250 FIRST LIST OF THE BIRDS OF 



cultivated fields ; it is very wary. During the whole cold season 

 of 1877-78, I only secured one specimen ; it is by no means 

 so common as C macrourus ; it perches on mounds and ridges 

 and feeds principally on grasshoppers and lizards. 



53. — Oircus melanoleucus, Gmel. 



22nd March 187 '8, Male.— Length, 1775 : expanse, 43*25 ; 

 wing, 14*33 ; tail from vent, 9*08; tarsus, 2 - 75 ; bill from 

 gape, 1*14 ; bill at front, including cere, 0*90 ; closed wings fall 

 short of end of tail, 0*20 ; weight, 9*5 oz. Cere greenish yellow; 

 bill black ; irides wax yellow ; legs orange yellow • gape bluish. 



lOlh April 1878, Female. — Length, 18*50; expanse, 45*25; 

 wing, 14'0 ; tail from vent, 9*25 ; tarsus, 3*0; bill from gape, 

 1*27 ; bill at front, including cere, 1*10 ; closed wings equal 

 end of tail. Irides bright yellow; cere greenish yellow ; legs 

 pale yellow ; bill black above, bluish beneath. 



Excessively common ; the latest date on which I noticed this 

 bird this year was the 17th April. 



I had read of the female of this species being overlooked 

 by most of Mr. Hume's collectors, and was on the look out, 

 when one day I saw a bird alight on the dry bed of the river 

 in front of my house, and which spot was a favorite resting 

 place of the Pied Harrier. Why they chose this particular 

 spot I do not know, for it was perfectly bare, the carriage and 

 gait of this dark-colored bird being exactly the same as that 

 of the Pied Harrier. I guessed it was a female, so lost no time 

 in securing it, and on dissection my surmises proved correct. 

 I have dissected several pied birds and found them all males. 

 In 1876, when in the Dooars, I saw a pied bird devouring a 

 small snake ; they feed principally on grasshoppers, small 

 lizards, frogs and such like small fry ; are very silent birds, but if 

 wounded they utter weak and shrill Harrier-like notes ; when 

 I was out shooting they often used to fly past me within 10 

 and 15 yards ; they perch on bushes as well as on the ground. 



54.— Circus seruginosus, Lin. 



6t/i March 1878, Male.— Length, 20"0; expanse, 48*0; 

 wing, 15*70; tail from vent, 9*50; tarsus, 3*20; bill from 

 gape, 1*35 ; bill at front, including cere, 1*20 ; closed wings 

 equal end of tail. Legs yellow. 



4tk April 1878, Immature Female. — Length, 19*75 ; expanse, 

 48*0; wing, 15*0; tail from vent, 8*75; tarsus, 3*16 ; bill from 

 gape, 1*42 ; bill at front, including cere, 1*20 ; closed wings 

 fall short of end of tail, 0*50. Irides brownish yellow ; bill 

 above black, below bluish; cere greenish yellow ; legs pale 

 yellow. 



