146 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



52x40.1 mm. Breeding-season. — Last week April and early May. 

 No details of incubation, but undoubtedly single brooded. 



Food. — Few records can be definitely assigned to this race, but 

 main food lizards, frogs, etc. and very largely insects, especially 

 orthoptera (grasshoppers) and coleoptera. 



Distribution. — England. — One Everley, Wilts., Sept., 1864 

 (J. Gould, Birds Great Britain, i, p. xxx, skin preserved in Brit. 

 Mus.) [Male Bywell, nr. Newcastle, 1830, stated to be of this form 

 (J. H. Gurney, Ibis, 1878, p. 118) is B. b. buteo (see Brit. B., xiv, 

 p. 183), while another male Tynemouth (Northumberland) also 

 stated to be of this form (loc. cit.) is not available for examination.] 



Distribution. — Abroad. — Russia from Volga and Ural throughout 

 west Asia to Altai, Turkestan to Issik-Kul, Caucasus, apparently 

 Asia Minor, Arabia to Sokotra, N. Persia. Wintering in Africa 

 from Nile to S. Africa, Arabia, India, but rare in eastern parts, to 

 Malay Peninsula. 



[Note. — The occurrence of the American Buzzards, Buteo lineatus lineatus- 

 (Gm.) in Scotland (Yarrell, i, p. 113; Saunders, p. 322) and Buteo borealis 

 borealis (Gm.) in Notts. (Saunders, p. 322) has been recorded.] 



Genus CIRCUS Lacepede. 



Circus Lacepede, Tabl. method. Ois., p. 4 (1799 — Type by subsequent 

 designation of Lesson 1828 : C. azruginosus). 



Plumage soft, feathers of face narrow, forming a more or less 

 incomplete ruff. Bill short and strongly curved, nostrils longi- 

 tudinal, thinly covered by loral bristles which are directed upwards. 

 Tarsus long, thin, claws very strongly curved and very sharp. 

 Wings long and pointed, secondaries very much shorter than pri- 

 maries. Tail long. Almost cosmopolitan. Eggs either unspotted 

 or (as a rule faintly) spotted. 



Key to species of genus Circus. 



Outer web of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th primaries notched . C. pygargus, p. 150 

 Outer web of 2nd to 5th primary notched . . 2 



Primaries barred C. cyaneus, $ and juv., p. 155 



Primaries not barred 3 



Upperside, throat and chest bluish-grey, abdomen 



white C. cyaneus, $ ad., p. 155 



Back and abdomen brown C. ceruginosus , p. 146 



CIRCUS iERUGINOSUS 



257. Circus aeruginosus seruginosus (L.) — THE MARSH- 

 HARRIER. 



Falco aeruginosus Linnseus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, i, p. 91 (1758 — Europe. 



Restricted typical locality : Sweden). 



Circus ceruginosus (Linnseus), Yarrell, 1, p. 127 ; Saunders, p. 315. 



