THE HONEY BUZZARD. 39 



accustomed. Some Lapwing Plovers which were con- 

 fined in the same garden with it, showed no signs of 

 caution or apprehension, but were often seen with the 

 Buzzard sitting in the midst of them, as if listening to a 

 lecture delivered by him. Besides the plaintive cry above 

 mentioned, the Honey Buzzard has another and more varied 

 note, apparently of alarm. 



MAESH HAEEIEE. 



CIRCUS .ERUGINOSUS. 



Head, neck, and breast yellowish white, with numerous longitudinal brown 

 streaks ; wing-coverts reddish brown ; primary quills white at the base, the 

 rest black ; tail and secondaries ash-grey ; lower plumage reddish brown ; 

 beak bluish black ; cere, irides, and feet yellow ; claws black. Length twenty 

 inches. Eggs white. 



THE Harriers are bold predatory voracious birds, having 

 somewhat of the appearance and movements of the Hawks. 

 On a closer inspection, however, they are seen to approach 

 nearer in character to the Owls. In the first place, they 

 hunt their prey more in the morning and evening than at 

 any other time of day. In the next place, these twilight 

 habits are associated with a large head, and a somewhat 

 defined face formed by a circle of short feathers ; while 

 the plumage generally is soft and loose, and their mode of 

 hunting resembles that of the nocturnal predatory bird?, 

 rather than that of the Falcons. They are remarkable for 

 the great difference which exists between the plumage of 

 the two sexes, which has made the task of discriminating 

 the number of species very difficult. Less active than the 

 Falcons, they yet carry on a formidable war against small 

 birds, reptiles, and mice. The Harriers or Harrows are 

 so called from their harrying propensities. Of similar 

 import is the etymology of the English word "havoc," 

 which may be clearly traced to the Anglo-Saxon hafoc 

 or hawk. The habit of the Marsh Harrier is not 



