228 



THE OPEN COUNTRY 



Montagu's 

 Harrier. 



Montagu's harrier (G.pygargus) frequents extensive plains, where 

 there is water, and fields, meadows, and low-lying ground with isolated 

 willows and bushes. The nest, of which there are sometimes large colonies, is 

 generally found amid high grass, bushes, and reeds, but always on the ground. It 

 is about 9 inches across and 3 inches deep, and made of dry twigs, and plant-stems 

 lined with grass. In the middle of May are deposited from four to six eggs, the 

 colour of which is chalky white blending into bluish green ; they are not usually 

 spotted, and only in some cases are marked in a manner similar to those of other 



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A PAIR OK WHEATEABS. 



harriers. The nest is not easily found, as the birds, while they have young, only 

 remain in its neighbourhood in the evening. 



Although Montagu's harrier is rare in the west and north of Europe, it is 

 frequently seen in the east, as well as in western and central Asia, but is most 

 numerous in the valley of the Danube, from Vienna to the Dobrudscha, and in the 

 Russian steppes. In Germany it is rare, especially in the Mark, but it is found on 

 the north German plain in districts similar to those it visits in Holland. It leaves 

 for the south in October and migrates clown the Nile Valley to Cape Colony, 

 although in mild winters a few remain on their nesting-grounds. 



Wheatear. 



The perching birds are so numerously represented in the fields that 

 it is quite impossible to include them all in our survey. Beginning 

 with the thrush-tribe, the first noteworthy species is the wheatear (Saxicola 



