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passed late in August ; and late in March they appeared again on the Tarei-nor, and were chiefly 

 seen at the old breeding-places on the Uldsa river. Colonel Przevalsky says that it winters in the 

 Tsaidam and Zahar country, in Mongolia, and has been found at Dalai-nor in small numbers in 

 the spring; but he did not observe it in the Hoang-ho valley. He took a nest at Alashan, but 

 only once noticed it in Kansu on the autumnal passage, and did not meet with it in Gobi. It is 

 scarce in the Ussuri country, arriving at Lake Hanka about the end of May. Pere David says that 

 it is generally distributed throughout China, and not uncommon near Pekin ; and Mr. Swinhoe 

 frequently met with it in different parts of that country. 



Schlegel refers the Japanese bird to Circus hudsonius ; but there is a specimen of the Hen- 

 Harrier in the Norwich Museum from Japan, obtained through Mr. Whitely. 



In habits the Hen-Harrier differs a good deal from the true Hawks; and it approaches 

 somewhat in them, as in its general appearance, to the Owls. It inhabits open treeless plains 

 and heaths, shunning the forests and groves, and may usually be seen carefully quartering the 

 ground in search of prey. On the wing it is very graceful, flying easily with partly spread tail 

 and extended wings, every now and again propelling itself with a gentle flap, never rising very 

 high above the ground, and often gliding along within five or six feet of it. When it per- 

 ceives any thing in the way of food it hovers for a second or two, and then, with apparently 

 a little hesitation, pounces down and secures its prey. It feeds on small birds, mice, insects, 

 lizards, frogs, &c, and will not unfrequently attack young hares and rabbits, and is there- 

 fore no great friend of the game-preserver and his keepers. On the whole, however, it does 

 not often assail any but feeble and young game-birds, and appears to trust more to obtaining 

 small birds — such as Larks, Snipe, and some of the lesser land birds and waders, by pouncing 

 on them whilst on the ground. During the breeding-season it is said to feed largely on eggs 

 and the young of such small birds as nest on the ground, and destroys thus many broods. It 

 also pays visits to the poultry-yard, and in some parts is tolerably destructive to the poultry. 

 Macgillivray says that it " feeds on small birds and the young of larger, on young hares 

 and rabbits, on mice, frogs, lizards, and serpents. For the most part it pounces upon its 

 victims as they repose on the ground ; but it also pursues birds in open flight, and, so far from 

 confining itself to feeble game, as some allege, it has been known to seize the Red Grouse, 

 Ptarmigan, and Partridge. Thus, my son, while searching for insects on the Pentland Hills in 

 the summer of 1835, saw a pair when flying low over the heath start a Red Grouse, which one of 

 them captured after a short chase ; and in September of the same year Mr. Martin, gamekeeper 

 to the Earl of Lauderdale, shot a male as it was carrying off a bird of the same species. In the 

 crop of one examined by me I found the remains of a Grey Ptarmigan ; and several writers 

 allege that it pursues not only Partridges but Teal. Mr. Slaney, for example, states that they 

 are very destructive to game. In shooting, the writer has seen the Hen-Harrier dart at. a 

 Partridge which his dogs put up, and carry it off. By following the marauder some distance 

 he got the Partridge, which was quite dead, with a very slight mark on the head. Another 

 day he shot the Ring-tail, and, on examining the spot where the Hawk got up, found a Partridge 

 half devoured. This had been killed, as appeared by the feathers, at a little distance, but carried 

 to the edge of a plash of water, where the plunderer had an opportunity of washing his beak and 

 claws between every mouthful." Mr. J. A. Harvie-Brown, who has frequently found the present 



