hi 



CIRCIM. 



same time occasions it some injury. After a series of such attacks, the snake becomes wearied out, and the bird is 

 enabled to kill and eat it without danger. It feeds also on rats and lizards. When disturbed, it first endeavours to 

 escape by hopping and running, which it does very swiftly, taking wing only when it is not otherwise able to get away. 

 The nest is formed on trees ; it is of large size, composed of sticks, and lined with wool and feathers. The female 

 deposits from two to three eggs. 



S. reptilivorus Daud. Le Vaill. Ois. d'Afr. t. 25. — Falco ser- 

 pentarius Gmel. ; Serpentarius africamis Shaw ; Ophiotheres cris- 



tatus Vieill. ; Gypogeranus capensis, G. gambensis, et G. philippem 

 y, Sonn. Voy. a la Nouv. Guin. t. 50. 



Circus Lacep.* 



Bill moderate, elevated at the base of the culmen and arched to the tip, which is hooked ; the sides 

 compressed, and the lateral margins festooned ; the nostrils large, oval, and partly concealed by the 

 curved hairs of the lores. Wings long, with the third and fourth quills nearly ecpual and longest. Tail 

 long, and rounded on the sides. Tarsi long, slender, and compressed, the outer side covered with 

 transverse scales, and the inner Avith small scales. Toes moderate, with the outer one longer than the 

 inner ; the claws long, slender, and acute. 



Most parts of the world are inhabited by one or more of the species that compose this genus ; they are in general 

 found in the uncultivated open country, on marshy land or along the barren sea coast. Their flight is not remarkable 

 for swiftness, but is commonly performed at stated intervals, with ease and buoyancy, within a few feet of the surface 

 of the ground, searching it for their prey. 



1. C. cyaneus (Linn.) — Accipiter variabilis Pall.; Falco bo- 

 hemicus, F. albicans, F. griseus, et F. montanus Gmel. ; F. cinereus 

 et F. rubiginosus II. Poseg. ; Circus variegatus et C. grallinarius 

 Vieill. ; F. uliginosus Gmel. Wils. Amer. Orn. pi. 51. f. 2. ; F. hud- 

 sonicus Linn. Vieill. Ois. d'Amer. Sept. t. 9., Bonap. Amer. Orn. pi. 

 12.; F. Buffoni Gmel. ; F. europogistus Daud. Vieill. Ois. d'Amer. 

 Sept. t. 8. ; Buteo (Circus) cyaneus ? var. ? americanus Swains. 8f 

 Rich. Faun. Bor. Am. pi. 29. ; F. strigiceps Wils. ; Accipiter ma- 

 crourus Gmel. ; Type of Strigiceps Pr. Bonap. (1831). 



2. C. ranivorus (Daud.) Vieill. Le Vaill. Ois. d'Afr. t. 23. 



3. C. Swainsoni A. Smith, 111. of S. Afr. Zool. pi. 43. 44., PL 

 enl. 459. — Circus pailidus Sykes, Gould's B. of Eur. pi. 34. ; C. 

 dalmaticus Rilpp. Mus. Senk. 1834. til.; C. albescens Less. 



4. C. cinerascens (Mont.) Werner's Atlas, t., Gould's B. of Eur. 

 pi. 35. — Circus Montagui Vieill. ; the Type of Glaucopteryx 

 Kaup (1844). 



5. C. cinereus Vieill. — Falco histrionicus Quoy et Gaim. Voy. 

 de 1'Uranie, Ois. t. 15. 16. ; Circus campestris Vieill. ? 



6. C. melanoleucus (Gmel.) Vieill. Le Vaill. Ois. d'Afr. t. 32. 



7. C. Acoli (Daud.) Vieill. Le Vaill. Ois. d'Afr. t. 31. 



8. C. maurus (Temm.) PI. col. 46'1. — Circus Lalandii A. Smith, 

 111. S. Afr. Zool. pi. 58. 



9. C. macropterus Vieill. Temm. PI. col. 22. — Falco palustris 

 Pi: Max. — Circus superciliosus Less. 



10. C.megaspilus Gould, Proc. Z. S. 1837. 10., Voy. Beagle, 

 Birds, p. 29. 



11. C. Jardinii Gould, Proc. Z. S. 1837. pp. 99- 1*1., Gould's 

 B. of Austr. pi. 



12. C. assimilis Jard. & Selby, 111. Orn. pi. 51., Gould's B. of 

 Austr. pi., Zool. Ereb. and Terr. p. 2. 



13. C. ceruginosus (Linn.) PI. 460. 424., Gould's B. of Eur. pi. 

 32. — Falco rufus Gmel. ; Accipiter circus Pall. ; Circus palustris 

 Briss. ; F. arundinaceus Bechst. ; C. rufus var. indicus Less. ; C. 

 variegatus Sykes ; C. Sykesi Less. ; Type of Pygargus Kaup. 

 (1816). 



* Lacepede established this division between 1800 and 1801. M. Kaup used in its place Pygargus : 

 1844) of M. Kaup, and Strigiceps (1831) of the Prince of Canino. 



i 1816. It embraces Glaucopteryx 



July, 1845. 



