HEN HARRIER. 105 
white, with traces of five darker bars; the legs and toes 
slender and yellow ; the claws black. 
Young males are brown, like the female to be next de- 
scribed, but begin to change from the brown colour to the 
grey which distinguishes the sex, in their second autumn ; 
young males are smaller in size, and have the irides lighter 
in colour than those of females at the same age. It is 
probable that young males are capable of breeding in their 
second year, before they have acquired their grey plumage, 
as two brown birds, apparently performing the duties of 
parents, have been shot at the same nest. 
The female measures about twenty inches in length ; 
the bill almost black ; the cere greenish yellow, the irides 
reddish brown; the top of the head and back of the neck 
umber brown; the feathers of the latter with lighter red- 
dish brown edges, forming a collar on the neck; over the 
eye a light-coloured streak; ear-coverts uniform umber 
brown; the circular disk or ruff round the face formed by 
short feathers of mixed brown and white colours, passing 
from behind the ear on one side round under the chin to 
the back of the ear on the other side; the back and wings 
uniform umber brown; the smaller wing-coverts margined 
with ferruginous ; wing-primaries blackish brown; upper 
surface of the central tail-feathers uniform umber brown ; 
the lateral tail-feathers dark brown, barred with lighter 
reddish brown; the ends of all the feathers pale ferrugi- 
nous; the throat, breast, belly, thighs, and under tail- 
coverts, reddish buff colour, each feather having an elon- 
gated reddish brown patch in the centre, with a still 
darker shaft ; those of the thighs and the under tail-coverts 
being lighter in colour, and less decidedly marked than 
those of the body; under surface of the middle tail-fea- 
thers strongly marked with broad bands of brownish black 
