Our Birds of Prey. 145 
ance according to the stages of its growth. A striking 
feature in this form is the extreme length of the tail 
(nearly n inches), this being more than half the entire 
length (20 inches) of the bird, and the outer feathers 
are very much shorter than the inner, giving a very 
rounded appearance when the feathers are spread. In 
the young birds, the upper surface is of a pale ruddy 
brown colour, uniform and darker on the head, but 
tipped, multi-barred, and with pale reddish and brownish 
yellow on the back and wings, the bars becoming 
almost white on the tail and limited to about six. The 
under surface is of a pale ruddy or brownish ochre, 
strongly barred with black, while the ochreous colour 
forms a collar round the hind neck. In the adult birds 
the colour of the upper surface darkens, and the bars 
disappear, the quills of the wings and tail alone shewing 
bars of white ; the under surface loses its dark bars, 
and, with the collar, takes on a pale yellowish brown 
which changes gradually to a creamy white. 
These birds frequent the wooded districts, and are to 
be obtained in the open parts along the creeks and great 
rivers. They are not commonly met with on the coast. 
Their wings seem to be particularly short for the size of 
the bird, but this is rendered so disproportionate owing 
to the peculiar length of the tail. 
The last of the long-legged birds to be noticed is the 
spotted harrier (Circus maculosus), which, measuring 
about 20 inches in length, cannot, with its long legs, long 
wings, long tail, and distinctly marked facial disk or 
ruff, be mistaken for any other bird. The facial disk in 
this form is much more distin£i than in the preceding 
harrier-hawks, and approaches very closely the condition 
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