508 CIRCUS 



ad. (Scotland). Upper parts and middle tail-feathers ashy blue- 

 grey, rather darker on the back ; primaries blackish ; upper tail-coverts 

 white ; lateral tail-feathers greyish white, narrowly barred with brownish ; 

 breast paler than the head, the rest of the under parts gradually fading to 

 white ; bill blackish horn ; cere, iris, and legs yellow. Culmen I'l, wing 

 13*4, tail 8 '9, tarsus 2 '62 inch. The female has the forehead and a faint 

 superciliary stripe buff ; upper parts dark brown, the head and neck 

 striped, the back well marked with warm buff ; upper tail-coverts white, 

 sparsely dotted with rufous ; tail dark brown with a light tip, barred with 

 greyish brown and rufous buff ; under parts buff striped with dull brown 

 and reddish brown ; iris brown ; legs and cere yellow. 



Hal. Europe generally, from Lapland to the Mediterranean ; 

 British Islands ; Africa south to Abyssinia ; Asia east through 

 India to China, Tibet, Mongolia, Japan, and Siberia, and 

 southward to the central provinces of India. 



Frequents open places, heaths, plains, and marshes, and is 

 not found in the woodlands. Its flight is graceful, not high 

 .above the ground, and it will hover every now and again 

 when quartering. It feeds on small mammals and birds, 

 insects, reptiles, etc , and like its allies it feeds largely on the 

 eggs of ground-nesting birds. Its nest is a depression in the 

 ground, frequently in a damp locality, and consists merely of a 

 few sticks and heather-bents with a little dry grass. The eggs, 

 4 to 5 in number, are generally deposited late in May, and are 

 bluish white, usually unmarked, and measure about 1*81 by 

 1-39. I have, however, seen eggs slightly, and others somewhat 

 boldly, marked with dark red. 



720. PIED HARRIER. 

 CIRCUS MELANOLEUCUS. 



Circus melanoleucus (Forster), Ind. Zool. p. 12, pi. ii. (1781) : David and 

 Oust. Ois. Chine, p. 29 ; Sharpe, Cat. B. Br. Mus. i. p. 61 ; Tacz. 

 F. 0. Sib. 0. p. 120 ; Blanf. F. Brit. Ind. Birds, iii. p. 385. 



Pahatai, Hindu. ; Tliane-Kya, Burm. 



ad. (India). Head, neck, breast;, back, the middle wing-coverts, and 

 a band to the end of the wing glossy black ; scapulars black marked with 

 grey ; outer primaries black but not so glossy ; rump and upper tail- 

 coverts white ; the latter faintly barred with grey ; tail grey tipped with 

 white ; edge of wing and least wing-coverts white, the rest of the wing 

 grey ; lower breast and under parts with the under wing-coverts pure 

 white ; bill bluish at the base, otherwise blackish ; cere dusky yellow ; 

 legs orange-yellow ; iris bright yellow. Culmen TO, wing 13'7, tail 8'5, 

 tarsus 3-2 inch. The female is larger, has the black in the plumage replaced 



