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THE MARSH-HAWK ; HARRIER; MOUSE-HAWK. AT 
webs white; tail light-cinereous, nearly white on the inner webs of the feathers, and 
with obscure transyerse bands of brown; under surface silky-white; under wing 
coverts white; bill blue-black at the extremity; cere and legs yellow, the former 
with a tinge of green; iris hazel. 
Younger. — Entire upper parts dull umber-brown, many feathers edged with dull 
rufous, especially on the neck; under parts dull reddish-white, with longitudinal 
stripes of brown, most numerous on the throat and neck before; tibix tinged with 
reddish; upper tail coverts white. 
Young. — Entire upper parts dark umber-brown; upper tail coverts white; 
under parts rufous, with longitudinal stripes of brown on the breast and sides; 
tail reddish-brown, with about three wide bands of dark-fulvous, paler on the inner 
webs; tarsi, cere, and iris as in the adult. 
Total length, female, nineteen to twenty-one inches; wing, fifteen and a half; 
tail, ten inches. Male, total length, sixteen to eighteen inches; wing, fourteen and a 
half; tail, eight and a half to nine inches. 
This species is pretty generally diffused throughout New 
England as a summer visitor. It is one of the least mis- 
chievous of all the hawks, as it destroys but few of the 
smaller birds. It is more common in districts that are low 
and marshy than in others; and this fact gives it the name, 
in many localities, of the ‘“ Bogtrotter.” 
Its flight is low and rapid, consisting of long intervals 
of flappings, with shorter periods of soaring. I do not 
remember of ever hearing it cry out in the manner that 
other hawks do, and think that it hunts silently. It arrives 
from the South from about the middle of April to the first 
of May. I am inclined to think that the birds are generally 
mated before their arrival; for they are almost always seen 
in pairs from their first appearance. In choosing a situation 
for a nest, both birds are remarkably nervous and restless: 
they are almost constantly on the wing, prying into, and 
apparently taking into account, every thing with reference to 
future comfort. The following circumstances came to my 
observation, and, as | improved every opportunity to watch 
the proceedings, will serve to illustrate the breeding habits 
of this bird: A pair made their appearance about the 
middle of April, a few years since, in a large meadow in 
Dedham, Mass. They were apparently mated from the 
first; and, as the neighborhood gave promise of an abun- 
