Mexico. 
Mr. Ilenshaw’s notice reads as follows: “Captain Bendire 
writes me that in 1872 he found this hawk breeding in Arizona, 
and obtained the nest and eggs. The bird was supposed by him 
to be the Buteo zonocercus, but has since been ascertained to be 
this species. It thus has a good claim to a place in ourfautja, and 
may indeed be not uncommon in the southern part of the Territory, 
since two individuals were seen bv us during the past season. 
While riding one day a short distance from Camp Bowie, one 
of these birds sailed past within a few feet, affording me an 
excellent opportunity for its identification. On a second occasion, 
while passing through a narrow canon, about sixty miles north 
of Camp Lowell, another flew out from a large cottonwood, on 
one of the lower limbs of which it had been perching ; it was 62 
Mearns on Birds o_f Arizona. 
[ January 
certainly not more than a dozen feet from my head. In each 
instance, the narrow white band across the tail, with the size and 
colors generally, establish its identity beyond a question. The 
flight is easy and powerfnl.” * 
Upon the above authority and the same author’s original 
announcement of the discovery, published in the ‘American 
Sportsman’ earlier in the same year (1S75), the name of this 
splendid rapacious bird was enrolled upon our catalogues of 
North American birds. Nearly a decade had elapsed since this 
account, without any further advices of the occurrence of the 
Mexican Black Hawk in North America north of Mexico, when 
Mr. William Brewster wrote (Bulletin of the Nuttall Ornitho- 
logical Club, Vol. VIII, 18S3, p. 30) as follows: -'Dr. Coues 
took a Zone-tailed Hawk on the Gila River, Sept. 24, 1864, and 
this, so far as I know [overlooking the specimen which furnished 
Mr. Robert Ridgway with the text for his description of the adult of 
this species in ‘North American Birds,’ Vol. Ill, 1874, p. 272], 
is the only identified Arizona specimen which has been pre- 
viously announced. I cannot help thinking, however, that the 
bird which Captain Bendire found breeding in Arizona in 1872 
really belonged to this species, as he at first supposed, and not to 
Urubitinga anthraciua. as afterwards surmised by Air. Ilen- 
shavv. Nor is it improbable that the Black Hawks seen by the 
latter gentleman near Camp Bowie were also referable here.” 
This is clearly a case where “the doctors disagree” ; but my resi- 
dence in Arizona has enabled me to decide it. In the first place, 
what respecting the authenticity of Mr. Ilenshaw’s record ? The 
sagacity of that talented author and field collector is too well 
knowm to require comment; and the circumstantial manner in 
which he tells his experience, together with the fact that he took 
the pains to preface his article with an elaborate description of 
the species, which he tells us was “kindly furnished by Mr. 
Rid gvvay, who examined, for the purpose, a very large suite of 
specimens in the collection of the Smithsonian,”* and the circum- 
stance that he immediately published an announcement of his 
discovery in the ‘American Sportsman,’ and again refers to it in 
his “Introductory Remarks” (page 141) as among the important 
results of his last season’s work in Arizona, all goto show how 
* The description, slightly altered and enlarged, was afterwards published in that 
author’s‘Studies of the American Falconidae,’ pp. 170, 171. ISS6. 
Meaknm on Bird!s oj Arizona 
63 
positive was his belief that the Black Hawks seen by him in dif- 
ferent parts of Arizona were Urubitinga anthracina; and, on 
reading his article, after forming the acquaintance of both these 
Hawks, I have not the slightest d mbt that he was correct, much 
as I envy him precedence in making the discovery. 
Although the superficial resemblance in the color-pattern of 
these birds of different genera has occasioned error or doubt in 
identifying them, they may be readily distinguished by their 
generic characters ; but. as North American specimens of Urubi- 
tinga anthracina have never been described, and the descriptions 
of the species are not always conveniently accessible, I here insert 
descriptions of both species for comparison, describing the nest- 
ling of Urubiting.i anthracina, I believe, for the first time. 
For convenience of reference such svnonvms are given as are 
pertinent to this paper. 
Buteo abbreviatus Caban. Zone-taii.ed Hawk. 
Buteo abbreviate Cab. Schomb. Guiana, III, 1848, p. 739.—Sharpe, 
Cat t. Mus. I, 187, p. 163.—Brown. Bull. N. O. C. VII, No. 
1, Jan. [882, p 42.—Brkwst. Bull. N. O. C. VIII, No. 1, Jan. 1S83, p. 
30.—Brown, Auk, I, No. 2, April, 1S84. p. 122. 
Btitro tonocercus Scl. Trans. Zool. Soc. Lond. IV, pt. VI, 1858, p. 
263, pi. 59.—Corns, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1866. p. 4'S.—Cooper. 
Birds Cal. 1870, p. 479.—Couks, Key, 1872,p. 517.—Ridgw. Hist. N. Am. 
Birds. III. 1874. p. 273.—Brkwst. Bull. N. Q.C. IV, No. 2, April, 1S79, 
p. 80.—Stephens, Bull. N O. C. IV, No. 3, July, 1879, p. I^9- 
Description.—Adult mule in breeding plumage (No. 4048, New River, 
Arizona. Mav 16. 1885; E. A. M.). General color brownish black, glossed 
with dull metallic colors of gold, purple, steel-blue, and green; forehead 
and rictus white, mixed with black hairs; feathers of crown, neck, inter- 
scapular region, and breast white at base, but the white nowhere exposed; 
the breast with a few lateral white spots of irregular form. Tail black, 
narrowly tipped with ash above, more broadly below, with a white bar cross- 
ing it transversely ; broadly banded near the end with hoary plumbeous, and 
more narrowly about the middle with the same color, which, except on the 
central pair, becomes pure white upon the concealed inner webs of the 
feathers above, and on both webs below; a series of spots upon the inner 
webs indicate still another caudal bar, which is not apparent above. The 
brownish black primaries are banded with deep black. Lining of wings black, 
some of the feathers spotted laterally with ashy white. Under surface of 
primaries dusky plumbeous, irregularly barred and mottled with grayish 
white and ashv. A few of the upper tail-coverts have small, concealed, ovate 64 
Mearxs on Birds op Arizona. 
f January 
white spots ; and some of the under tail-coverts are faintly tipped or spotted 
with the same. The form is light, the legs slender. Four outer primaries 
have their inner webs cut. Wing-formula, 4, 5, 3, 2, 6, 7, 1. Tail of twelve 
feathers; slightly rounded, the amount of graduation between the outer 
and central pair being 25 mm. The primaries extend 150 mm. beyond 
the secondary remiges. Dimensions.*—Length, 497; alar expanse, 1240; 
wing, 397; tail, 230; chord of culmen and cere taken together, 34; cere, 16; 
culmen, 22; gape, 36; tarsus, 70; middle toe and claw, 62; toe alone, 45. 
The hind claw is longest, measuring 25 mm; the inner and middle claws 
are equal, measuring 23 mm. each ; and the outer claw measures but 17 mm. 
Adult female in breeding plumage (No. 4007, New River, Arizona, May 
16, 1885; E. A. M. Mated with the above, and parent of egg described 
below). This specimen closely resembles the male just described, except 
that there is an additional tail-bar, plainly indicated above; and the basal 
white of plumage is exposed upon the breast. The tail is somewhat more 
rounded, the amount of graduation being 19 mm.; and the exposed tail-bars 
are tinged with brown. Dimensions.—Length, 530; alar expanse, 1315; 
wing, 420; tail, 235; culmen and cere taken together, 36; cere, 17; culmen 
(chord taken from cere), 24; gape, 40; tarsus, 77; middle toe and claw, 66; 
middle toe alone, 48. Claw of hallux, 27; inner claw, 26; middle claw, 23; 
outer claw, 19. Another adult female (No. 4050, taken on the Agua Fria 
at Swilling’s Ranch, Arizona, May 17, 1885. E. A. M.; parent of eggs 
described below) does not differ appreciably. It presents the following 
dimensions : Length, 540; alar expanse, 1350: wing, 430; tail, 245; culmen 
and cere, 36; cere, 17; culmen, 25; gape, 41; tarsus, 76; middle toe and 
claw, 70; toe alone, 49. Claw of hallux, 27; inner claw, 25; middle claw, 
22 ; outer claw, 17. 
Toting male (No. 2945, Verde River, near Fort Verde, Arizona, May 
28, 1884; E. A. M.). Differs from the adult in having the exposed portion 
of the tail hoary browmish gray above, crossed by ten narrow black bars, 
the subterminal one being much the widest; upon the concealed inner webs 
the light color fades to white, sharply contrasted with the black bars, which 
do not usually correspond upon the two webs of the feather. The spec- 
imen also exhibits much more white; the feathers of the top of the head, 
back, scapulars, and ventral surface are pure white at base, the white bases 
being considerably exposed upon the nape, interscapulars, and breast. The 
white forms a series of lateral spots upon the webs of the scapulars and 
neighboring coverts, upper and lower tail-coverts, and flanks. The lining 
of the wings is black, with the longest feathers regularly spotted with 
white. Under surface of rectrices and remiges hoary grayish, fading to pure 
white upon the inner webs, except the terminal portion of the outerprima- 
ries, which is dark; rectrices barred with dusky, corresponding to the 
black dorsal bars ; remiges barred or spotted with the same. Dimensions:— 
Length, 498; alar expanse, 1245 ; wing, 400; tail, 230 ; culmen and cere, 33 ; 
cere, 15; culmen, 22; gape, 36; tarsus, 66; middle toe and claw, 60; toe 
* All measurements are given in millimetres. iHXft. 
Mkarns on Minis of Arizona. 
65 
alone, 46. Claw of hallux, 25; inner claw, 23; middle claw, 22; outer 
claw, 18. Graduation of tail, 18. 
In all of the above specimens the soft parts were colored as follows: 
Irides, hazel. Bill pale blue at base, shading into plumbeous black at tip. 
Cere and edge of mouth greenish-yellow. Tarsi and feet lemon yellow. 
Claws plumbeous-black. 
Habits.—Late in the month of March, 1884,1 first beheld the 
wide valley of the Rio Verde, with its tortuous stream winding 
in zigzags, bounded by a fringe of cottonwoods which, at that 
season, were destitute of foliage or flower. We gazed with keen 
interest upon the panorama before us, as the driver of our ambu- 
lance pointed out in the distance a series of low, whitewashed 
sheds surrounding a quadrangle and flanked by some adobe walls 
and haystacks, which he said was the post of Fort Verde, which 
was to be our station and home for an indefinite period. 
The steep and rugged canon through which we were driven 
was wooded with evergreens of several species, and wild flowers 
of bright hues were already unfolding. The manzanitas exhaled 
a delicious fragrance, and their pretty pink bloom heightened the 
effect of these handsome shrubs, which grew luxuriantly upon 
the hillsides. Along the beautiful stream that flows through the 
canon were deciduous trees, among them ash, box-elder, and the 
familiar sycamore ; but the wide expanse before us was appar- 
ently destitute of anv vegetation save scanty grass in places, and 
the fringe of bare cottonwoods marking the course of the Verde 
River. A white bluff' of limestone arose upon the opposite side 
of the valley, and was broken and carved into fantastic shapes by 
deep canons furrowing it. 
It was a dismal and desolate outlook truly, but possessed of the 
beauty of wild loneliness. A few days’ residence at the Post more 
than reconciled us to our surroundings, and we soon discovered 
that Nature had here scattered her treasures with lavish prodigal- 
ity, though veiling them from the vulgar gaze never so cleverly. 
Once out of ‘ Copper Canon.’ the tired mules sped towards the 
Post, scattering noisy flocks of Mexican Shore Larks and scurry- 
ing troops of Gambel’s Plumed Quails. As we rounded the 
corner of the corrals we witnessed an exhibition of the prowess 
of the Prairie Falcon in capturing a Pigeon. The ensuing 
months were spent in riding over the neighboring country, and 
every day brought its new discoveries in animal and plant life. 
The cottonwoods bloomed and then unfolded their wealth of rich 66 
Mearns on Birds of Arizona. 
[ January 
green leaves; mesquites, before scarcely noted, also leaved and 
bloomed, and an almost endless succession of handsome annuals 
sprang from the dun-colored soil, until the inflorescence was as 
marked as the seeming lack of vegetation at first. As the season 
advanced, the temperature steadily rose, until we resorted to the 
grateful shade of the cottonwoods beside the river from neces- 
sity, during the hottest hours of the day ; and there I was not 
long in discovering the two black Hawks which are the subject 
of this writing. 
One day, when examining the work of heavers beside the 
Verde, a Zone-tailed Hawk emerged from the dark shade of a 
neighboring belt of cottonwoods, moving straight towards me on 
motionless wings and passing within a few feet, scanning the 
water beneath with intent interest and paying no attention to me, 
but moving its head with a restless side movement. Later in the 
day I secured a handsome example as it flew overhead, and 
thereafter frequently observed them throughout the entire year 
beside the Verde River, where they capture lizards, frogs, fishes, 
and other desirable articles of raptorial diet. 
I never experienced any difficulty in distinguishing between it 
and the melanistic form of Swainson’s Hawk ; when in hand, 
specimens may be readily diagnosed by the presence of but three 
emarginated outer primaries in Buteo swainso?ii, instead ot four 
as in B. abbreviatus; the color pattern of the tail, and the white 
base of the feathers of the latter are likewise diagnostic. 
The Zone-tailed Hawk is of quite general distribution in Ari- 
zona, in the vicinity of the streams which it frequents. I have 
seen it near Prescott, at a considerable elevation (about 6000 
feet), and at various points between there and the city of Tucson, 
in the southern part of the Territory, where I found it quite 
numerous during the past spring. 
I never succeeded in detecting the nest of this Hawk in the 
Verde Valley, and therefore considered myself fortunate in find- 
ing two nests elsewhere during the past spring. It was with a 
peculiar sensation of pleasure and relief that I rode my hunting 
horse k Daisy’ into the cool shade of some beautiful cotton- 
wood trees upon the banks of the New River, Arizona, on the 
16th of May, 1885, and filled my canteen in the stream and 
drank, while my brute companion slaked her thirst after the 
manner of her equine kind. We had travelled nearly a thousand iKSft. | 
Mkakns on Hirth of Arizona. 
67 
miles, and were now within a few days’ inarch of home. Few 
trees had rested our eyes from the glare of the tropical sun, or 
had shielded us from the fervid heat of its piercing rays, upon 
the scorched desert wilderness that we had traversed. Here 
was shade, and the sw eet sound of a running stream, upon w hose 
margin a handsome nosegay might have been easily plucked. 
Where could a traveller find a more pleasant resting-place? 
Soon ‘Daisy’ was munching sweet herbage upon the shore, and 
perchance was thinking of the good barley soon to be enjoyed in 
her snug stall in the Quartermaster’s corral at Fort Verde, 
whilst my own thoughts had wandered to very nearly the same 
locality, when both were interrupted by the shrill whistle of a 
Hawk that came gliding towards me through the dark shadow s 
of the dense foliage. A quick shot brought the bird to my feet. 
I immediately mounted my horse, intent upon discovering the 
location of the domicile of the Zone-tailed Hawks, whose haunts 
I had unwittingly invaded ; crossing the stream I rode a little 
distance upon the opposite side and, dismounting, scanned every 
tree closely in quest of the nest. I was not long in discovering 
a bulky nest, fixed in the fork of a large cottonwood branch, 
across the stream, at an elevation of about twenty-five feet, and 
the female parent standing upon it. She gave a loud whistle and 
came skimming towards me, and was also shot. The nest was 
coarsely built of rather large sticks, w ith considerable concavity, 
lined with a few cottonwood leaves only, and contained a single 
egg, of a rounded-oval shape, slightly smaller at one end, in color 
clear bluish white, immaculate, and measuring 55 X 43 mm. On 
dissecting the female parent. I discovered that two would have 
been the full complement for this pair. 
The morning following the day on which the nest just described 
was discovered found me encamped on the Agua Fria. The 
canon through which this stream flows, below Swilling’s Ranch, 
is one of the prettiest places I have seen in Arizona. As our 
march was to be a short one, there was no necessity for haste, 
and at any rate I could not resist the temptation to follow this 
enticing stream, which I did, for a distance of about two miles. 
The stream is here quite large, flowing over an even bed of 
glittering sand for a mile, occasionally dividing to join lower 
down, enclosing in the loop a grove of tall cottonwoods, edged 
with a growth of smaller willows, and fringed with arrowwood 
and vines. 68 
Mearns on Binds of Arizona. 
[January 
The rocky sides of the canon were covered with cacti of diver- 
sified shapes, from the gigantic Cereus to the Echinocacti and 
Opuntice. Beautiful flowers grow beneath the tall cottonwoods, 
which here form the handsomest groves that I have yet seen. 
The canon echoed the voices of hundreds of feathered song- 
sters, and the hum of insects and countless Hummingbirds filled 
the air. Flocks of beautiful White-winged Doves drank upon the 
sandy brink and then betook themselves to the dense foliage over- 
head, where their loud and mournful cooing filled the air. An 
occasional glimpse of the gorgeous plumage of the Saint Lucas 
Cardinal was obtained, and shining Phainopeplas darted after 
insects from the sides of the canon 
In the early morning I visited this sylvan solitude, and could 
not abstract myself until the morning was far spent; nor was the 
time idly employed. I found a pretty Thrush that was new to 
me, and observed the nesting habits of several rare birds. 
Here I again found the Zone-tailed Hawk. A female was 
shot as she flew screaming at me, and the nest was soon found in 
a cottonwood near by. The male parent sat upon the eggs, and 
flew away when 1 got close up to the tree and shouted. It dis- 
appeared after circling over the canon a few times and did not 
return while I was there, although I spent several hours in the 
vicinity. I climbed with vast exertion to the nest, which was 
built in a fork, about fifty feet from the ground, and was exactly 
like the first one. It was composed of sticks, lined only with 
green leaves of cottonwood attached to the twigs. It was rather 
concave, and contained two eggs, which differ considerably in 
size, shape, and markings from those first found ; but there can 
scarcely be any doubt about the identification, for the female par- 
ent was shot close to the nest, while the other bird was distinctly 
seen when flying from it, and was black, having its tail barred 
with white below. Perhaps, however, it is safest to say that 
these eggs are not absolutely free from the suspicion of being 
those of Urubitinga anthracina, as the parent seen to leave the 
nest was not shot. They are oval, considerably smaller at one 
end ; ground-color white, with yellowish weather-stains in spots. 
One measures 63 X 45 mm. It is finely sprinkled with dark sepia- 
brown specks, and a few paler brown and lavender spots, having 
a smeary granular appearance. All the marks are most numerous 
at the large extremity. The other measures 61 x 43 mm. It is i8e». 
Mearns on Birds of Arizona. 
69 
evenly blotched with very pale yellowish brown and lavender. 
Both contained large embryos and were emptied of their contents 
with difficulty. Mr. Brewster describes eggs taken from a nest 
built in a cypress tree on the banks of Guudaloupe River, in 
Comal County, Texas. They are ‘•marked with blotches of red- 
dish brown upon a dtdl white ground.” These blotches in one 
specimen occur most thickly about the larger end, where they 
tend to form a nearly confluent ring, while in the other specimen 
the markings are most numerous about the smaller extremity. 
He observes that ‘‘although the parent birds belonging to this 
nest successfully eluded all attempts to capture, their identity can 
scarcely be doubted.” The specimens measured (reducing to 
millimeters) 53 09 X 38.86 mm. Mr. F. Stephens also found this 
bird breeding on the Gila River in New Mexico, about twenty 
miles from the Arizona line, and obtained one of the parents. 
The nest was placed in a very large cottonwood tree, in the 
mouth of a canon, and contained one egg. having a large embryo 
which could not be extracted. The nest was quite bulky, com- 
posed of twigs, lined with strips of the inner bark of the cotton- 
wood. The egg was marked with large reddish brown blotches, 
irregularly distributed on a dirty white ground. 
From the above description it will be observed that the variation 
in the eggs of this species, both in size and color-markings, is 
considerable, but possibly not greater than in other species of the 
genus. 
Urubitinga anthracina (Licht.) Lafr. Mexican- 
Black Hawk. 
" Fulro autkracinus Licht.” Nitzsch, Pterylographie, 1840, p. 83. 
Urubitinga anthracina Lafr. Rev. Zool. 1848, p. 241.'—Hensh. Zool. 
Expl. W. icxj Merid. 1875, pp. 420, 141 (introductory notes).—Ridgw. 
Studies Am. U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Surv. Terr. 
April 1. 1876. p. 170.—Brewst. Bull. N. O. C. VIII, No. 1, 1883, p. 30. 
Description.—Adult in breed ini' dress (So. 4103, 9 ad., June 19, 1885, 
Fossil Creek, Arizona. E. A. M.; parent of nestling described below). 
General color brownish-black, slightly glossed with metallic reflections 
of green, gold, and purple, with a glaucous cast, most pronounced upon 
the interscapular region and nape; lores, ophthalmic region, and a trian- 
gular patch extending backward from the angle of the mouth white, but 70 
Mearns on Birds of Arizona. 
[January 
the loral region mixed with black hairs, and the feathers of the post- 
angular patch having black shafts and gradually blending apically to 
blackish behind; upper and under tail-coverts narrowly tipped with wfyite ; 
tail jet black, white at extreme base, narrowly tipped with white, and 
crossed about the middle by a broad continuous band of pure white, of 
variable pattern on the individual feathers, and with a few irregular, small 
white spots upon the inner webs between the. white central and basal bands, 
barely indicating an additional white bar; shafts of rectrices black above 
excepting the two central ones, which are white, lined centrally with 
black, below chiefly white in the area corresponding to the white bar, 
elsewhere black; feathers of the nape and interscapular region white at 
base, the rest of the body feathers being blackish throughout; tibial 
plumes narrrowly tipped with rusty white, not filamentous; feathers of the 
edge of wing narrowly edged with white; lining of wings black, a few 
feathers perceptibly edged with pale rufous; remiges beautifully mottled 
beneath with white on the inner and gray on the outer webs; above the 
outer webs are mottled with hoary grayish, the mottling changing upon 
the inner webs to rusty ochraceous and whitish; quills white at base, 
shading to black; scapulars indistinctly edged with browish. Irides 
reddish-hazel. Cere, mastax and tomia orange. Bill plumbeous black, 
orange at extreme base. Tarsi and feet yellow; claws plumbeous black. 
Dimensions.—Length, 555; alar expanse, 1315; wing, 413; tail, 245; 
culmen and cere (chord), 40; cere, 15; culmen, 28; gape, 42; tarsus, 91 ; 
middle toe and claw, 62; middle toe alone, 47. Claw of hallux, 27; inner 
claw, 52; middle claw, 22; outer claw, 17. 
A specimen in fresh autumnal plumage (No. 3354, $ ad., Sept. 26, 1884, 
Verde River, near Fort Verde, Arizona; E. A. M.) differs from the above 
chiefly in having the glaucous tinge of the plumage much more distinct, 
in this respect affording an exact parallel to the Black Crested Flysnapper 
(Phainopepla nitons') in corresponding plumages. The glaucous extends 
to all of the dark plumage except the tail. The plumage being unworn, 
the pattern of the apices of the feathers is better exhibited; the terminal 
band of white on the tail is wider, the light edging to the tail-coverts, tibial 
plumes, and edge of wing more pronounced, and some feathers of the 
chest and interscapular region are seen to have rusty edgings, while upon 
the chin and cheeks are scattered a few white filamentous feathers, and the 
concealed bases of the feathers of the nape and interscapulars are rusty 
tinted. The mottling of the remiges is darker—chiefly gray, with little 
white or rusty. The white spots upon the inner webs of the rectrices, 
mentioned above as indicating an additional white bar, intermediate be- 
tween the basal and broad central white bands, are strongly indicated and 
extend to both sides of the shafts. The feathers at front of forehead are white 
at extreme base. Irides hazel. Bill pale yellow at base, shading through 
light plumbeous to blue-black terminally. Cere, mastax, and tomia pure 
bright yellow. Tarsi and feet yellow; claws blue-black. Dimensions.— 
Length, 560; alar expense, 1330; w'ing, 400; tail, 262; culmen and cere, 40; 
cere, 16; culmen, 28; gape, 42; tarsus, 88; middle toe and claw. 66; ■S86.| 
M ear ns on Birds of Arizona 
71 
middle toe alone, 47. Claw of hallux, 27; inner claw, 25; middle claw, 24; 
outer claw, 18.5. 
Nestling (No. 4104. juv., June 19, 1885, Fossil Creek, Arizona: E. 
A. M.). Covered with dense woolly down, nearly white on head and breast, 
passing into grayish posteriorly upon the head, throat, sides .of breast, 
tihiie. and back; the feathers are just emerging from the soft down, while 
the remiges and scapulars are grown out enough to show the color-pattern, 
and the quills of the rectrices are about 70 mm. (2} inches) in length, only 
the terminal one-fourth of their webs being expanded. The exposed feath- 
ers bear terminal hairy filaments and tufts of down. The eyelids are 
clothed with fine black hairs. The feathers discernible upon the throat 
are black. The parotics and feathers of the back, crown, breast, and flanks 
are brownish black, edged or tipped with ochraceous; those upon the outer 
side of the tihiie are handsomely barred with black and ochraceous; the 
remiges, wing-coverts, and scapulars are brownish black, the wing-coverts, 
scapulars, and some of the remiges being edged and tipped with rusty- 
fulvous; the secondaries with lateral ovate spots of ashy-gray, tinged with 
rusty, those upon the inner webs often wholly rusty. The terminal upper 
tail-coverts are edged with pure white, as in the adult; and the white ter- 
minal bar across the rectrices is likewise strongly marked, but tinged 
slightly with ochraceous. Irides brownish gray; cere greenish yellow; 
tarsi and toes yellow; claws plumbeous black; bill dusky plumbeous. In 
this species the form is very heavy and powerful, the body weighing twice 
as much as that of Buteo abbreviatus; this with the elongated bill and 
tarsi, together with the broad white band across the middle of the tail, will 
serve readily to distinguish it from that species. 
My specimens ditl'er from those examined by Mr. Ridgway in having 
but four outer primaries cut, while the fifth is shallowly emarginated— 
less so than in Buteo borealis—the sixth being perfect in outline. The 
tail is nearly square, the central rectrices extending only from 9 ton 
mm. beyond the outer pair. 
Habits.—W hen hunting along a sluice of the Verde River, 
beneath a dense growth of willows and cottonwoods, I first 
discovered the Anthracite or Mexican Hlack Hawk, perched 
among the thickest foliage of a low willow overhanging the 
shallow water. The imperfect view obtained as it flew oft' 
through the trees led me at first to suppose that it was an imma- 
ture Golden Eagle, a species that I had several times encountered 
thereabouts in similar situations. A snap shot proved unsucess- 
ful, as was the case on several subsequent occasions, and, although 
I frequently saw them along the river, it was long ere 1 suc- 
ceeded in procuring a specimen. Always extremely shy, they 
were usually found hidden in the foliage near the water in some 
low situation whence, when surprised, tliev generally managed 72 
Mearns on Birds of Arizona. 
[ January 
to escape through the foliage of the cottonwoods without afford- 
ing a good opportunity for a shot. Their flight is swift and 
powerful. Occasionally one was seen eating a fish, upon the 
sandv margin of the river. They were present throughout the 
summer, but departed in the autumn, my absence in the field 
during the months of October and November having prevented 
me from determining the date of departure. 
On the 26th of March, 1S85, I found one of these Hawks upon 
the Agua Fria, about thirty miles southwest of Fort Verde, at 
a considerably higher altitude ; and on Oak Creek, a mountain 
stream thirty miles north of Fort in the foothills of the 
San Francisco Mountains, I wounded an immature example on 
the 12th of August of the same year, it having probably been 
reared on that stream, which abounds with trout and other fishes. 
On the 19th of June, 1SS5, Captain T. A. Baldwin and I set out 
to visit Fossil Creek, thirty miles east of Fort Verde, with an 
escort of two soldiers. We carried some rations and mining im- 
plements, packed upon a mule and two burros. We found the 
trail to the canon without difficulty, but when nearly at the bottom 
took the wrong fork of tire trail, which finally led us to the 
spring and forks of Fossil Creek, both branches of which we ex- 
plored for several miles, finding tracks of wolves, bears, deer, 
raccoons, and beavers. A pair of Mexican Black Hawks were 
found at the forks of the stream close to the place where we had 
pitched our camp. Their loudly whistled cry is different from 
that of any bird of prey writh which I am acquainted, hut is 
difficult to describe, although rendered with great power. 
They circled about 11s a few times, then retreated to some tall 
pinons upon the hillside, where they continued to cry vehemently 
until I essayed to force my way through the thick scrub oak to- 
wards them, when both birds flew, with loud screams, to a tall 
pine tree down the stream, where I succeeded in obtaining a long 
shot at the male bird, which, although mortally wounded, flew 
beyond my reach before dropping to the ground. His mate 
flew to the pifions far up the steep bank of the canon, out of 
reach, and continued screaming constantly, following me up the 
canon. Towards nightfall I came up with Captain Baldwin, and 
he told me that he had discovered the nest of my rara avis in a 
tall cottonwood down the canon, and said if we hastened we 
might procure the eggs before dark and secure the other parent. 1886. 
Hensiiaw on Birds observed in New Mexico. 
73 
The nest was built in a cottonwood tree in the same grove in 
which we first found the birds. The nest had evidently been the 
birthplace of many generations of these Hawks, for it measured 
four Feet in depth by two feet in width. It was lined with a layer 
of cottonwood leaves several inches deep, was very slightly con- 
cave, and composed of large sticks, much decayed below, show- 
ing that they had been in position for a number of years. The 
nest was about thirty feet from the ground. The female parent 
remained too shy to return to the nest until I began to climb the 
tree. At first I attempted to ascend by means of some grapevines, 
which gave way ; then I managed to reach the upper part of the huge 
hole by swinging from a tall, slender box-elder tree, and scram- 
bled with much exertion to the lowest branch. Meanwhile the 
Hawk had shown much uneasiness, fluttering in the air and 
screaming lustily. As I approached her treasure her parental 
solicitude overcame her terror and she sailed over the tree-top. I 
saw the gun at the Captain’s shoulder and feared he would miss; 
but he wisely held his fire until the bird wheeled and rushed 
directlv toward me, when a well directed shot dropped her just 
at his feet. A minute later I reached the nest and discovered a 
single half grown nestling, having the quill-feathers webbed 
terminally, and leaden gray down covering the greater part of the 
bodv It fought fiercely, and evinced great pluck and ability to 
defend itself. The wounded parent was also savage, and tried to 
reach its assailant. After it was dispatched, the Captain pro- 
posed that we should attempt to find my wounded Hawk ; but the 
locality was too dangerous, so we abandoned it with regret. 
[From The Auk, Vol. Ill, No. 1, January, 1886.]