GYMNOGENES HARRIERS. 309 



Only the outer and middle toes are united by a membrane in this sub- 

 family, but the legs are very long, the thigh (tibio-tarsus) and the leg 

 (tarso-metatarsus) being nearly as long as one another. The birds included in 

 this group are the Gymnogenes, Harriers, Gos-Hawks, and Sparrow-Hawks. 



These curious crested Hawks are Ethiopian, one species being found in 

 tropical Africa and another in Madagascar. They are grey birds with 

 a well - developed crest, and a bare face of a light yellow colour. 

 The structure of the leg is peculiar, for the tibio-tarsal 

 joint is flexible, and the bird has the power of putting its The Gymnogenes. 

 leg out of joint, as it were, and placing the tarsus at a Genus Poly- 

 backward angle, instead of forwards, as in ordinary Birds boroides. 



of Prey. The Neotropical genus Geranospizias is also 

 said to possess the same faculty. In the Gymnogene this power of twisting 

 its leg about, as on a pivot, is said by observers to be of use to the bird in 

 drawing out frogs from the marsh holes. Its food appears to consist chiefly 

 of lizards and frogs, and also of insects ; and Mr. Ayres says that in Natal 

 it frequents lands on which the grass has been recently burnt, stalking over 

 the ground like a Bustard. 



The Harriers are long-legged birds, differing from the Sparrow-Hawks and 

 Gos-Hawks in having the hinder aspect of the tarsus reticulate and in 

 having an oval nostril. They have also a ruff round the 

 face similar to that of the Owls, and on this account they The Harriers. 

 have often been considered to be a connecting link be- Genus Circus. 

 tween the Hawks and the Owls. This character, however, 

 is of secondary importance compared with the development of their long legs, 

 which, in our opinion, allies them to the Sparrow-Hawks. Some sixteen 

 species of the Harriers are known, and they inhabit the temperate and 

 tropical portions of both hemispheres. They do not range into the arctic 

 regions, and those which breed in northern localities migrate south in 

 winter, often in large numbers. The habits of all the Harriers are very much 

 the same in different countries. The nest is built on the ground, and the 

 eggs are white, with occasionally a few brown markings ; they appear bluish 

 inside when held up to the light. They are not birds of bold and rapid 

 flight like the Sparrow-Hawks or Eagles, but are great robbers of other 

 birds' eggs and young, feeding also on small mammals, reptiles, fish, and 

 insects. Mr. Seebohm speaks of the Marsh Harrier (Circus ceruginosus) as 

 being "usually seen passing slowly over its swampy haunts a few feet from the 

 earth, quartering the ground much as a well-trained dog searching for game. 

 Its'flight is somewhat slow and laboured, performed with measured beats of 

 the wings, varied by gliding motions as it surveys the ground below. It will 

 beat over its hunting-ground, returning backwards and forwards, as if 

 diligently searching every spot likely to contain its prey. Now and then it 

 is seen to drop somewhat slowly to the earth to secure a frog or a mole, 

 which it will either eat at once or convey to some distance." 



Of Montagu's Harrier (Circus pygargus) Colonel Irby records the finding 

 of a regular colony near Lixus, in Morocco. With his telescope he could see 

 the sitting hen birds dotted about the marsh. The North American Hen- 

 Harrier (Circus hudsonius) has similar habits to those of the European 

 species, but is not such an egg- destroy ing bird, and is looked upon as a 

 beneficial Hawk, as it devours great quantities of meadow-mice and ground 

 squirrels, as well as noxious insects, such as locusts and destructive ground- 

 crickets. The flight of this Harrier is described as graceful, and at certain 



