FALCONS AND ALLIED SPECIES. I79 



2. Circus cineraceus. MontagiCs Harrier. Wings as long 

 as the tail. Male light bluish-grey, the wings with a black 

 band. Female umber-brown above, pale-red beneath. 



3. Circus cerug'inosus. Brown Harrier. Dark umber or 

 chocolate, with the head whitish or yellowish. 



Of the species here enumerated two are common and gene- 

 rally distributed : the Sparrow Hawk and the Kestrel. Two, 

 less common, are extensively dispersed : the Common Buzzard, 

 and the Common Harrier. Some are common in particular 

 districts, but not of general occurrence : the Merlin, which in 

 many parts of Scotland and the north of England is nearly as 

 plentiful as the Sparrow Hawk, the Kite, which is not rare in 

 the West Highlands, the Sea-Eagle, which is still numerous in 

 the Hebrides, and along the north-west coast, and the Golden 

 Eagle, which is scattered over a great j)art of the northern and 

 middle divisions. Of the rest, the Osprey, although very scarce 

 is extensively distributed, the Goshawk is so rare that a native 

 specimen is hardly to be seen in our museums, the Ash-coloured 

 Harrier is confined chiefly to the south of England, the JNIoor 

 Harrier is very scarce anywhere, as is the Hobby, while the 

 Peregrine Falcon is seen in pairs scattered at wide intervals, 

 and the Jer Falcon is confined to the extreme north. The 

 Honey Buzzard occurs as a straggler, which is also the case 

 with the Rough-legged Buzzard, the Orange-legged Falcon, 

 and still more with the Fork-tailed Kite, of which only two 

 individuals are recorded as having been seen. 



