BUTEO.] AVES RAPTORES. 89 



Falco rufus, Temm. Man. d'Orn. torn. i. p. 69. Marsh Harrier, 

 Selb. Illust. vol. i. p. 66. pi. 9. Moor-Buzzard, Mont. Orn. 

 Diet. Bew. Brit. Birds, vol. i. p. 26. 



DIMENS. Entire length one foot seven to nine inches : breadth, wings 

 extended, three feet eleven inches to four feet two inches. 



DE SCRIPT. (Adult in the fourth year.) Head and neck yellowish 

 brown, with longitudinal darker streaks: scapulars and wing-coverts 

 reddish hrown : first five primaries dusky lead-colour; all the second- 

 aries and tail-feathers cinereous : rest of the plumage bright ferrugi- 

 nous : bill black : irides reddish yellow : cere and feet yellow. (Second 

 year.) Crown of the head, throat, and nape, straw-yellow, with fine longi- 

 tudinal dusky streaks: rest of the body dark umber-brown, tinged 

 beneath with rust-red: a few yellowish spots upon the wings: irides 

 brown. (Young of the year.) Whole plumage deep chocolate-brown, 

 inclining to yellowish on the throat, crown, and back of the head : quills, 

 wing-coverts, and tail-feathers, tipped with yellowish brown : occasionally 

 a few white patches on the lower part of the abdomen : irides dusky 

 brown. (Egg.) Rather pointed: white: long. diam. two inches one line; 

 trans, diam. one inch six lines. 



Common in marshy districts. Preys on water- fowl, small quadrupeds, 

 and reptiles. Nest on the ground amongst rushes : eggs three to five in 

 number. Obs. The Falco ceruginosus of Linnaeus is the young of this 

 species. 



18. B. cyaneus, Nob. (Hen-Harrier.) Upper plumage 

 (male) bluish gray, (female) reddish brown : quills dusky, 

 without transverse bars : third and fourth primaries of equal 

 length : wings reaching to three-fourths the length of the 

 tail. 



Falco cyaneus, Temm. Man. d'Orn. tom.'i. p. 72. Hen-Harrier and 

 Ring-tail, Mont. Orn. Diet, and Supp. Bew. Brit. Birds, vol. i. 

 pp. 34 and 36. Selb. Illust. vol. i. p. 68. pi. 10. 



DIMENS. Entire length (male) one foot six or seven inches, (female) 

 one foot eight or nine inches : length of the tarsus three inches : breadth, 

 wings extended, three feet two to four inches. 



DESCRIPT. (Adult male.) Head, neck, back, scapulars, and wing- 

 coverts, bluish gray ; rump white : quills black, whitish at the base : 

 breast, belly, sides, under wing and tail-coverts, pure white, without 

 spots of any kind : upper part of the tail ash-gray, whitish at the tip : 

 bill bluish black : irides, cere, and feet, yellow. (Adult female.) Space 

 surrounding the eyes white: upper parts of the plumage deep brown; 

 feathers on the head, neck, top of the back, and wing-coverts, edged 

 with rust- red : under parts pale reddish yellow, with deep orange-brown 

 longitudinal streaks and spots: quills dusky, barred underneath with 

 white : tail with alternate broad bars of deep brown and pale yellowish 

 rust. Obs. The young of both sexes resemble the old female : after the 

 first autumnal moult, the male begins to assume the adult plumage, and 

 exhibits a mixture of ash-gray and reddish brown ; the transverse bars 

 on the tail also gradually disappear. (Egg.) White : long. diam. one inch 

 eight lines ; trans, diam. one inch four lines. 



Pretty generally distributed throughout the country, but seemingly 

 most partial to fenny districts. Preys on small birds and quadrupeds. 

 Makes its nest on the ground ; lays from three to five eggs, and hatches 



