FALCON ID2E— CIJx'CIN^E: HARRIERS. 



521 



Fig. 364. — E 

 Mac^illivray.) 



par t s of ( "(' ;r H s . { A f ter 



42. Subfamily CIRCIN/E : Harriers. 



Face surrouuded with an incomplete .ruff (as in most 

 owls) ; orifice of ear about as large as the eye, and in 

 some cases at least with a decided couch (fig. 3G4). Bill 

 rather weak, not toothed or notched. Legs lengthened, 

 the tarsus approximately equalUng the tibia in length (as 

 in Accipitrince). Wiugs and tail lengthened. Forui light 

 and lithe; plumage loose; general organization of the 

 butconiue rather than of the falconiue division of the 

 family. Thus, the scapular process of the coracoid is not 

 produced to the clavicle ; there is no median ridge on 

 the palate anteriorly ; the septum nasi is less complete than in Falco, and the nostrils are not 

 circular with a central tubercle. The harriers constitute a small group, of the single genus 

 Circus and its subdivisions (to which some add the African Polyhordidea), contaiuiug some 15 

 or 20 species of various jiarts of the world. 



CIR'CUS. (Gr. KipKos, Jiirk'os, Lat. circus, a kind of hawk ; from its circling in tlie air. Fig. 

 364.) Harriers. Bill thickly beset with many curved radiating bristles surpassing in length 

 the cere, which is large and tumid ; tomia lobed or festooned, but neither toothed nor notched. 

 Nostrils ovate-oblong, nearly horizontal. Superciliary shield prominent. Tarsus long and 

 slender, scutellate before and mostly so behind, reticulate laterally ; toes slender, the middle 

 with its claw much shorter than the tarsus ; a basal web between the outer and middle ; all 

 tuberculate underneath ; claws very large and sharp, much curved. Wings very long and 

 ample; 3d and 4th quills longest; 1st shorter than 6th; outer 3-5 (in our species 4) emargi- 

 nate on inner webs ; 2d-5th emarginate on outer webs. Tail very long, aljout | as long as the 

 wing, nearly even or rounded, the folded wings falling short of its end. In our species, which 

 scarcely differs from the European C. cyaneiis, the sexes are extremely unlike in color and si^e; 

 the old (J is chiefly bluish-gray 

 and white; the 9 i^nd young of 

 both sexes are dark brown and 

 reddish-brown or tawny, with 

 while rump ; tlie 9 is much 

 larger than the $. The nest 

 is placed upon the ground; the 

 eggs are colorless or nearly so. 

 The harriers are among the 

 most "ignoble" of hawks, prey- 

 ing upon humble quarry, chiefly 

 small quadrupeds, reptiles, and 

 insects, for wliidi they hunt by 

 quartering low over the ground 

 with an easy gliding flight. 

 They are " light-weights " in Fio. 365. —Marsh Hawk, nat. size. (Ad nat. del. E. C.) 



proportion to their linear dimen-sions, all the members being lengthened, and the wings espe- 

 cially ample. The plumage is also loose and fluffy, somewhat like that of owls, to which the 

 harriers are related in several respects. 



C. cya'neus hudson'ius. (Lat. ct/aneus, blue, the color of the old ^ ; hudsonius, of Hudson's 

 Hay. Fig. 305.) American Marsh Hawk, or Harrier. Blue Hawk. Adult <J : In 

 perfect plumage pale pearly-bluish, or bluish-ash, above, v/ith the upper tail-coverts entirely 

 pure white ; but most specimens have a dusky wash obscuring the bluish, and retain traces ( f 



