28 BRITISH BIRDS' EGGS. 



now rare in England, but occurs more frequently in Scotland. 

 Its nest is often placed about halfway up the tree, close to the 

 stern : it is of sticks, lined with grass, wool, or other soft 

 materials. The eggs, two or three in number, have a 

 whitish ground, varied with brown markings, and do not 

 very greatly differ from those of the Common Buzzard. 



THE CRESTED SPIZAETUS. Spizaetus cristatellus. In 1828 

 Mr. Wingate, animal preserver, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 

 received the skin of this bird in a fresh state from Aber- 

 deen, with a statement that it had been killed upon the 

 coast by the captain of a vessel about to enter that port. 

 It is a native of Asia and Ceylon; but with its nest and eggs 

 we are unacquainted. 



THE COMMON HARRIER. Circus cyaneus. The Harriers 

 appear to be nearly allied to the Owls, and their eggs are 

 either white, or nearly colourless, having a bluish tinge ; in 

 some instances they are slightly spotted with brown. In 

 those districts in which Sir W. Jardine had an opportunity 

 of observing the present species, he described the nest as 

 frequently made in a heath bush, by the edge of some ravine, 

 and composed of sticks, with a very slender lining. Some- 

 times it was formed in one of those places called scars, or 

 where there had been a rush on the side of a steep hill after 



