MARSH HAWK. 417 



tions a specimen of kirtlandi, both of which were taken in the vicinity 

 of Cleveland 



The nest of the Acadian Owl is placed in holes of trees, and the eggs, 

 pure white, globular, measure 1.13 by .87. Dr. Brewer says, " it has been 

 said to breed near Cleveland, Ohio, and its nest and eggs have been se- 

 curtd." 



FAMILY FALCONID^. DIURNAL BIRDS OF PREY. 



With the characters given la the first paragraph of the definition of Family Strigida, 

 but oonstrasting with the second paragraph of that definition as follows : 



Physiognomy not peculiar in any lateral expansion of the eraninm ; the eyes lateral 



indirection. No complete facial disc ; base of bill not hidden by appresaed bristles. 



Nostrils wholly in the cere. Outer toe rarely versatile, except Pandion, etc. ; not shorter 



than the inner. Basal phalanx of middle toe longer than the seS»ud. Legs commonly 



naked and scntellate or reticulate in some portion of their length ; toes always bare 



and scaly. Plnmage compact, nsaally with afcer-shaftB ; flight andible. Cranial walla 



with little diploe. Sternum commonly single-notched or fenestrate, sometimes entire. 



Diurnal. 



Genus CIRCUS. Lacepede. 



Face with a rafl: forming an imperfect facial disc, as in the owls ; nostrils oval ; wings, 

 tail and tarsi very long, the latt«r twice as long as the middle toe, scatellate in front and 

 behind. 



Circus oyanetjs (L ) Lac6p. 

 var. HUDSONius (L.) All. 



INXarsli Ha-wlc; Harrier. 



Falco cyaneus, Kirtland, Ohio Geolog. Surv., 1838, 161, 178. 



Circus hudsoniua, Kirkpatrick, Ohio Farmer, vii, 1858, 395 ; Ohio Agric. Eep. for 1858, 



361— Wheaton, Ohio Agric. Eep. for 1860, 361 ; Eeprint, 1861, 3. 

 Circm cyaneus, var. hudaonius, Wheaton, Food cf Birds, etc., Ohio Agric. Eep. for 1874, 



570 ; Eeprint, 1875, 10.— Langdon, Cat. Birds of Cin., 1877, li ; Jour. Cin. Soc. Nat. 



Hist., i, 1878, 115; Eeprint, 6; Eevised List, Journ. Cin. Soc. Nat. Hist., i, 1879, 



160 ; Eeprint, 14. 



Falco cyaneus, Linn.«;us, Syst. Nat., i, 1766, 126. 



Falco hudsonius, Linnjsus, Syst. Nat., i, 1776, 1-28. 



Circus hudsonius, Vibiixot, Ois. Am. Sept., i, 1807, 36. 



Cirms cyaneus, var. hudsonius, Aixhk^, Bull. M, Z. C, 1872, 181. 



Adult male pale blaish-ash, nearly unvaried, whitening below and on upper tail 

 coverts; quills blackish towards the end. Length, 16-18; wing, 14-15; tail, 8-9; fe- 

 male larger, above dark-brown streaked with reddish-brown, below the reverse of this ; 

 tail banded with these colors ; immature male is like the female though redder, bat in 

 any plumage the bird is known by its white upper-tail-coverts and generic characters. 



Habitat, Europe, Asia. Var. hudsonius throughout North America. Var. cinereus in 

 South America. 



Common and resident in some portions of the State, rare and migrant 

 in others. Dr. Kirtland, in 1838, had not met with this bird but named 



27 



