CIRCUS. 117 



The female was fired at, but not obtained at the time ; weeks 

 afterwards, her remains were found, hanging in the moss and ferns 

 of a tree, some distance down the valley, utterly rotten and 

 spoiled. 



The male brought the young ones up, and, on the 10th of 

 October, I shot him and one of the young ones, then as nearly full- 

 grown as might be. 



I am indebted to the late Mr. Mandelli for an egg of this species 

 which was accompanied by the following note : " On the 5th of 

 March one of my shikarees brought in a Brown Wood-Owl, which 

 he had shot in Native Sikhim the previous day. On examining the 

 poor bird it proved to be still living, and on his placing his foot on 

 the breast to give its coup de grace, this egg was expelled." 



The egg is pure white, of a very broad oval, almost subspherical 

 in shape, and has a very fine, but only faintly glossy, shell. It 

 measures 2'07 by 1*76 inches. 



Order ACCIPITRES. 

 Family FALCONID^E. 



Subfamily ACCIPITRIN.E. 



Circus aeruginosus (Linn.). The Marsh-Harrier. 



Circus aeruginosus (Linn.). Jerd. B. Ind. i, p. 99; Hume. Rouqh 

 Draft N. $ E. no. 54. ' 



Two eggs, said to beloug to the Marsh-Harrier, were brought 

 me from Southern India by Mr. Davison ; they were given him by 

 Mr. Rhodes Morgan of the Forest Department, who vouched for 

 their authenticity. They were a rather broad, very regular oval, 

 quite devoid of any gloss. The ground-colour is white, and both 

 have a good number of markings in the one minute specks and 

 spots chiefly at one end, the other with numerous pretty large 

 blotches and irregular smears ; in both cases very pale brown. This 

 second egg is very much more prof usely marked than any European 

 specimen I have yet seen, and the ground-colour lacks the faint 

 greenish or bluish-green tint that one is accustomed to. They are 

 said to have been found in the Kurnool District on the banks 

 of the Kistna. They measure 1-82 by 1-49 inch, and 1'89 by 

 1-58 inch. 



