The Ferruginous Buzzard

John Cassin (1813-1869)
Plate 26, The Ferruginous Buzzard 
From: Illustrations of the Birds of California, Texas, Oregon, British and Russian America
Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1856
Chromolithograph
Paper dimensions: 10.5 x 7"
Framed dimensions: 12.75 x 21"

With text below image:
The Ferruginous Buzzard is either the largest of the American buzzards of the smallest of the American eagles. Ferruginous refers to the reddish colour of the wing and leg feathers, from the Latin word for rust - ferrugo. The Latin name, Buteo regalis, means "regal (or royal) hawk." This bird is native to North America, mainly on the western side. It breeds anywhere in the region from southern Saskatchewan in Canada down through to north-west Texas. Over winter, they migrate mainly south west to California & central Mexico. Over the whole of their range, the population of Ferruginous Buzzards is on the decline (they are listed as a species of Federal Special Concern &, in Utah, a State Threatened Species), with the exception of California in which there has been a big increase during the 1990's. Habitat loss caused by large scale agricultural development and mining operations have been cited as some of the main reason for the decline.