154 



MARSH HAWK. 



Circus hudsonlns. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Face partly encircled by a ruff or imperfect facial disc of 

 small stiffened feathers as in the owls; nostrils large; wings 

 long and pointed; tail long; tarsus long and slender. 



Male. — Light bluish gray above and on neck and breast; 

 upper tail-poverts and most of under parts white; some 

 under feathers under wings and lower part of breast and 

 abdomen spotted with rusty. Female and young are darli- 

 bi'own above, strealied on head and neck with reddish 

 brown; below reddish-brown, much brighter in some speci- 

 mens than others; upper tail-coverts white. Length of fe- 

 male about IS to 20 inches; extent about 44; tail 9 or 10 inches; 

 bill and claws blackish; legs, feet and eyes yellow. 



Habitat.— ^oYi\\ America in general, south to Panama. 



The Marsli Hawk, known also as Harrier and Botf- 

 trotter. is most frequently seen throughout Pennsyl- 

 vania in the spring and fall, but it breeds often in dif- 

 ferent parts of the State, and in some of the southern 

 counlies it is found during all months of the year. It:^ 

 Mcsf, with eggs or young, have been found by the fol- 

 lowing gentlemen in Iheir respective counties: Dr. 

 John W. Detwiller, Xorthamj)ton : R. C. AVrenshali, 

 Allegheny; H. J. Roddy. Perry: Dr. Van Fleet, Clin- 

 ton; Geo. S. Morris, Philadelphia; Hon. G. C. Brown. 

 York; Otto Behr, Sullivan; \\ . W. Stoey, Dauphin, 

 and J. L. Camp. Bradford. I h.ave observed the Marsh 

 Hawk to be most numerous in the fall, frequentintf 

 the extensive and grassy mend<nA- lands, chiefly about 

 the large streams. 



When flying this species can easily lie distinguished 

 from other haA\ks by the white upper tail-cover! s, sd 

 conspicuous in tlu' females and immature birds, or 

 those usually met with. The old male, rare and sel- 

 dom found in this section, can be recognized by the 

 bluish white plumage. 



