Harriers 219 



This specimen was feeding on a nest of much incubated Moor- 

 hens' eggs ; they were on the point of hatching. Mr. Gunn wrote ; 

 " In dissection, I found an uniledged young bird in its throat, the 

 remains of a second bird in its crop, and a few quill stumps of a 

 third, that had previously passed into its stomach. There was not 

 an atom of egg shell, so it is probable the Harrier })icked the young 

 bird clean from the egg." 



The Marsh Harrier must ha\-e been a great terror to the wild- 

 fowl of olden times, being equally severe on eggs and \-oung, but the 

 abo\-e is the only personal note I have. 



B. The Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneiis, Linn.) 



The Hen Harrier stands mid-way in rarity between the Marsh 

 and Montagu's Harrier. While females and immature males are 

 not ver}' uncommon in Suffolk, the beautiful dove-coloured male is 

 very much scarcer. 



It is not such a fen-loving bird as the preceding, and is more 

 frequentl}' found hunting over the dry, heathery moorlands 

 characteristic of that district. 



In Orkney, in the summer, I found the Hen Harrier breeding 

 rather plentifully in certain localities on the mainland. And in the 

 outer Hebrides it was almost common in the winter months. I 

 sometimes saw seven or eight in a day, and often more than one on 

 the wing at the same time. In the case of these winter birds, the 

 fully-adult males appeared to outnumber the females by five to one 

 or more, which is the exact converse to my experience in East Anglia. 



My dissection-notes are very scanty, and are compiled from 

 Suffolk or Norfolk examples only. 



April loth, 1900 : an adult female contained the remains of a 

 water-vole. 



June, 1904 ; an adult male was feeding on a small leveret. 

 This is the only Suffolk adult male I have any note of. I saw the 

 stuffed bird in a keeper's cottage, and he supplied me with particulars. 



January 7th, 1907 ; female immature ; stomach contained the 

 remains of a Chaffinch and a Skylark. 



March 30th, 1911 ; female adult, feeding on Partridge; its 

 stomach contained four ounces of flesh. 



C. Montagu's Harrier [Circus ciueraceus, Montagu). 



Montagu's Harrier is far the commonest of the three Harriers 

 in East Anglia. It is purely a summer v'isitor, and would 

 undoubtedly breed in some numbers if it were allowed to do so. 

 Even more than the Hen Harrier, its preference is for the open 

 moorland rather than the fen. 



