THE EAGLE-LIKE SUBFAMILY 2007 



The harriers, of which there are some sixteen species, are long- 

 winged and slender-built birds, remarkable for the great diversity 

 existing in most cases between the plumage of the two sexes, and deriving their 

 name from their harrying propensities. The nostrils differ from those of the har- 

 rier hawks in being oval, and devoid of any bony excrescence; they are partly con- 

 cealed by the radiating feathers of the lores. The beak is small, curving regularly 

 from the base, and with only a slight festoon in its upper cutting edge. The long 

 wings have the first quill very short, and the third and fourth the longest, and the 

 tail is of considerable length, and rounded. In length the metatarsus is relatively 

 greater than in any other members of the family, the toes are somewhat short and 

 not very unequal in length, and the claws are very sharp and but slightly curved. 

 Harriers are distributed over the greater part of the globe, occurring in such widely- 

 distant countries as New Zealand and Britain, although they are absent from sev- 

 eral regions, such as Malayana, Persia, and Arabia, where they might reasonably 

 have been expected to occur. Of the numerous species of the genus, no less than 

 three inhabit the British Islands; although the drainage of the fen lands has sadly 

 reduced their numbers, more especially in the case of the marsh harrier. In habits 

 all the harriers are very similar, although some, like the species last named, prefer 

 low marshy spots, where they may be seen with their heavy flapping wings slowly 

 skimming over the reeds; while others, like the hen harrier, also frequent the drier 

 hillsides. They all roost on or near the ground, and when not hunting, may be 

 seen, as in our illustration, perched on some low bough, post, or hillock. They 

 hunt their prey to a great extent in the mornings and evenings, and feed on small 

 birds, mammals, and reptiles; the marshy-hunting species supplementing this diet 

 largely with frogs and fish, while others eat grasshoppers and other large insects. 

 The nest is usually placed on the ground, and in the European species at least the 

 eggs (three or four in number) are nearly uniform pale-bluish or yellowish green. 

 In addition to their facial disc and crepuscular habits, the harriers show another 

 resemblance to the owls in their habit of laying their eggs at intervals, so that both 

 eggs and nestlings may be taken from the same nest. In hunting, harriers fre- 

 quently beat and quarter their ground almost with the regularity of a spaniel. Our 

 remarks on the various species will be mainly confined to those inhabiting the Brit- 

 ish Islands. So different in appearance are the males and females of the hen harrier 

 {Circus cyaneus) that they were long regarded as distinct, the female being termed 

 the ringtail, and it was not till Montagu brought up a brood from the nest that 

 their specific unity was established. In the adult male the general color of the 

 plumage is bluish gray above, with the throat and chest nearly similar; while the 

 rest of the under parts, inclusive of the thighs as well as the upper tail coverts, are 

 pure white. On the upper surface of the tail the two middle pairs of feathers are 

 uniform gray, and the others more or less indistinctly barred. On the other hand, 

 in the female, or ringtail, as shown in the left lower figure of our plate, the prevail- 

 ing hue of the upper parts is brown, and the head is surrounded by a distinct ruff 

 of mingled white and brown feathers; many of the feathers, especially the wing 

 coverts, having lighter margins. Below, the ground color is reddish buff, each 

 feather having a larger or smaller dark brown central mark, and a still darker shaft. 



