252 The Falcon-like Birds 



and the tail barred with ashy and black or buff and black, while the lower parts 

 are buff, widely streaked on the breast and narrowly streaked on the abdomen with 

 fuscous or light umber. The young are similar to the female, but are darker 

 above and more tawny 1 below. The total length of this species is from nineteen 

 and one half to about twenty-four inches, and it is easily recognized on the 

 wing by the conspicuous white patch above the base of the long tail. 



The Marsh Hawk is undoubtedly one of the best known of our birds of prey, 

 since its breeding range covers practically the entire continent. " It is a familiar 

 sight/' says Beddire, " to see a pair, and often several, of these birds skimming 

 close to the ground, now along the borders of a meadow, or the shrubbery found 

 close to the banks of small streams, and the tule-covered borders of fresh or 

 salt marshes, actively engaged in search of their prey. Its flight is singularly 

 easy and graceful. One moment it may be seen sailing or drifting along before 

 a strong breeze without an apparent movement of its wings, in the next it may 

 raise or lower itself or turn completely over, in undulating motions; dropping 

 suddenly in the grass, or staying suspended in the air over some point which 

 might be suited to the location of its intended quarry." Its food consists 

 largely of meadow mice, ground squirrels, frogs, grasshoppers, locusts, and 

 large crickets, and to some extent of lizards, snakes, occasional ground- 

 haunting birds, and young poultry, and when hard pressed it is said to feed on 

 offal and carrion. It has been known to come at the sound of a gun and carry 

 off the wounded or dead bird, but on the whole it is deserving of the most 

 careful protection for its agency in the destruction of mice, ground squirrels, 

 and injurious insects. Dr. A. K. Fisher, who examined the contents of 124 

 stomachs, reports that 7 contained poultry or game birds; 34, other birds; 

 57, mice; 22, other mammals; 7, reptiles; 2, frogs; 14, insects, while 8 were 

 empty. As might be expected in a species enjoying such a wide range, the 

 nesting season varies in the different parts of the country, beginning as early as 

 April in Texas, and not until June in the fur countries. The nest is always 

 made on the ground or close to it, and usually not far from water, as a marsh 

 or prairie grown up with tall grass or bushes, being placed in a thick bunch of 

 grass, on the top of a tussock, or occasionally on a low bush. It is usually a slight 

 affair of grasses and a few sticks, and lined with similar material ;md sometimes 

 a few feathers from the sitting bird. Both sexes assist in building the nest, 

 and when it is completed the complement of eggs is added, these being from 

 three or four to six, and sometimes as many as eight in number, dull white or 

 pale bluish white and mostly unspotted. 



South American Harriers. Two species in South America complete the 

 representation of this genus in the New World, these being the Cinereous 

 Harrier (C. cinereus) of the southern portion of the continent, and the Long- 

 winged Harrier (C. maculosus) of South America in general. In the first the 

 male is bluish gray above, with darker mottlings, the primaries blackish, and 

 the tail gray with four black bands, while the throat and neck are, like the 

 back and the abdomen, thickly barred with white and rufous. The female is 

 dark brown above with lighter spots. This species is exceedingly abundant 



