MARSH HAWK, SI 
The black and brown phases of plumage worn by this bird have 
caused the scientific ornithologists no little perplexity, and been the 
subject of some controversy; so a brief summary of the various 
opinions held may serve as an illustration of the evolution of many 
scientific names. 
The species was first described from a specimen in brown plu- 
mage and given the name it now bears; then a young bird came 
into the hands of another systematist, and supposing it to be a new 
species, he named it B. oxypterus; and afterwards an example in 
black was taken by still another, who supposed it to be something 
new, so he wrote it down B. fuliginosus. These two last-men- 
tioned were disposed of by other writers as synonyms of sqwazn- 
sont, oxypterus being considered the young plumage, and /uligz- 
nosus a melanistic phase, while in several more recent works the 
latter, as the Little Black Hawk, was restored to specific rank. 
These opinions have recently been abandoned for that which has 
been held for a long time by the few, —that both fuligznosus and 
oxyplerus are synonyms of the present species. 
It cannot, however, be said that the matter is finally adjusted, for 
the black color still presents this problem: Is it individual or sex- 
ual, —a melanistic phase, or the normal color of the adult male? 
The bird is entirely tropical in its range, and is found within the 
United States only in the tropical portions of Florida. It was sup- 
posed formerly to occur there merely as a casual or accidental 
straggler; but recent observations have proved it to be a regular 
though uncommon visitor, and breeding there. 
MARSH HAWK. 
MARSH HARRIER. BLUE HAWK. 
CIRCUS HUDSONIUS. 
Cuar. Adult male: above, bluish gray; tail with dark bands; rump 
white ; beneath white. Adult female and young: above, dark brown 
streaked with rufous; tail with dark bands; rump white ; beneath, tawny 
with dark streaks. Length 19 to 24 inches. 
West. On the ground, in damp meadow or cedar swamp; a loosely 
arranged platform of dried grass some four to six inches high, with little 
depression, occasionally lined with softer material. 
Leggs. 3-8; bluish white, sometimes spotted with buffish or brown; 
1.80 X 1.40. 
