THE MARSH-HAWK; HARRIER; MOUSE-HAWK. 47 



webs white ; tail light-cinereous, nearly white on the inner webs of the feathers, and 

 with obscure transverse 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 ; tibiae 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 I 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- 



