HA WKS. 295 



cally the same to which the name cinereus is usually applied. This form, with 

 maculosus, abounds on the pampas and plains of Patagonia as far as the strait of 

 Magelhaen, and also occurs, without maculosus, in the Falkland Islands. 



All the harriers are remarkably similar in habits, preferring comparatively level, 

 open country, and with a fondness for wet grounds. They rarely rise to any great 

 height in the air, being usually content to sweep along close to the ground, now glid- 

 ing for several minutes with scarcely a motion of the wings, then flapping vigorously 

 for an instant, turning and returning and quartering the whole ground, ever watching 

 for frog or mouse or sitting bird, and following each discovery by a rapid dart, or a 

 drop and clutch, which is usually effective. Ordinarily the feet are not visible at such 

 times, but sometimes the bird fails to make a capture, and, recovering itself before 

 touching the ground, you may see the dangling legs quickly drawn up to the body 

 again. The expanse of wing is unusually large for the size of the body, a specimen 

 which spreads four feet from tip to tip seldom weighing more than a pound or a pound 

 and a half. The nest is almost invariably built on the ground, and the eggs, three 

 to five in number, are nearly white, either faintly blotched and spotted, or immaculate. 



Three species are generally credited to Europe ; one has been mentioned already, 

 a second is the ash-colored or Montague's harrier, C. cinerascens, and the largest is the 

 so-called marsh harrier, C. ceruginosus. 



Jardine's harrier, C. assimilis, of Australia, is noteworthy for its deviation from 

 the ordinary coloring in the group, the head and much of the upper parts being dark 

 chestnut with deep black streaks, while the under parts are bright rufous, sprinkled all 

 over with round white spots. 



Associated with the harriers by many authors we find a single long-legged, long- 

 winged, slenderly built bird of South Africa and Madagascar, to which the generic 

 name Polyboroicles has been given, from its superficial resemblance to the caracara 

 (Polyborus) of America. The strong bill with the naked skin about its base, and 

 extending back around the eyes, does indeed suggest the face of folyborus, but other 

 points in structure and habits seem to ally it more nearly to the harriers. 



Under the head of kites are usually included twenty or thirty species of Falconi- 

 da3, of most parts of the world, principally from the warmer regions. Although 

 generally recognized as a sub-family, the elements contained in it are very dissimilar, 

 some of the members showing Buteonine tendencies, while others suggest the falcons. 



O ' ~O 



Compare, for example, the European black kite, Milvus migrans, with the fish-eating 

 eagle, Ilaliastur indus, of India, often called the red-backed or Brahminy kite ; also 

 the Mississippi kite, Ictinia subccvrulea, with any species of typical falcon. 



In Q-eneral the kites are very long-winged and small-footed Falconida?, with a short 



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and not veiy strong bill, which is never truly notched like a falcon's, though the 

 approach to it is sometimes quite close. In addition, the superciliary shield is very 

 variable, being small or almost wanting in the more typical genera, but evident or even 

 prominent in others. The tarsus is much shorter than the tibia, generally more or less 

 feathered, and the exposed portion reticulate. The toes are short, but the claws are 

 sometimes lengthened and always sharp. The wings are usually narrow and pointed, 

 and the tail varies from square to emarginate, and often very deeply forked. Kites 

 are birds of very strong flight ; many of them feed largely on insects, and eat their 

 prey from their claws while flying. Not unfrequently they are gregarious, especially 

 during their migrations. 



The true kites are limited to the Old World, where they are represented by half a 



