268 NATURAL HISTORY. 



The Long-legged Hawks are not such powerful birds of prey as the Eagles or Falcons, and do not 

 possess, as a rule, the same dash and courage in pursuing their quarry, many of them feeding on 

 a low kind of diet, and being robbers of eggs and destroyers of young birds. The birds of prey 

 belonging to this sub-family are 1. The Gymnogenes ; 2. The Harriers; 3. The Goshawks ; 4. The 

 Sparrow-Hawks. 



THE BANDED GYMNOGENE* (Polyboroides* typlcus). 



From its general appearance, especially in its naked yellow face, this remarkable Hawk is con- 

 sidered to be a close ally of the Secretary Bird ; but the proportions of its legs and its habits proclaim 

 it to be nearly related to the Harriers. Two kinds of Gymnogenes are known, one inhabiting 

 Africa, and the other being found in Madagascar. The food of the present species appears to consist 

 of Frogs and Lizards, and at times it walks over the ground which has been recently burnt, in pursuit 

 of insects and small reptiles ; at other times it will sit for a long time on stumps by pools of water, 

 watching for Frogs, which in such situations form its favourite food. The Gymnogenes are remarkable 

 in the class of birds for being able to put their leg "out of joint" at will (that is to say, they can 

 bend the tarsus backwards just as they please) ; and this is a fact which may be accepted as a 

 certainty, since its truth has been tested by many trusty and independent observers. One of these, 

 the late M. Jules Verreaux, states that the tarsi are movable at the " knee "-joint toward the front 

 from behind, a provision which, from the facility it affords the bird for drawing up Frogs out of the 

 marsh-holes by means of its talons, is of no little service to it. The exceedingly compressed toes of 

 this species also enable it to introduce its long tarsi into the narrow crevices of the rocks. He saw it 

 twist and turn its legs in all directions in capturing its prey in marshy places. Mr. Thomas Ayres 

 also says that " the legs of this bird bend backward at the knee in an extraordinary manner, very 

 much as if they were out of joint." 



The Banded Gymnogene is nearly twenty-four inches in length, and is of a light grey colour, 



th black wings, the secondaries being grey like the back, with a black band before the tip ; the 



lower back is white barred with black; the tail black M'ith a white tip and a white bar across 



[lie middle; the throat and chest are grey like the back, and the rest of the under surface is white 



irred with black. The cere and bare space round the eye are yellow when the bird is alive. 



THE HARRIERS (Circus}. 



All the Harriers have a facial disc as in the Owls, though not so distinct as in the latter group 

 of birds. In both, however, the disc is formed by a ruff of soft, close-set plumes, which encircle the 

 face ; and hence in most classifications the Harriers have been considered as being closely allied to the 

 Owls, on account of their having this " facial disc." Their structure and habits, however, entirely do 

 away with the idea of there being any real affinity between these two groups of accipitrine birds. 



Before the draining of the fens in England, Harriers were by no means uncommon in certain 

 localities ; b\it they are becoming rarer year by year, as each favourite haunt passes from them under 

 the dominion of the agriculturist. Three kinds were found in England, of which the Hen Harrier 

 (Circus cyaneus) was the rarest ; Montagu's Harrier (C. pygargus) was the most plentiful and the 

 most widely distributed; and the Marsh Harrier, or Moor Buzzard (C. ceruginosus), the most 

 powerful. This is the species which has held its own best, as it is still found breeding in some few 

 places in the United Kingdom. The habits of all the Harriers are very similar, and the genus Circus 

 is probably with the exception of the Peregrine Falcons the most universally distributed of any 

 Raptorial birds, for there is scarcely any part of the world where a Harrier is not found. 



THE MARSH HARRIER (Circus centginosus). 



This is an inhabitant of the Old World, where it enjoys a wide range. It is one of the greatest 

 robbers of eggs and young birds, being, in countries where it is still plentiful, a great nuisance to the 

 sportsman, as, says Colonel Irby, " slowly hunting along in front, it puts up every Snipe and Duck 



* Gymnogene : from two Greek words (7"f"'<>s bare, naked ; 7eVv?, a cheek). f Polyboroides : like a Polyborus or Caracara. 



