OF EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA. 22:) 



bravery. It. is not an uncommon occurrence to find several 

 of these birds together in the same marsh or swamp foraging 

 for game. The most perfect harmony prevails as they cross 

 and intercross each other's line of flight. In some sections, 

 they are said to visit farms and disturb the poultry. With 

 us such behavior is entirely unknown, and there does not 

 exist the same animosity towards them, as rankles in the 

 breast of the husbandman, towards its more distant relative, 

 who is ever on the alert to seize a chicken or pigeon dur- 

 ing his absence. 



The flight of this species is one of its most peculiar char- 

 acteristics. Whilst foraging, it is moderately low, and quite 

 irregular. They skim very leisurely over a meadow, vary- 

 ing their flight by sailing first to the right then to the left, 

 now up and then down. When not engaged in predatory 

 excursions, their flight is lofty, and accomplished with all 

 the ease and grace of their more ambitious brethren. From 

 their peculiar habit of "quartering" the ground like a* well- 

 trained dog, they have received in some sections, the in- 

 elegant appellation of Bog-trotter, and in others, the more 

 euphonious one of Harrier. 



In searching for food they course very low, and when 

 their victim is descried, pounce down upon it with unerring 

 rapidity, seldom failing to transfix it w r ith the bill, or to clutch 

 it in their more powerful talons. The spirit of this bird 

 is scarcely commensurate with its physique, and, conse- 

 quently, its quarry is rather humble. Those splendid move- 

 ments which render most of our species so eminently success- 

 ful in capturing their prey, are notably lacking in this 

 species. In the spring and autumn, it follows closely in 

 the wake of our smaller migrants, which contribute no mean 

 portion of its diet. These, it captures while on the wing ; 

 but, customarily, it is more grovelling in its pursuits. It 

 prefers to hover over its prey after the fashion of the Sfr/gi- 

 (/tc, and to take it unawares ; even deigning like these birds 

 to lie in wait for the same, as it emerges from concealment. 



