BIRDS OF PREY. 



45 



attractive object will bring them down to investigate it. Of their courage we cannot speak in 

 flattering terms, but we have known them join forces with the Crows in order to attack one of the 

 larger tyrants of the air. When caged they are easily tamed ; we do not, however, recommend them 

 for domestication. Their voices are not loud, but penetrating. All these birds are eminently useful 

 to man, as they destroy enormous numbers of mice as well as frogs and other reptiles ; but they also 

 most unmercifully devour eggs and young birds during the breeding season. We have never seen 

 them touch carrion. The period of incubation commences with the spring. The nest is placed 

 among growing grass or reeds, the parents prudently waiting until it is safely concealed before the 

 eggs are deposited. Naumann describes the eyrie as being a mass of dry twigs, grass, potato stalks, 

 and similar materials, lined with hair, feathers, or moss. Occasionally the nest is merely formed of a 



THE REED KITli OR MARSH HARRIER (CirCIIS rttflts). 



little straw or grass, rudely matted together. The brood consists of four or five eggs, round in shape, 

 and having delicate shells ; these are of a greenish white colour, sometimes marked with very tiny 

 spots and streaks, but are entirely without lustre. The young are reared upon mice, small birds, 

 frogs, and insects. 



THE REED KITE, OR MARSH HARRIER. 



■ The Reed Kite, or Marsh Harrier {Circus ntfus), closely resembles the birds above 

 described in its general construction, but its beak is longer and more powerful, and its tarsi more 

 robust ; the facial disc, moreover, is only slightly indicated. Its length is twenty-one inches, of which 

 ten belong to the tail ; its breadth varies from forty to fifty inches. The female is from one and 

 a half to two inches longer, and three broader than her mate. The plumage of the adult male is often 

 much variegated. The top of the head and brow are brown ; the cheeks and throat are covered with 



