270 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 



ferred. In a list kindly furnished me by Dr. Brewer, it is set 

 down as breeding in our State. 



The Hen-harrier or Marsh Hawk, Falco cyaneus, though 

 found here in considerable numbers, is not of any great impor- 

 tance, either as a friend or an enemy of man. In the southern 

 states, though not common, it is in high estimation for its ser- 

 vices in destroying the small birds, while they are engaged in 

 plundering the fields ; but in the northern states, it generally 

 confines itself to marshes, where it skims along the ground in 

 search of mice and frogs, which are its main dependence for 

 food, sometimes carrying on its labors in the twilight or the 

 moonlight. In the winter, it extends its migration from Hud- 

 son's Bay to the southern limits of the United States. Audu- 

 bon found it at Labrador on the one hand, and at Texas on the 

 other. 



The Merlin, Falco asalon, of which a specimen was ob- 

 tained by Dr. Richardson at Carlton House, in the fur conn- 

 tries, is at present but little known in America. It is the same 

 with the English merlin, which was formerly used in falconry, 

 being valued for its strength and spirit, though inferior in size. 

 The female could kill a partridge at a single pounce, but the 

 male contents himself with humbler game. Nuttall assures us 

 that this bird is occasionally seen in the vicinity of Boston. 



In the list of birds of prey, I have not included the 

 Great-footed Hawk, Falco peregrinus, not having ascertained 

 that any one has been taken here ; but as they are groAving 

 numerous in other places where they have been rare, and are 

 now found in states not distant, subsequent observations will 

 probably include them in the number of our birds. 



The Hawk Owl, Strix funerea, is so much like the former 

 class of birds of prey in its appearance, that, at a short distance, 

 one could hardly determine whether it is a hawk or an owl. 

 It is a native of the Arctic regions ; in the fur countries it is 

 well known, from its practice of following the hunter and 



