372 FALCONID^ CIRCUS 



greater part of its food ; near farms it will often snatch up the 

 unwary chicken, but it is usually seen in open country or near 

 rivers and marshes. During the heat of the day it occasionally 

 retreats to a thick tree for shelter, and both Ayres and Alexander 

 have flushed individuals from such a position. 



The Woodwards state that Mr. Graham Hutchinson found a 



"nest of this Harrier in a wattle plantation in the upper part of 



Natal ; this is possibly a mistake, as like Montagu's Harrier this 



bird is only known in South Africa as a migrant from the breeding 



grounds of the northern hemisphere. 



,* 



551. Circus maurus. Black Harrier. 



Falco maurus, Temm. PI Col i, pi. 461 (1828). 



Circus lalandii, Smith, S. A. Quart. Journ. i, p. 383 (1830). 



Circus maurus, Smith, III Zool S. Afr. Aves, pi. 58, juv. (1840) ; Grill, 

 K. Vet. Akad. Handl Stockh. ii, no. 10, p. 48 (1858) [Knysna] ; Layard, 

 B. S. Afr. p. 35 (1867) ; Gurney in Anderssorfs B. Damaraland, p. 

 33 (1872) [Little Namaqualand] ; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. i, p. 60 (1874) ; 

 id. ed. Layard' s B. S. Afr. p. 13 (1875) ; Shelley, B. Afr. i, p. 153 

 (1896) ; Woodward Bros. Natal B. p. 139 (1899) ; BeicJienow, Vog. 

 Afr. i, p. 539 (1901). 



' Wit-kruis Valk " of the Dutch. 



Description. Adult male. General colour black; on the nape 

 of the neck the feathers with white bases which sometimes show, 

 forming a nape spot ; primaries black edged silvery-grey on the 

 outer web and white at the back of the inner ; primary- coverts ashy- 

 grey ; rump like the back, upper tail-coverts white ; tail black with 

 three broad bars of ashy-grey and white edging to the tip ; base of 

 feathers white ; towards the outer feathers the ashy is replaced 

 by white ; below, black with a browner tinge than the back, a few 

 small white spots on the lower breast and under tail-coverts and 

 white frecklings on the thighs; tail below, banded with white 

 instead of ashy. 



Iris yellow ; bill black ; cere and legs yellow ; claws black. 



Length about 20-0; wing 13-25; tail 9-35; tarsus 3'0; 

 culmen 1-20. 



The female resembles the male but is larger ; length about 22-25; 

 wiog 14-25 ; tarsus 3-25. 



