" CIRCUS. 219 



Adult male. Back, head, and neck all round black; wino-s and. 

 tail broadly barred with black and ash-grey; forehead, eyebrows, 

 and under surface white with a few dark spear-shaped marks on 

 the last ; the feathers of the throat more or less marked with 

 white; axillaries and under wing-coverts white barred with dark 

 brown, the white becoming buff on the major coverts and base 

 of the quills. 



Total length 435 mm., culmen 31, wing 378, tail 210, tarsus 77, 

 middle toe and claw 52. 



Adult female. Similar to the adult male. 



The male described was obtained on the Abary River in 

 September 1907. Another, a fully adult bird, from the Abary is 

 entirely black below, including the axillaries and under wing- 

 coverts. 



Breedwg-season. Unknown in British Guiana. 



J^est. Unrecorded in British Guiana. 



E(jgs. Undescribed from British Guiana. 



Range in Br'itisli Guiana. Abary River (^McConnell collection). 



EMralimital Range. Venezuela and Trinidad to the Straits of 

 Magellan. 



Habits. We quote the following notes from the writings of 

 Mr. J. J. Quplch (Timehri (2) vi. p. 145) : — '' The Spotted Harrier 

 (^Circits maculosits). This is one of the commonest of the coast 

 birds, being found along all the lower or tidal parts of the main 

 creeks, where it can be readily distinguished, when perching, by 

 its long wings, legs, and tail ; bat it is much more easily recog- 

 nised in flight by the spread of its wings and tail, on which the 

 numerous black and grey bars are very conspicuous. It com- 

 monly goes by the name of ' Snake-Hawk/ and is always very 

 abundant among the bushy tree-growths along the savannah 

 streams and by swampy places, where it may pick up snakes, 

 lizards, and frogs. It is particularly abundant on tiie Abary, and 

 is frequently met wuth in the Mahaicony and the Hoobaboo and 

 other creeks. Occasionally it will bo encountered perched on a 

 tree, tearing to pieces some unfortunate ])ird, such as the awkward 

 and slow-flying Old Witch or Ani Cuckoo {('rotopliaga ani), (ho 

 poor victim meantime crying out for dear life. They seem to 

 con fj reflate in small flocks of five or six, though it id not un- 

 common to come upon them singly, or in much larger flocks, 

 especially in tlie wet weather, when they gather around the little 



