62 PALE-CHESTED HABBIEE. 
Europe. It had previously been confounded in India with C. cyaneus, 
the Hen Harrier of British lists. Colonel Sykes clearly pointed out 
the distinctions between the two species, and which are abbreviated 
at the head of this notice. Mr. Gould has a fine figure of the male 
bird in his "Birds of Europe," but it deviates from Colonel Sykes' 
type in having dusky streaks on the breast, showing that it represents 
a specimen not fully adult. 
M. Temminck appears to have been the first who recorded the oc- 
currence of this bird in Europe. Since then it has turned up plentifully 
in Spain, and it breeds in the Dobrudsha and South Russia. It pro- 
bably has its head quarters in Africa, being found accidentally in 
Erance, Germany, and Italy. Southwards it extends to the Cape of 
Good Hope, and eastward to China. 
In modern days ornithologists have changed the venue in regard to 
the charge of resemblance between Falco cyaneus and F. pattidus. The 
latter is now held by some to be so nearly like F. cineraceus, (Mon- 
tagu's Harrier,) that Schlegel denies its specific distinction from that 
bird. I am at a loss, however, to comprehend how such an opinion 
has been arrived at by so eminent a naturalist as Schlegel. The 
decided marks of distinction pointed out by Temminck and Colonel 
Sykes, particularly the bars on the rump, and the number of specimens 
that have been taken both in Europe, Africa, and Asia, all having 
the distinctive characters alluded to, form, I think, sufficient evidence 
to settle the claim of this bird to the position assigned to it by all 
naturalists, with the exception of M. Schlegel. 
The Pale Harrier is said by Colonel Sykes to feed principally upon 
lizards; that it inhabits wild rocky plains, that the sexes are never 
met with together, and that it builds in high trees. 
The adult male, according to Temminck, has all the plumage gene- 
rally rjale; the grey colour very clear; the top of the head in the 
male has no brown and white spots; the rump and upper tail coverts 
are marked with grey bars; the bars on the side tail quills are six 
or seven, and more strongly tinted with reddish. Head, mantle, and 
wing coverts of a pale grey; quills white at the base, passing into 
deep brown at their extremities, and margined externally with greyish; 
all the parts below, from the throat to the abdomen, of a pure white, 
more or less varied according to age, with fine brown streaks disposed 
over the chest and belly. Beak blue; cere and feet yellow; iris 
greenish yellow. 
The adult female has the plumage like that of the Hen Harrier, 
except that the colours are two shades paler: the tail is crossed by 
six large brown bars, that of C. cyaneus having only four. Mr. 
