HEN HARRIER. 
47 
It A PTORES. 
FALCON IDJE 
HEN HARRIER. 
Circus cyaneus. 
PLATE XVI. FIG. II. 
The Hen Harrier breeds chiefly in the marshy dis¬ 
tricts of this country, and was once common in the fens 
of Cambridgeshire: when in such low lands, the nest 
is placed upon the ground, and is formed of so large 
a quantity of flags, sedge, and reeds, as to raise it eighteen 
inches or two feet above the surface, and thus to protect 
the eggs and young ones from the water by which the 
low grounds are often flooded. A correspondent tells 
me that he has known the nest raised in this manner 
nearly four feet from the foundation. 
I copy an interesting account of this species by Sir 
William Jardine, in his edition of “Wilson’s Ornitho¬ 
logy;” speaking of the Hen Harrier, he says, “ The habits 
of those in Great Britain differ considerably according to 
the district they inhabit. In a country possessing a 
considerable proportion of plain and mountain, where 
I have had the greatest opportunities of attending to 
them, they always retire at the commencement of the 
breeding season to the wildest hills, and during this time 
not one individual will be found in the low country. For 
several days previous to commencing their nest, the male 
and female are seen soaring about, as if in search of, 
\ 
or examining, a proper situation; are very noisy, and toy 
and cuff each other in the air. When the place is fixed 
