HEN-HARRIER, OR MARSH-HAWK. 109 



than in the young) ; the dark shafts of some of these feathers also pre- 

 sent partly the narrow oblong spots of the Winter Hawk. Vent 

 pale ochreous. Legs long, and feathered a little below the knees ; 

 femorals pale rusty, and barred faintly with a darker tint. Iris red- 

 dish-hazel. 



In the Winter Hawk, the head, neck, throat, breast, and belly 

 are white, each feather having a narrow dark-brown, oblong, pencil- 

 like spot. The lesser coverts of the wings more strongly ferrugin- 

 ous ; secondaries pale brown, faintly barred with darker ; the pri- 

 maries brownish-orange, spotted with black, and wholly so at the 

 tips. Tail barred alternately with dark and pale brown, the inner 

 vanes white, the exterior brownish-orange. Tail coverts white, 

 with heart-shaped spots of brown. Femoral feathers pale ochre- 

 ous, with slender streaks of pale brown. 



Subgenus. — Circus. (Harriers.) 



These are principally distinguished from the Buzzards by having 

 a kind of collar of small rigid feathers surrounding the face, as in 

 Owls. They are, however, bold and active birds, with a graceful 

 flight, but are inferior to the true Falcons, not chasing so well on 

 the wing, and feeding principally on mice, reptiles, fish, young birds, 

 and insects. They pass their time chiefly about marshes and ponds, 

 near wiiich situations, amidst weeds on the ground, or in the woods, 

 they construct their nests. At the pairing season the males pass 

 much of their time in soaring at considerable elevations, and seem to 

 take delight in dwelling in the cooler regions of the air. The female 

 and young differ considerably in color from the male. 



HEN-HARRIER, or MARSH-HAWK. 



{Falco cyaneus, Lix. F. uliginosus, Wilson, Am. Orn. vi. p. 67. 

 pi. 51. fig. 1. [young female], and Bonap, Am. Orn. ii. pi. 11. 

 fig. 1. [adult male.] ) 



Spec. Charact. — With the wings extending to three fourths the 

 length of the tail ; the 3d and 4th primaries equal; rump white. 

 — Adult male bluish-grey; inner vanes of the primaries and be- 

 10 



