MARSH HAWK. 

 Circus hudsonins. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Pace partly encircled by a ruff or iniperft-ct facial flisc of 

 small stiffened feathers as in the owls; nostrils large; wings 

 loner and pointed; tall long; tarsus long and slender. 



Male.— lilght bluish gray above and on neck and breast; 

 upper tail-coverts and most of under parts white; some 

 under feathers under wings and lower part of breast ami 

 abdomen spotted with rusty. Female and young are dark- 

 brown above, streaked on head and neck with reddish 

 brown; below reddish-brown, much brighter in some speci- 

 mens than others; upper tail-coverts white. Length of fe- 

 male about IS to 20 Inches; extent about 44; tail 9 or 10 inches; 

 hill and claws blackish; legs, feet and eyes yellow. 



Hafti<a<. -North .Vmerica in general, south to Panama. 



Tlif .Marsli ll.iwk, known also as Harriot' and Boi,'-- 

 trotter, is most fiM'tincntly seen throughout Pennsyl- 

 vania in Ihe spring and fall, but it breeds often in dil- 

 feient parts of tlie State, and in some of the soiitiieiii 

 eoiinties it is found during all months of the year. It^ 

 nest, with eggs or yotmg, have been found by tlie fol 

 lowing gentlemen in their respecrive counties: Dr. 

 John W. Detwiller, Nortli;nn|i(on ; R. C. Wrenshall. 

 AUegheDj; H. J. Koddy, I'eiiy: Dr. Van Fleet, Clin- 

 ton; Geo. S. Morris. Philadelphia; Hon. G. C. Brown. 

 York; Otto l^ehr. Sullivan; \V. \V. Stoey. Dauphin, 

 and J. L. Camp, Bradford. I liave ob.served the Marsh 

 Hawk to be most numerous in ijie fall, frequentin.i:( 

 the extensive and grassy meiidow l;inds. ehiefly aboul 

 the large .streams. 



When flying this speiies r;ui e;isily be distinguishrd 

 from other hawks In ilie white u[)per tail coverts, sd 

 eonspieuous in tlie tem.iles ;ind immature birds, or 

 those usually iik'I with. Tlie old male, I'are :ind sel 

 (loin found in this sotion, r:in be recognized by the 

 bluish while iilnniage. 



