CIRCUS ÆRUGINO SUS
Marsh-Harrier.
I'alco ‘fntatnnms. Lion. Faun. Suec., p. 23.
rn/ns. Gmel. edit. Linn. Syst. Nat., tom. i. p. 266.
Circus arupmosus, iiavig. Descr. de l’Egypte, Hist'. Nat., tom. i. p. 90.
—— ru/us, Sayig. ibid., p. 91.
, Pail. Zoog. Ross.-Asiat., tom. i. p. 362.
Sykes, Proc. of Comm, of Sei. and Corr., 1832, p. 81.
ar. utdtfus, Less. Compl. Buff., tom. vii. p. 155.
Less, ibid., p. 1 6 1 .
as, Ffeca. Hist, of Brit. Anim., p. 55.
uosus, Koch, Syst. der Baier. Zool., p. 119.
Kaup, Class, der Säugeth. und Vög., p. 113.
:nyns, Man. Brit. Vert. Anim., p. 88.
T h a t the physical condition o f a country determines the birds, reptiles, and insects which resort thereto, is
evident to every naturalist ; for he sees th at the low fenny portions o f our globe, its hills, and woodlands are
frequented by forms peculiar to each. Harriers generally inhabit open wastes, moorlauds, and flat sedgy
d istric ts; but the bird here represented, which is one o f the largest members of the genus Ctrois, resorts
more particularly to the great marshy depressions of the countries wherein it is destined to dwell. In
Britain it was always more abundant in Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Huntingdon, and Lincolnshire than
elsewhere, those parts, in fact, which are*opposite to the Low Countries (Belgium and Holland); but the
draining process, which has converted our fens and rush-beds into fields o f waving oats, has sadly
interfered with its comforts by depriving i t o f its natural feeding-grounds; wherever such transformations
have been effected, a death-blow to the Marsh-Harrier was. the consequence. In Holland, however,
there are districts in which the conditions favourable to its existence remain unchanged; and there it still
dwells in comparative security, and readily obtains its usual food o f reptiles, insects, small quadrupeds, fish,
and young marsh-birds; there it still flaps over the tops o f the reed-beds, o r buoyantly flies up and
down the open marsh in pursuit o f its prey. How different are its actions from those of the fleet chase-
giving Falcons, the lazy offal-feeding Kites, or the pouncing Hawks! The Rev. R. Lubbock, in his
• Observations on the Fauna o f Norfolk,’ published in 1845, s a y s “ the Marsh Harrier might, twenty years
back, have been termed the Norfolk Hawk, so generally was it dispersed among the broads. Almost every
pool o f any extent had its pair o f these birds; they consumed the day in beating round and round the reeds
which skirted the wa te r; this was done for hours incessantly. All the birds wounded by the sportsmen fell
to his share. He was, as it were, the genius loci, the sovereign o f the waste; but, although still often to
be met with, he has, like all his congeners, receded before the gun o f the gamekeeper; the curse of his
race is iu**t him. I once kept one o f these birds in confinement. I t was full-grown when tak en ; its
courage jind ferocity were very great, perpetually endeavouring to attack those who went close to its mew.
It kitted a large land-rat, put into its cage uninjured, in an instant. Sir T. Browne represents it as
occasionally e a rn in g off the young o f the o tte r to feed its nestlings with. I have fo u n d lh e nest amongst a
butiefc . «.« is - Burton fen with two young. Mr. Gould fir-st, I believe, noticed the ( l e y tinge which old
ti.js s«e, W8 assume, somewhat similar to the colouring o f the Hen-Harrier. This, I think, must
occur ««is in very oW specimens. I never remember having seeu it but once in any specimen upon the w ing;
and fcruwri* on tin- larger broads one o r two were sure to be observed in the course o f the day. At the
time I f u s i o n o f the sun caused the bird to look greyish, but am inclined now to think that
. o f r^ ituagi- mentioned by M r. Gould. In decoys this is a most troublesome bird, keeping
*i;«rh continual restlessness that the decoy man can do nothing with them.
If we *lw various writers on British Birds (Yarrell, MacGillivray, Thompson, and Morris), or the
local faun»» tW; lw*e been written of most of our counties, we shall find that the Marsh-Harrier has a place
in the whole In Cornwall. Mr. Rodd tells us, it is “ rare throughout the whole county; a few
snecimeti* have bee«' procured at the l«»nd*8-end, Boswharton Moor, and Lamorna; but the specie
to become more rare e-rerv year.” Thompson states that it is found and is resident in all suitable UhiIjmos iii
Ireland and as fee expected from the nature of the country, is of more frequent occurrence there than
in Scotland where MarUMhvruy informs us that it is very rare in the northern and m iH k