THE HEN HARRIER. 139 



in different localities), Montagu, a reliable ornithologist, main- 

 tains that the eggs of the marsh harrier are " perfectly white — 

 without spot." Latham, as good an authority, says they are 

 " spotted with brown.* 1 Selby, also another reliable authority, 

 expressly contradicts Latham's statement, and maintains that 

 they are " white and not spotted." And Hewitson, in his more 

 recent work of the coloured eggs of British birds, distinctly says 

 that " the eggs are usually spotted — sometimes quite white ;" 

 then alters his own statement by saying " the eggs of the marsh 

 harrier are most commonly ivhite, but sometimes spotted ; M and, 

 again, as if loth to leave the question, reiterates that " the eggs 

 of the marsh harrier, although for the most part white or 

 slightly tinged with blue, are sometimes spotted and smeared 

 with brown, in the same manner as those of the hen harrier." 

 Yet, in his coloured work, he adheres to the more typical colour 

 of the three species by making them all white, tinged with blue, 

 ivithout spots. The eggs of the three species may be easily 

 known from those of the nearly allied species by the clear 

 greenish blue of the inside, which may be seen by holding them 

 to the light. The harrier is migratory on the Continent, but 

 remains in Britain the whole year. The young are darker in 

 plumage, and, as usual with the tribe, grow lighter with age. 



The Hen Harrier. (Circus Cyaneus.) Flem. 



" Now for our mountain sport : Up to yon hill, 

 Your legs are young ; I'll tread these flats. Consider 

 When you above perceive me like a crow 

 It is distance which lessens and sets off." — Cymbeline. 



The common or hen harrier, sometimes called the ring-tailed 

 harrier and blue hawk, used to breed on Tentsmuir about 

 fifty years ago ; but it gradually became rarer, till now one is 

 never seen in Fife, to my knowledge. It is considerably less 

 than the marsh harrier, and is of a slender or elongated form. 

 Its bulk, however, is more made up with an abundance of soft, 

 downy feathers — like the owl's — than size of body, for when 

 plucked the body is short, the head large, and the bill short 

 and slender in proportion to the other birds of the family. The 

 eyes are large, and the ears particularly so, about half-an-inch 

 long. There is a considerable difference in the plumage, as well 

 as in the size, between the male and female of this species, so 



