124, BRITISH BIRDS. 



CIRCUS J^RUGINOSUS. 

 MARSH-HARRIER. 



(Plate 6.) 



Accipiter circus palustris, Biiss, Orn. i. p. 401 (1760). 



Accipitei' circus rufus, Briss. Orn. i. p. 404 (1760). 



Falco Ecruginosus, Lui/i. Syst. Nat, i. p. 130 (1766); et auctorum plurimorum — 



(Oral/), {Bonaparte), [Jerdon), {Newton), {Sundevatt), (Sharpe), &c. 

 Falco rufus, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. :2G6 (1788). 

 Falco arundinaceus, Bechst. Orn. Taschenb. p. 23 (1802). 

 Circus feruginosus (Linn.), Savign. Syst. Ois. de I'Egypte, p. 30 (1810). 

 Circus rufus {Gmel), Saviyn. torn. cit. p. 31 (1810). 

 Accipiter seruginosus {Linn.), Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. i. p. 119 (1816). 

 Accipiter circus, Pall. Zooyr. Rosso-As. i. p. 362 (1826). 

 Buteo feruginosus {Linn,), I'lem. Brit. An. p. 55 (1828). 

 Circus arundinaceus (Bechst.), Brehm, Toy. Dcutschl. p. 01 (1831). 

 Buteo rufus ( Qmel), Jenyns, Brit. Vert. p. 88 (1835). 

 Circus umlirinus, Heiigl. Syst. Uehers. Toy. N.O.-Afr. p. 12 (1850). 



The Marsh-Harrier has not yet beeu quite exterminated from the 

 British Islands. It still breeds in the Norfolk broads and in Devonshire, 

 and occasionally escapes the gamekeeper's gun in other parts of the king- 

 dom. In Scotland it is still more local, being chiefly found in the central 

 counties, Aberdeenshire, and the Western Isles. In Ireland it was for- 

 merly very abundant, but is now said to have become very local. 



It breeds in swampy districts throughout Europe south of the Baltic, 

 occurring rarely in South Sweden, and only visitiug Norway accidentally. 

 It winters in Africa north of the equator, occasionally wandering as far 

 south as the Transvaal. In Greece, Palestine, Persia, and also in Algeria 

 and Tangiers the winter range overlaps that of the breeding-season, and 

 the bird is to be found all the year round. Eastwards it breeds in the 

 upper valley of the Obb and in Turkestan, and winters in India and Ceylon. 

 It is said occasionally to breed in India. No Marsh-Harrier has yet been 

 obtained from the valley of the Yenesay; but from Lake Baikal east\iards 

 to Japan and China an allied form occurs, C. spilonotus, with the whole 

 of the underparts pure white, except the thr(3at and breast, which are 

 longitudinally streaked with black. The female difi'ers from the female 

 of our bii'd by having the tail transveisely barred. If the latter character 

 be reliable, then either our bird turns up again in Japan and China or 

 occasionally wanders there, as females without bars on the tail have 

 occurred in both those countries. The more probable explanation is 

 that old females of the eastern form lose the bars on the tail. This 

 eastern representative of the Marsh-PIarricr breeds iu Siberia from Lake 



