LXXVIIT 

 CIRCUS CYANEUS. (klem.) 



Hen Harrier. 



The Hen Harrier breeds in the marshy districts of this 

 country, chiefly in the fens of Cambridgeshire ; the nest is 

 placed upon the ground, from which it is raised by a conside- 

 rable quantity of flags, sedge, and reeds ; the eggs are four 

 or five in number; and though, perhaps, most frequently of 

 a bluish-white, are yet very often marked with light spots 

 of yellowish brown, mixed with a purplish hue, and in some 

 instances, as shown in the second Figure of the Plate, with 

 deeper and more distinctly defined spots of brown. The 

 eggs of the three species of Harrier may be readily known 

 from others nearly allied to them, by the fine greenish blue 

 of the inside, which may be seen upon holding them up to the 

 light. To Mr. Heysham I am indebted for specimens from 

 the neighbourhood of Carlisle ; and to the Rev. W. D. Fox, 

 for others from the fens of Cambridgeshire. 



