50 



TALCONID^. 



16. CIRCUS. 



Type. 



Circus, Laci'p. M6m. de rinst. iii. p. 50l) (ISOfi) .... C. cj'aneus. 



Pysravg-us, Koch, Si/st. Baier. Zool. p. 127 (181G) . . C. cyaneus. 

 Strigiceps, Bp. Scu/gio Disfr. Met. Aidm. Vertchr. 



p. 37 (1831) C. cyaneus. 



Glaucopteryx, Katip, Class. Sdug. n. Viiy. p. 113(1844) C. cineraeeus. 



Spizacercus, Kaup, Mus. Senchenb. iii. p. 258 (1815) C. maculosus. 



Spilocircus, Kmip, Isis, 1847, p. 89 C. assimilis. 



Pterocircus, Kaup, Arch.f. Naturq. xvi. p. 32 (1850) 0. pvgargus. 

 Cf. Saunders, Ibis, 1873, p. 232. 



Head of Circus cyaneus. 



Range. The greater part of the Old and New Worlds, excepting the 

 following localities, from which no Harrier has yet been recorded : — 

 Russia and Siberia, north of 60° N. lat. ; Arctic America north of 

 the Tropic of Cancer ; Persia and Arabia ; East Africa ; West Africa 

 (except the Gambia and Accra district) ; S. Madagascar ; the south- 

 ern part of the Indo-Chinese subregion ; Indo-Malayan and Austro- 

 Malayan subregions (excepting Celebes); western and northern 

 Australia west of 140° E. long. ; Oceania (except Vanua Levu and 

 Viti Leru) ; S. America, Columbia, Amazonia, and north-eastern 

 Brazil. 



Key to the Species. 

 Adults : — 



a. Thighs uniform white. 



a'. Middle tail-feathers plain ashy grey. 

 a". Throat and chest bluish ashy. 

 a". Upper tail-coverts white. 



«"". Above pure bluish ashy, the 



throat similar cyanem S , p. 52. 



h"". Above greyish, the back brown- 

 ish ash-colour ; the throat 

 strongly mixed with the same 



colour hudsonitis c? , p. 55. 



b'". Upper tail-coverts white, banded 



with ashy g-rey maerurus S , V- ^'^■ 



h". Throat and chest white, streaked vrith 

 black. 

 c". Primaries banded underneath .... spilonotus S , p. 58. 



d'". Primaries imiform below maillardi, p. 59. 



c". Throat and chest entirely black imlanoleuciis cJ $ , p. 61. 



v. Middle tail-feathers barred macidosus c? , P- <^'2- 



b. Thighs white, distinctly barred across with 



orange rufous anereits S, P- ob. 



