HEN HARRIER. 105 



white, with traces of five darker bars ; the legs and toes 

 slender and yellow ; the claws black. 



Young males are brown, like the female to be next de- 

 scribed, but begin to change from the brown colour to the 

 grey which distinguishes the sex, in their second autumn ; 

 young males are smaller in size, and have the irides lighter 

 in colour than those of females at the same age. It is 

 probable that young males are capable of breeding in their 

 second year, before they have acquired their grey plumage, 

 as two brown birds, apparently performing the duties of 

 parents, have been shot at the same nest. 



The female measures about twenty inches in length ; 

 the bill almost black ; the cere greenish yellow, the irides 

 reddish brown ; the top of the head and back of the neck 

 umber brown ; the feathers of the latter with lighter red- 

 dish brown edges, forming a collar on the neck ; over the 

 eye a light-coloured streak ; ear-coverts uniform urnber 

 brown ; the circular disk or ruff round the face formed by 

 short feathers of mixed brown and white colours, passing 

 from behind the ear on one side round under the chin to 

 the back of the ear on the other side ; the back and wings 

 uniform urnber brown ; the smaller wing-coverts margined 

 with ferruginous ; wing-primaries blackish brown ; upper 

 surface of the central tail-feathers uniform umber brown ; 

 the lateral tail-feathers dark brown, barred with lighter 

 reddish brown ; the ends of all the feathers pale ferrugi- 

 nous ; the throat, breast, belly, thighs, and under tail- 

 coverts, reddish buff colour, each feather having an elon- 

 gated reddish brown patch in the centre, with a still 

 darker shaft ; those of the thighs and the under tail-coverts 

 being lighter in colour, and less decidedly marked than 

 those of the body ; under surface of the middle tail-fea- 

 thers strongly marked with broad bands of brownish black 



