18 CIRCUS MACRURUS. 



of the outer feather, crossed by 4 or 5 liars of dark brown; a narrow superciliuni and a patch below (lie eye 

 whitish ; lores brown; a broad In-own gular band succeeded by a fulvous, dark-striped ruff ; under surface with the 

 under wing pale uniform rufesceiil, the shafts of the feathers slightly darker rufous. 



Between this and the adult grey stage birds are found iu great variety of change to the pale plumage : after the first 

 moult they become ashen brown above, with generally some rufous feathers about the nap.'; the upper tail- 

 coverts become barred with greyish brown, the central tail-feathers ashy, the three lateral ones whitish, barred 

 with rufous-brown: the quills pale ashy brown at the base; the long primaries black on the terminal half, with 

 their inner edges whitish ; the facial markings become very pale, the throat, fore neck, and chest bluish ashy, I he 

 ruff with darkish streaks, and the chest striated with pale brown ; beneath, very pale bluish ashy in some, quite 

 white in others, many specimens, likewise, having rufous shaft-stripes, while others are completely unmarked ; 

 the under tail-coverts pure white. It is iu the chest and under surface that the greatest variation takes place. 



In an example from the Deccan in the British Museum, in the ashen-brown upper plumage of the second year, the 

 entire under surfaeo from the chin, including the under wing-coverts, is pure white, with a few shaft-lines of 

 rufous on the chest and throat ; the tail almost as pale as in the oldest specimens ; the basal part of the web of 

 the inner primary webs partakes of the same albescent character as the under surface, being quite white. 



Young female. Wing in the first year averaging about 13*5 inches, but frequently no longer than that of young males. 

 Differs from the young male in being usually of a deeper brown, the wing-coverts very broadly edged with rufous, the 



upper tad-coverts with brown mesial stripes, and the under surface much darker, of a rich uniform rufous tawny; 



the gular band of a very dark brown, contrasting strongly with the whitish cheek-patch. The white nuchal patch 



varies, but is, I think, stronger, as a rule, than in the young male. 



Progress toivards maturity. In the next stage, the upper surface loses the conspicuous character of the edgings ; the 

 head and hind neck contrast with the back, the latter becoming paler ; the cheeks and gular band remain the 

 same ; but the under surface undergoes a gradual change, commencing with the fading out of the rufous, parti- 

 cularly on the lower parts, leaving this colour coufined to the centre of the feather, the fore neck and chest being 

 heavily streaked, and the lower breast and flanks lightly so. 



The lower parts continue to pale with age until, in the oldest birds I have been able to examine in a large series, they 

 become fulvescent white, aud are, with the under tail-coverts, unmarked, save with a few light streaks of pale 

 rufescent ; the throat is marked with brownish mesial lines in such examples, and the fore neck and chest with 

 dark brownish streaks on a rufescent ground ; the ruff is greyish, with darker longitudinal spots ; the upper parts 

 are glossy cinereous browai, and the wing-coverts rather darker brown, the broad fulvescent yellow edgings 

 showing more conspicuously even than in young birds ; the nape is light, and the feathers of the head and hind 

 neck edged with rufous ; the scapulars and tertials are tipped with a paler hue ; the central tail-feathers are ashen 

 grey, with six brown bars, the ground-colour of the three lateral feathers remaining buff: the forehead and eve- 

 streak are whitish, aud the gular patch greyish brown. 



Obs. This species may be distinguished at all ages from O. cinerarias by its having the tip of the second primary- 

 covert reaching to, or even overlapping, the notch on the second primary, by its closed wings not reaching within 

 1*3 inch of the tip of the tail, and sometimes falling short of it by 3 inches, and by its longer middle toe, this 

 latter not exceeding 1 - 1 inch iu the last species. In addition to these characteristics, the young, in which alone 

 mistakes are likely to be made, may be recognized at a glance from C. cinerarius by the lighter-coloured ruff 

 contrasting with the dark cheek- and ear-patch. 



Distribution. — This handsome Harrier visits Ceylon, on its southward migration through India, about 

 the commencement of October, and spreads in considerable numbers over the wbole island, including the 

 mountain-zone to its highest parts. Unlike its congeners, however, it remains behind in the island to a limited 

 extent, those which do not leave being young birds, and they confine themselves in the wet season to the upper 

 regions and the north coasts. Mr. Holdsworth has seen them in Nuwara Elliya in July and August, and I 

 have met with specimens shot at the Elephant plains about the same time. I cannot but think, however, that 

 such occurrences are rare exceptions, its remaining in Ceylon at this season being a most remarkable feature 

 in this Harrier's economy. Mr. Holdsworth is an authority for its existence, out of season, in the north, as he 

 observed it at Aripo throughout the year. On the opposite side of the island it is not seen during the S.W. 

 monsoon ; and I imagine that it is limited at that time to the north-west coast, ou the plains of which, both 

 species, this and the last, abound, attracted thither, no doubt, by the myriads of lizards which overrun these 

 open wastes. 



