198 



KEY AND DESCRIPTION 



the tail white ; the tip of the tail is somewhat whitened and 

 notched; the upper mandible is peculiarly lengthened and 

 hooked. This bird acts much like a gull, flying over the 

 shallow, fresh waters of southern Florida; it dives for snails, 

 which form its main food. (Snail-hawk.) 



Length, 17; wing, 14 (1.3-15) ; tail, 7J; tarsus, 2; eulmen, IJ. Florida, 

 Cuba, and eastern Mexico, south to tlie Argentine Kepublic. 



6. Marsh Hawk (331. Circus hudsdnius). — A large, com- 

 mon, ashy-colored or gray hawk, with white tail coverts, and 



white belly, spotted or 

 barred with reddish. The 

 primaries are blackish, 

 and the tail is silvery- 

 gray, irregularly barred 

 with blackish. The fe- 

 male has a brownish back, 

 head, and neck, darker 

 primaries and tail, and 

 the under parts more 

 buffy, streaked on the 

 belly with blackish. This 

 is a common, low-flying 

 hawk of the open coun- 

 try, easily determined by 

 the white tail coverts. 

 It may often be found 

 perching on a low elevation, or even in the grass. (Marsh 

 Harrier.) 



Length. 18-24; wing, 14J (13-1(5); tail, 9J ; tarsus, 3; eulmen, 1 

 nearly. North America; breeding throughout, south to Panama. 



G. Sharp-shinned Hawk (332. Accipiter vMox). — A common, 

 long, square-tailed, medium-sized, dark-brownish or slate-colored 

 hawk, with much-barred, buffy under parts. The tail has 

 blackish cross-bars and a white tip; the p'-imaries are also 

 barred with blackish. The young has brownish markings on 



Marsh Hawk 



