PALE-CHESTED HARRIER. 57 



The Pale Harrier is said by Colonel Sykes to feed 

 principally upon lizards; that it inhabits wild rocky 

 plains, that the sexes are never met with together, and 

 that it builds in high trees. 



The figure of the egg of this bird is from a drawing 

 by M. Thienemann, pi. 44, fig. 2. 



The adult male, according to Temminck, has all the 

 plumage generally pale; the grey colour very clear; 

 the top of the head in the male has no brown and 

 white spots; the rump and upper tail coverts are marked 

 with grey bars; the bars on the side tail quills are 

 six or seven, and more strongly tinted with reddish. 

 Head, mantle, and wing coverts of a pale grey; quills 

 white at the base, passing into deep brown at their 

 extremities, and margined externally with greyish; all 

 the parts below, from the throat to the abdomen, of a 

 pure white, more or less varied according to age, with 

 fine brown streaks disposed over the chest and belly. 

 Beak blue; cere and feet yellow; iris greenish yellow. 



The adult female has the plumage like that of the 

 Hen Harrier, except that the colours are two shades 

 paler: the tail is crossed by six large brown bars, that 

 of C. cyaneus having only four. 



In the above description it will be seen that 

 Temminck differs from Colonel Sykes, as to the brown 

 streaks on the chest. Gould's figure was taken from a 

 bird sent to him by M. Temminck. This discordance 

 may probably be accounted for by the fact as stated 

 by Temminck, that these marks are more or less visible 

 according to age. 



