BLUE HAWK, OR HEN-HARRIER, 
403 
victims, but selects them only among weak and helpless ob- 
jects. It preys on moles, mice, young birds, and is very de- 
structive to game ; and does not spare fishes, snakes, insects, 
or even worms. Its flight is always low, but, notwithstanding, 
rapid, smooth, and buoyant. It is commonly observed sailing 
over marshes, or perched on trees near them, whence it pounces 
suddenly upon its prey. When it has thus struck at an object, 
if it re-appears quickly from the grass or reeds, it is a proof that 
it has missed its aim ; for, if otherwise, its prey is devoured on 
the spot. 
It breeds in open wastes, frequently in thick furze coverts, 
among reeds, marshy bushes, the low branches of trees, but ' 
generally on the ground. The nest is built of sticks, reeds, 
straw, leaves, and similar materials, heaped together, and is 
lined with feathers, hair, or other soft substances ; it contains 
from three to six, but generally four or five, pale-bluish-white 
eggs, large and round at each end ; the young are born covered 
with white down, to which succeed small feathers of a rust co- 
lour, varied with brown and black. If any one approaches the 
nest during the period of rearing the young, the parents evince 
the greatest alarm, hovering around, and expressing their 
anxiety by repeating the syllables, geg^ geg^ gag ; or ge, ne, 
ge^ ge. Crows manifest a particular hostility to this species, 
and destroy numbers of their nests. 
The hen-harrier is widely spread over both continents, per- 
haps more than any other land-bird, though it is nowhere re- 
markably numerous. In the northern countries of America, it 
is a migratory species, extending its wanderings from Florida 
to Hudson’s Bay. It is not known to breed in the Northern, 
or even in the Middle States, where the adults are but rarely 
seen. In the Southern parts of the Union, and especially in 
Florida, they are rather common, in all their varieties of plu- 
mage. The species is also found in the West Indies, Cayenne, 
and probably has an extensive range in South America. It is 
found throughout Britain, Germany, Italy, the North of Africa, 
and the northern portion of Asia. It is very common in France 
