44;] 



Schlegel as occurring in Holland ; and it is doubtful if it has ever occurred in Belgium. 

 According to Baron De Selys Longchamps it has been obtained near Mayence; and Mr. E. 

 Schiitt, who obtained it in Baden, writes (J. f. O. 1861, p. 235) as follows: — "I shot an imma- 

 ture bird of this species about the end of August 1852, near Durmersheim, on the Lower Rhine, 

 in the stomach of which I found nothing but lizards. As it is not likely that the Pale Harrier 

 begins its migration at this time of the year, probably this specimen has been hatched here. 

 According to Herr von Kettner, specimens have been on several occasions shot near Carlsruhe 

 and Rastadt." 



In France it is, as elsewhere in the north of Europe, but a rare straggler. Degland states 

 that Crespon possessed an immature specimen obtained near Nimes in March 1835. M. Balthasar, 

 of Douai, has in his collection an adult male shot at Raimbaucourt, not far from that town ; and 

 there are two examples in the collection of Baillon obtained near Abbeville. Lacroix says that 

 it is very rare in the French Pyrenees. He obtained two young examples near Perpignan ; and 

 it is said to have nested near Pezenas, in Herault, in May 1869. Professor Barboza du Bocage 

 says that it may possibly occur in Portugal. Lord Lilford writes to me that he " has a specimen 

 from Andalucia, where it is not common ;" and, according to Colonel Irby (Orn. Str. Gibr. p. 33), 

 it is not uncommon in spring near Seville. According to Salvadori it appears to be of common 

 occurrence in Liguria, but rare elsewhere on the mainland, whereas in Sicily it is abundant. 

 Lord Lilford informs me that it is common on passage in Malta, where he observed several in 

 March 1875, and procured specimens in the market; and Mr. C. A. Wright writes (Ibis, 1864, 

 p. 46) as follows: — "This is perhaps the commonest of the Maltese Harriers, and arrives at the 

 same seasons as the others. It is most abundant in April, when it is a conspicuous feature on a 

 spring morning, gliding noiselessly over the open country in quest of insects, lizards, and small 

 birds, the remains of which I have frequently found in its maw. In a large series which I have 

 collected of these birds the grey bars over the rump are very distinctly marked in the adult 

 males, some of which have the chest and all the underpart of the body of a pure white ; others 

 have the chest pale grey ; while others, again, probably immature males, have the chest marked 

 with more or less fine brown stria?." 



It appears to be uncommon in Southern Germany; for Dr. Anton Fritsch writes (J. f. O. 

 1871, p. 182) that as yet it has only been twice observed in Bohemia — one, an adult male, having 

 been obtained by Mr. Lokaj ; and the second example is in the collection of Mr. Hromadko, near 

 Pardubic. Messrs. Danford and Harvie-Brown say (Ibis, 1875, p. 296) that it is rare in Tran- 

 sylvania ; according to Bieltz it has been obtained near Hermanstadt ; and Herr Buda Adam says 

 that it has occurred at Hatzeg. It is, however, common on the Southern Danube, and, Messrs. 

 Elwes and Buckley write (Ibis, 1870, p. 76), " most numerous in the Dobrudscha, where it is so 

 common that a basketful of eggs may be gathered in a day in some of its breeding-places. On 

 the wing it is almost impossible to distinguish this species from the preceding one \C. cyaneus'] ; 

 and the females are almost exactly similar." Mr. Robson informs me that large numbers pass 

 the Bosphorus during migration, and that it is much more numerous throughout European 

 Turkey than Circus cyaneus. Dr. Kriiper says that it occurs in Greece in winter, and examples 

 have been obtained there in January, March, April, and September. Lord Lilford informs me 

 that he met with it at Suda Bay, in Crete, and in Cyprus ; but Mr. Danford did not observe it 



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