Harriers 251 



head and neck all around, as well as the under parts, are glossy black, while 

 the hind neck and back are rich maroon. The scapulars are black, the wing- 

 coverts bronzy brown, the primaries blackish, and the secondaries ashy gray 

 with black tips. The tail and its under coverts are deep maroon, while the 

 under wing-coverts and secondaries beneath are white. To complete the picture 

 the cere, orbits, and feet are coral-red, the bill black, and the iris brown. The 

 Bateleur Eagle is a not uncommon species in many parts of Africa, Andersson, 

 for instance, regarding it as the most common Eagle in Damara and Great 

 Namaqua Lands. There he found it usually in the plains, although in other 

 parts of its range it frequents open mountain districts. It is often seen soaring, 

 at which it is described as a past master, almost equaling the Vultures, as it 

 sails about without flapping a wing, but, says Mr. Abel Chapman, " when they 

 stoop they come out of the sky like a lightning flash." There seems to be some 

 disagreement as regards their food, some asserting that they kill their own prey 

 and never, in a wild state, touch carrion, while others insist that it is fond of 

 the latter food. That it feeds on snakes of all kinds is certain, and that it often 

 captures the young or sick of various animals, birds, lizards, etc., is equally 

 attested. The nest is always placed in trees, usually those of a very sturdy 

 nature, and is composed of a large mass of sticks bound firmly together, but 

 is without any kind of lining. The eggs are white and are said to be two to four 

 in number. There is a form of this Eagle in which the back is cream-colored, 

 but otherwise not different from the typical bird, that is regarded by some as 

 entitled to specific rank, but it is possibly only a very old or fully adult stage of 

 the Bateleur. 



The Harriers (Subfamily Circince). When one becomes familiar with the 

 habits of the birds of this group, watching them as they course backward and 

 forward over marsh and meadow in quest of their prey, it is easy to appreciate 

 the appropriateness of their common name of Harrier. They spend most of 

 the time on the wing in a steady gliding flight, seldom flapping, and usually but 

 a few feet above the surface. Although there are several genera, we shall 

 have space for only the typical genus (Circus), which embraces some twenty 

 species, and is of almost cosmopolitan distribution. They are birds of moderate 

 size, none apparently exceeding twenty-four inches in length, and of slender 

 form, with relatively long wings and tail, and rather weak legs and slender feet. 

 The head is small and there is a ruff of small, soft feathers, more conspicuous 

 in some species than in others, surrounding the face, as in the Owls. The bill 

 is small and rather weak, while the claws are much curved and very sharp. They 

 are especially remarkable for the great diversity in coloration in the plumage 

 of the male and female, an unusual condition among birds of prey. Only 

 a single species the Marsh Hawk (C. hudsonius] is found in North America. 

 The adult male is light bluish gray or ashy above, with the upper tail-coverts 

 white, the tail silvery gray barred with blackish, while the upper breast is pearl 

 gray, and the lower breast and abdomen white, spotted with rufous. The 

 mature female is fuscous above, with the head and neck streaked, and the 

 wing-coverts spotted or margined with rufous; the upper tail-coverts are white 



