THE HEN HARRIER. 113 



long, and three feet and a half in the extent of the wings. 

 The naked yarts are yellow, and the irides dark brown. Brown 

 and dusky white are the prevailing colours of the whole bird. 

 The head is mottled brown on the upper part, and the concha 

 round the eye is brown, immediately surrounding that organ, 

 but terminates on a white eyebrow which reaches to the cere 

 of the beak, and it is white below, but terminates in a brown 

 border. That appendage gives enforcement and expression to 

 the eye, perfectly distinct from any other of the tribe. The 

 feathers below are brown, with pale margins, and pass into 

 white at the tail coverts ; the upper part is brown, lightest 

 on the scapulars and lesser coverts, and the margins of the 

 feathers are lighter. The tail is brown, with dusky bars, and 

 the quills of the wings very deep brown, inclining to black. 



In the male, the breast, head, and all the upper part, are 

 of a fine grey, lighter on those parts of the concha which are 

 white in the female, and also where the brown is lighter in 

 the upper part of that sex. The remainder of the under part 

 is white, with very faint markings ; indeed all the markings 

 on the male bird are obscure and faint j but, notwithstanding 

 this, and the difference of size and expression of the eyes (the 

 irides are yellow in the male, and brown in the female), the 

 shape and air of the birds correspond exactly. 



Though the hen harriers fly low, their flight is very swift, 

 and at the same time smooth and graceful ; and they admit 

 of a nearer approach, and can be better seen, than most of 

 the birds of prey. They are not very numerous in any one 

 locality, neither are they very prolific ; but they are pretty 

 generally distributed over the country, on the edges of the 

 moors, where they may be seen beating the bushes with much 

 assiduity*: They pounce indiscriminately upon birds, reptiles, 

 and small quadrupeds. They are very destructive in pre- 

 serves, when these contain bushes in which it can nestle. 

 They even pay visits to the poultry-yard, and pounce upon 



VOL. I. I 



