4 8 



BRITISH BIRDS. 



t.V 



THE HEN-HARRIER 



FEMALE. 



LENGTH twenty inches ; breadth three feet nine. 

 Bill black ; cere and irides yellow ; the upper part 

 of the body dusky ; breast, belly, and thighs yel- 

 lowish brown, marked with oblong* dusky spots ; 

 rump white ; a line of whitish feathers passes from 

 the back part of the head behind the eyes to the 

 throat, forming a kind of collar or wreath ; there is 

 a white spot under each eye ; the tail is long, and 

 marked with alternate brown and dusky bars ; legs 

 yellow; claws black. The first plumage of the 

 male resembles that of the female. 



