THE BIRDS OF HELIGOLAND 189 



three young autumn birds. Of these, the latter were shot in late 

 autumn, but the two old males, strange to say, in the winter, 

 during snowstorms and frosts. 



This bird occurs as a breeding species throughout the whole of 

 central and northern Europe and Asia, even beyond the Arctic 

 circle. Wolley found a nest in Lapland as far north as 68 N. 

 latitude. 



The very scanty appearance of this bird in Heligoland seems 

 also to point to a very narrowly confined southern line of their 

 autumn migration ; for the least westerly deviation from such a 

 line on the part of the birds nesting in upper Norway, both as 

 regards the old birds and their young, would not fail to carry them 

 frequently across to Heligoland. 



26. Pallid Harrier [STEPPENWEIHE]. 

 FALCO PALLIDUS, Sykes. 1 



Falco pallidus. Naumann, xiii. 1 54 ; ibid. Blasius, 



Nachtrdge, 31. 



Pallid Harrier. Dresser, v. 441. 

 Busard blafard. Temminck, Manuel, iv. 594. 



My collection contains only one young autumn bird of this 

 species. It was shot on the 12th of August 1858 from among a 

 flock of seven individuals, though it was impossible to determine 

 whether all of these were young birds of this particular species. 

 The lower parts of this bird are of a uniform ferruginous colour 

 (rostroth), without spots, or any dark stripes on the shafts of the 

 feathers. In the fresh plumage this colour was suffused with a 

 beautiful coppery red. The outer great covert-feathers of the 

 carpal joint nearly project above the notch on the inner web of 

 the first flight-feather. This is the only authenticated instance 

 of the occurrence of this species in Heligoland. I am, however, 

 very much of the opinion that a bird shot here many years ago 

 was really an old male of this species. At the time I considered 

 it to be a young male Marsh Harrier in poor condition, and did 

 not trouble to secure it. 



The Pallid Harrier is a resident breeding bird in central and 

 southern Europe and Asia ; but it seems to occur much more 

 numerously in eastern Europe than in the west of that 

 continent. 



1 Circus swainsoni, Smith. 



