RAPACIOUS BIRDS. 83 



colour, is called, provincially, the dove-hawk, and 

 the blue-hawk. The female is called a ringtail, 

 and is reddish-brown. The head has a circular 

 ruff of spotted feathers round the face, which 

 gives it an expression quite distinct from any 

 other of the tribe. 



The hen-harrier, though nowhere very nume- 

 rous, is pretty generally distributed in England, 

 Ireland, and Scotland. The favourite haunts of 

 the bird are upland heaths and warrens, which it 

 prefers to marshes. 



MONTAGU'S HARRIER is easily distinguished from 

 the preceding by being much more slender in 

 shape and not nearly so heavy, its average weight 

 being about nine and a quarter ounces; that of 

 the hen-harrier about thirteen ounces. In their 

 habits and haunts they are very similar. 



