Bulletin - United States National Museum - si-pddr - Smithsonian ...

BIRDS OF ARGENTINA, PARAGUAY, URUGUAY, AND CHILE 99
The three adult females taken had the tips of the rectrices mucli
worn, in one to such an extent that the bare shaft projected for
nearly 10 mm. beyond the barbs of the feathers. The bill was black
cere and gape primuline yellow; iris walnut brown; tarsus and toes
deep olive buflf; claws black.
These southern birds represent the light extreme of the form de-
scribed as querihundus. Two females offer the following measurements
: Wing, 290-298 ; tail, 230-238 ; culmen from cere, 24-23 ; tarsus,
57-66.5 mm. (Measurements of the specimen from Formosa
given first in each case.) An old specimen in the collection of the
United States National Museum, Cat. No. 16526, collected by T. J.
Page, recorded by Bangs and Penard in the original description of
the subspecies as from Parana, in reality was secured on the Paraguay
River in southern Matto Grosso, between Corumba and the
Paraguayan border.
MICRASTUR SEMITORQUATUS (Vieillot)
Sparvius semitorquatus Vieillot, Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat., vol. 10, 1817,
p. 322. (Paraguay.)
Critical study of names proposed for this hawk indicates that the
designation above is the proper one. The esparvero faxado of
Azara ^° is without question an immature of the present species, and
as such furnished the sole basis for Vieillot's epervier a demi-collier
roux Sparvius seinitorquatus from Paraguay. Azara's description
of the bird, excellent and unmistakable in its details, states that
" baxo de la cabeza es bianco ; pero cada pluma tiene a lo largo una
tirita obscura." Vieillot in translating this makes an error in ascrib-
ing these markings to the crown, as he says " les plumes du dessus de
la tete ont un trait transversal noiratre sur un fond blanc." Had
he written dessous instead of dessus the transcription would have
been correct. The remainder of Vieillot's description coincides with
that of Azara except that the tail is said to be 241 mm. long instead
of 235 mm. Vieillot, in his Encycl. Meth., follows his own statements,
translating them into latin. It would appear that the original transcription
was erroneous, perhaps a mere typographical error, and
that the name must be recognized for the present species, as it has
priority of pagination over /Sparvius melanoleucus (which is de-
scribed on page 327 of the same work) based on Azara's esparvero
negrihianco, the adult of the present bird.
The single specimen obtained was shot near Kilometer 80, west of
Puerto Pinasco, Paraguay, on September 9, 1920. The bird was
attracted by my squeaking to call up smaller species and flew in to
perch in the heavy growth a few feet away. The flight was almost
*» Apunt. Hist. Nat. Paxaros Paraguay, vol. 1, 1802, p. 126.
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