316 



CIRCUS CINERACEUS. 



MONTAGU'S OR ASH-COLOURED HARRIER. 



The rufF obscure ; the wings extending a little be- 

 yond the tail; the third quill much longer than the 

 fourth and second. The female umber brown above ; 

 pale reddish-yellow, with longitudinal bright red streaks, 

 beneath. The young similar to the female, but with 

 the lower parts of a uniform bright red. 



Male. — This species, which was first distinguished 

 from the common harrier, and accurately described, by 

 Montagu, is remarkable for its slender form and the 

 great length of its wings. The head is rather small ; 

 the bill more slender than in any other British species 

 of the family ; the feet slender, and the toes small and 

 rather short. The dorsal outline of the bill slopes to- 

 wards the curve of the point, but is somewhat convex 

 on the cere ; the sides of the upper mandible are slop- 

 ing at the base, towards the end very slightly convex, 

 the tip slender and very acute. 



The tarsi, which are anteriorly feathered about a 

 fourth down, are long and slender, and are covered an- 

 teriorly with a series of eighteen scutella, of which the 

 lower are smaller; the toes are small, the first with 

 eight, the second with ten, the third with eighteen, the 

 fourth with fourteen, scutella. 



Tlie plumage agrees with that of the common har- 



