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Show 314 MR. A. ANDERSON ON THE [Mar. 21, 51. CIRCUS SWAINSONII, Smith. A young male of this species which I shot on the 25th October last, close to Futtebgurh, is very interesting, as it illustrates the manner in which the light grey plumage of the adult male is gradually assumed. The rufous head and rust-coloured markings on the underparts of this specimen, which was sexed by myself, indicate that the juvenile dress of the young male resembles in some degree that of the female. I have recently had an opportunity of examining another young male, belonging to Mr. Brooks, which is in a still further advanced stage, having only the forehead rufous. The irides of the Futtehgurh-killed bird were bright yellow, as in fully adult specimens ; the legs and feet were light yellow; tbe bill and claws were black ; and the cere was greenish yellow. *52. CIRCUS CINERACEUS, Montagu. Jerdon's statement j* " equally abundant with the last . . ."and, again, " I have found it in every part of India " requires modification as regards the deltaic portion of the North-western Provinces, an area comprising several thousand square miles. In this part of the country, although C. swainsonii is extremely common everywhere, C. cineraceus can only be considered in the light of an occasional straggler ; and as the capture I am about to record throws some light on the geographical range, plumage, and food of this species, it is of interest in more ways than one. Returning to my camp late in the evening of the 12th March, through an extensive tract of stiff dry grass from two to three feet high, I suddenly disturbed a large gathering of Harriers that had evidently settled on the reed beds for the night. There could not have been less than forty birds, inclusive of a few short-eared Owls that were closely packed in that one spot. As they circled overhead I recogniztd Circus aruginosus in all shades and colours ; there was also a fair sprinkling of C. swainsonii, male and female. Being at the time on the qui vive for strangely coloured Harriers, I singled out aud brought down what appeared to me on the wing to be a bird that could hardly be referred to the latter species. It fell from a good height on to the edge of a dry pond, rupturing its crop, which was very much distended and literally crammed with the callow young and eggs of Galerida cristata and Pyrrhulauda grisea, the majority of these dainty morsels having been swallowed entire. The specimen underwent a critical examination by candlelight; and great was my delight when, instead of the common C. swainsonii, I found that my list could now boast of the addition of a fine adult male example of Montagu's Harrier. The plumage accords with Yarrell's description of the adult male-with this notable exception, however, that in m y specimen the whole of the underparts, from the chin to the under tail-coverts, are uniform with the .mantle, viz. bluish grey, dashed with longitudinal streaks of orange on tbe vent t Cf. 'Birds of Indin,' vol. i. p. 98. |
