CIRCUS. 11 



webs white at the bases. Secondaries silvery grey on the outer webs and 

 tips, with black shafts and an indistinct subterminal band. Tail ashy grey, 

 tipped with white, the middle tail feathers entirely uniform pale ashy grey, 

 white-shafted, the lateral ones becoming less grey and white on the inner webs, 

 with from 6 to 8 imperfect, and sometimes almost obsolete transverse ashy bars. 

 Upper tail coverts while. Under surface from below the breast, including the 

 thighs, the axillary plumes, and under wing coverts while, (in the adolescent 

 stage slightly suffused with very pale bluish grey). Cere yellow ; bill bluish 

 black ; irides yellow ; legs and feet bright yellow ; claws black. 



Length. 17 to 19 inches; wing I2'2to 13*8; tail 8'i to 9-0; tarsus 2-5 

 to 2*9; bill from gape ri6, 



Young Male, Above brown ; bright rufous on the head and neck. Upper 

 tail coverts white with rufous brown mesial lanceolate streaks. Tail tawny, 

 fulvous at tip, with four broad black cross bands. Young females with rufous 

 cross bars on the tail. 



Adult Female, Crown of the head, hind neck, and nape reddish fawn or 

 pale tawny fulvous, the feathers broadly streaked mesially with dark brown. 

 Forehead, a narrow supercilium, lores, and cheeks, and a streak over the ear 

 coverts fulvous white; basal two-thirds of feathers of the nape white; ear 

 coverts and cheeks rufous, streaked with brown. Quills brown, tipped with 

 whitish, and with 3 5 dark brown transverse bars on the inner webs. 

 2nd, yd, 4///, and ^th primaries emarginated on the outer web. Scapulars, 

 interscapulary region, lower back and rump, also wing\ coverts brown, spotted 

 with large oval tawny buff marks. Upper tail coverts pure white with some- 

 times lanceolate rufous brown spots on the shafts. Tail white at the extreme 

 base, the central feathers grey brown, narrowly tipped with white or rufescent 

 white, and crossed with 4 5 broad transverse bars of darker brown ; lateral 

 tail feathers similar but with broader white tips, and the interspaces on the 

 outer webs creamy buff, the outermost tinged with rufous ; sides of neck and 

 under surface of body yellowish white, brown-shafted, and with more or less 

 conspicuous ovate rufous-brown spots. Irides reddish brown. 



Length. 19*5 to 21*6 inches; wing 14*5 to iS'6; tail 10 to 10*9; tarsus 

 3'i toy 17. 



Hab. Throughout Europe. Occurs also in all countries bordering the 

 Mediterranean and extending in winter to N. India (Sharpe), In India the Heu 

 Harrier is common about the outer ranges of the Himalayas; from Abbottabad 

 to Kumaon, in the Punjab ; Sind, N.-W. Provinces, and Oudh, also the Central 

 Provinces. It has been obtained in Meerut, Bareilly, Etawah, Saugor, Nagpoor, 

 Chanda, and Goona (Hume) ; also in Beloochistan, S. Afghanistan, Nepal, 

 Eastern Turkestan, and Gilgit, 



This species is not known to breed in India. Dr. Scully in his contribution 

 to the Ornithology of Eastern Turkestan says it is a permanent resident in the 



