196 NEW ZEALAND NATURE-STUDY BOOK 
creamy white crossed with reddish brown stripes. The 
brownish white of the thighs is marked with reddish brown 
streaks and spots. The head is low, somewhat broad, and 
depressed, and the eye is large, round, and yellow. The 
beak is hooked, the upper mandible projecting beyond the 
lower one in an abrupt curve, and ending in a sharp 
point. The legs are long and muscular and end in four 
toes, three in front and one behind, each of which is armed 
with a strong sharp claw. The Tail is relatively long and 
when expanded is almost square behind. The wings are 
large and powerful, reaching in average specimens from 
sixteen to seventeen inches in length. 
In its movements the Harrier seldom appears to be 
hurried, flying slowly and noiselessly along the fern-clad 
ridges in search of prey. In its mode of pouncing on its 
prey it discloses peculiar craftiness. It will pretend to 
pass over its victim, then suddenly turn, wheel, and rush 
noiselessly to the ground. It plucks its spoil carefully, 
and picks the bones clean. It often visits the fowl-yard 
carrying off the young birds, and has been known to attack 
and capture full-grown fowls. Offal and garbage are its 
principal foods. One of its chief delights is to ransack 
a duck’s nest, robbing and eating the eggs. Lizards, 
cicadas, grasshoppers, crickets, and other insects, as well 
as rabbits, rats, and mice, are also on its bill of fare. 
The Harrier, though at times a troublesome marauder, is 
not a courageous bird. It has been known to be beaten 
off by the oyster-catcher, the gull, and even by a flock 
of sparrows. 
For a breeding place the birds usually select a low-lying 
situation, among swamps, though nests have been found 
at considerable elevations where a patch of toi-toi grass 
and a few flax-bushes offered reasonable shelter. When 
the nest is approached, the bird does not attempt any 
