II Handbook of tlie Birds of Tasmania 



AND ITS DEPENDENCIES. 



ORDER— ACCIPITRES : BIRDS OF PREY. 



Sub-Order — Falcones : Falcons. 



FAMILY-FALCONID/E (11 species). 

 Sub- Family — Accipitrinae. 



SWAMP-HAWK (Allied Harrier) 

 {Circus gouldi, Bonaparte). 



Male. — Upper surface dark brown, not including head and 

 neck, which are reddish-brown; tail ashy-grey to brown, with 

 interrupted bars of dark brown; upper tail coverts white, barred 

 with reddish-brown; breast varies from buffy-white to pale 

 reddish, each feather being striped with dark brown down the 

 centre ; legs yellow ; beak and claws black ; irides bright yellow. 

 Dimensions in mm. : — Length, 603; bill, 35; wing, 420; tail, 252; 

 tarsus, 106. 



Female. — Practically same as male, but is generally more 

 bulky. 



Young. — Upper surface, including wings, uniform sootj' or dark 

 chocolate-brown ; upper tail coverts rufous ; tail a shade lighter 

 than back and obscurely barred with blackish-brown; chest red- 

 dish-brown; abdomen and thighs the same, only brighter. 



Nestling. — Covered with buffy-white down; cere and legs 

 yellow. 



Nest. — Constructed of dry stalks of docks, thistles, and the 

 like, and lined with grass. The situation usually chosen is among 

 rushes or in a grain field. 



Eggs. — Clutch three to five; somewhat oval in shape; tex- 

 ture of shell fairly coarse, and with little lustre; colour white, 

 often nest-stained. Dimensions in mm. of a clutch: — (1) 54 x 

 39, (2) 51 X 39, (3) 52 x 39.5. 



Breeding Season. — September to December. 



Geographical Distribution. — Tasmania, King Island, and Aus- 



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