MOOR HARRIER. 295 



disappeared, having probably gone in quest of its old 

 haunts. For this paragraph I am indebted to Dr Neill 



Propagation. — According to Montagu, the nest is 

 frequently made on the ground, amongst short wood, 

 furze, or fern, sometimes, though rarely, in the fork of 

 a large tree, and is composed of sticks, rushes, or coarse 

 grass. The eggs, he says, are perfectly white, without 

 any spots, considerably less than those of the common 

 buzzard. Two specimens which I have seen were 

 white, with a few faint light brown marks ; one two 

 inches long, one inch and five-twelfths broad ; the other 

 one inch and ten-twelfths long, one and live and a half 

 twelfths broad. Montagu states, that " in the breed- 

 ing season, when the female is sitting, the male will 

 soar to a considerable height, and remain suspended 

 on wing for a great length of time ;" and Mr Selby in- 

 forms us, that " during the season of incubation, the 

 males will soar to a considerable height, and remain 

 suspended in the air for a long interval of time." 



Young. — The yonng, when fully fledged, are of a 

 uniform dark chocolate-brown, the feathers of the up- 

 per parts slightly tipped with reddish-brown ; the larger 

 wing-coverts and alula largely tipped with pale brown; 

 the upper tail coverts of a redder tint than the rest ; the 

 quills nearly of the general colour. The cere is green- 

 ish-yellow, the bill yellow at the base, brownish-black 

 towards the end, the iris deep brown. 



Progress toward 3Iaturity. — After the first movAt 

 the colours remain nearly the same, tlie general tint 



