THE MARSH HARRIER. 391 



from that bird at once by its more elegant shape, and by its 

 taper and naked legs. The plumage of the harrier is re- 

 markably soft, like that of the owl, which it also resembles 

 in having a frill more or less distinct round the face. All 

 the harriers vary in colour greatly, and on that account it is 

 difficult to describe them. The males are particularly subject 

 to these changes, becoming more or less ash grey as they 

 grow older; while the females retain their original shade of 

 reddish brown. The marsh harrier is larger than the hen 

 harrier, presently to be noticed, and is met with as the first 

 half of its name implies on low grounds, such as the fens 

 of Cambridge and Lincolnshire, which it beats like a dog 

 whence it has derived its second appellation. It may be seen 

 either fly ing slowly and smoothly near the ground, or sitting on 

 a stone or low bush, seldom on a tree, looking out for its prey, 

 which it strikes on the ground. It is very voracious, and 

 devours young rabbits, leverets, reptiles, and the young of 

 the game birds. The length of the marsh harrier averages 

 twenty-one inches the female, as usual, being larger than 

 the male. In the adult male, after the third moult, the 

 beak is bluish black ; cere and iris yellow ; top of the head 

 and neck, as well as the cheeks, yellowish white, tinged with 

 reddish brown, and streaked with dark brown j feathers of 

 the upper parts of the body dark reddish brown, edged with a 

 lighter shade ; primaries brownish black ; secondary and tail 

 feathers ash grey; tarsi long, slender, and of a yellow colour; 

 toes yellow ; claws black. In subsequent moults the wing 

 coverts and tertials become more or less of an ash grey ; 

 wing-primaries slate grey; chin and throat nearly white; 

 breast rufous, streaked with dark brown ; belly, thighs, and 

 under tail-coverts reddish brown. In the young birds, before 

 moulting, the whole bird is of a chocolate brown, each feather 

 being tipped with a lighter colour. In the second year, the 

 head, neck, chin, and throat become a dull yellow, with an 

 occasional patch of the same colour on the point of the wing. 

 The nest is placed on the ground, in long grass, fern, or 

 rushes, or sometimes in heather or furze. It is formed of 

 small sticks or rushes, and contains three or four eg<*s, white 

 in colour, pointed at one end, two inches and one line io 

 length, and one inch six lines broad. 



