HEN-HARRIER. 
Circus cyaneus, Meyer. 
Le Busard St. Martin. 
Ir is to be regretted that this delicately plumaged Hawk, which a few years ago was common in our 
island, is now so scarce as rarely to admit of its being observed in a state of nature. Like many of its con- 
geners, much mischief has been laid to its charge ; and without even for a moment attempting to balance the 
good which it effects by destroying hundreds of snakes, lizards, and mice in the course of a single year, 
with the injury it does by preying on a limited number of leverets and other young game, which are only 
open to its attacks for the period of a few weeks, its ruthless destruction is diligently persevered in by 
the gamekeeper and sportsman without the least consideration ; in fact, so rapidly have many of our native 
Falcone decreased within these few years, that there is but little doubt many species once numerous will 
ere long be entirely extirpated. 
This fine Harrier enjoys an extensive range of habitat independently of Europe, over the whole of which, 
wherever situations favourable to its residence occur, it is found in greater or less abundance: it also 
inhabits similar situations over the greater part of Africa and India. A species nearly allied, if not abso- 
lutely identical, exists in the northern portions of the American continent. 
The flight of the Hen-Harrier while in quest of its prey is strikingly peculiar, and is altogether different 
from that of the birds of every other group of the Falconide ; it is light and buoyant, but performed at no 
great elevation from the ground, which it quarters with the utmost regularity, traversing a certain extent of 
country and returning nearly to the same place at a given time for many days together. Thus skimming 
along with noiseless wings, it strongly reminds us of one of the Owls, and it pounces down upon its prey 
with unerring precision; this, as we have before stated, consists principally of mice, leverets, lizards, snakes, 
frogs, and unfledged birds, never daring to contend with large birds, or quadrupeds of even moderate size. 
In this country the localities to which the Hen-Harrier is almost exclusively limited, are wide heathy 
moorlands, extensive wastes, and furze-covered commons, to which may be added low marshes, flat lands, 
bordering lakes, and morasses. In these wild and solitary situations it incubates and rears its young, its nest 
being placed on the ground, among the tufted herbage most prevalent on the spot; the eggs resembling 
those of the Owl, but larger, only being of a dull dirty white without any spots. 
The difference between the male and female is so remarkable, as at no distant date to have led to the 
supposition that each sex was a distinct species ; an error, the correction of which is due to our talented 
ornithologist Colonel Montagu. This is now so clearly understood as not to need any especial remark ; we 
would, however, observe that this extraordinary feature is exhibited in most of the species of the genus 
Circus, a genus almost universally dispersed over the globe. 
The young birds of both sexes for the first two years are precisely alike in their colouring, which differs 
but little from that of the adult female, and it is this circumstance which militated against the idea of the 
Hen-Harrier and the Ringtail being identically the same. 
It is only after the second year that the male begins to assume the delicate silvery grey which in the state 
of maturity pervades the whole of the upper surface. 
We give the details of the colouring as follow : 
The adult male has the head, neck, chest, and whole of the upper surface, with the exception of the rump 
and the two outer tail-feathers on each side,—which are white, the latter having a fine transverse band of 
greyish brown,—of a fine blueish silvery grey; quills black ; under surface white, with a few faint blotches of 
brown disposed in the centre of a great part of the feathers ; legs, upper part of the cere, and irides brown. 
The female has the whole of the upper surface chocolate brown, the feathers of the head, and back of the 
neck bordered with reddish sandy yellow ; the ear-coverts deep brown; the marginal feathers of the face 
short and stiff, of a sandy yellow with deep brown shafts; whole of the under surface reddish yellow, with 
longitudinal dashes of brown ; the tail barred alternately with bands of light and deep umbre brown ; legs 
and upper part of the cere yellow; irides hazel. 
The Plate represents a male and female of the natural size. 
