262 



MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 



134. Marsh Hawk. Circus hudsonius {Linn.). (331) 



Synonyms: Frog Hawk, ]5og-trotter, Harrier, M; 

 ruinped Hawk. — Falco hudsonius, Linn., 1766. — Circ 

 cyaneus var. hudsonius, Ridgw., 1872. 



Harrier, 



udsotiiuh' 



Mouse Hawk, White- 

 Vieill., 1 SI 17. —Circus 



Figure 09. 



Recognizable in any plumage by the pure white upper tail-coverts which 

 form a conspicuous mark in females and young birds, but not so noticeable 

 in the adult male, which is largely bluish white. 



IMstribution. — North America in general; south to Panama and Cid^a. 

 Breeds throughout its North American range. 



The Marsh Hawk is one of our commonest and best known birds, arriving 

 from the south usually in March, often before the uplands are free from 



Fig. 69. Nest and Eggs of Marsh Hawk. 

 From photograph by Thomas L. Ilankinson. 



snow and before the ice is gone from the marshes. It is commonly seen 

 hunting back and forth over the low grounds, keeping generally within 

 a few yards of the surface and rising above the trees only in passing from 

 one marsh or field to another. 



Its food is varied, consisting of meadow-mice, ground squirrels, frogs, 

 snakes, insects, and occasionally small birds, mainly blackbirds and the 

 smaller ground-nesting species. According to Dr. Fisher " It is unquestion- 

 ably one of the most l)eneficial of our hawks and its presence and increase 

 should 1)6 encouraged in every possible way, no': only by protecting it by 

 law but by disseminating a knowledge of the benefits it confers. It is 

 l)robably the most active and determined foe of meadow-mice and ground 

 squirrels, destroying greater numbers of these pests than any other species, 

 and this fact alone should entitle it to protection even if it destroyed no 

 other injui-ious animals." Out of 124 stomachs reported on by Dr. Fisher, 



