. A history of British birds, indigenous and migratory: including their organization, habits, and relations; remarks on classification and nomenclature; an account of the principal organs of birds, and observations relative to practical ornithology .. . , more rounded, greyish-white, and only dotted withbrown at large intervals; 8dly, In the male and the female be-ing almost precisely similar ; 4thly, In the males having noreddish-brown on the belly or thighs. On this subject I wouldoff^er a few remarks. Young males of the common SparrowHawk often have no red on the lower parts, and in this st
. A history of British birds, indigenous and migratory: including their organization, habits, and relations; remarks on classification and nomenclature; an account of the principal organs of birds, and observations relative to practical ornithology .. . , more rounded, greyish-white, and only dotted withbrown at large intervals; 8dly, In the male and the female be-ing almost precisely similar ; 4thly, In the males having noreddish-brown on the belly or thighs. On this subject I wouldoff^er a few remarks. Young males of the common SparrowHawk often have no red on the lower parts, and in this stateare very similar to old females ; individuals of either sex varyas much as to render the tail of one two inches longer thanthat of another individual of the same sex. As to the eggs,one finds in the same nest a large egg and one considerablysmaller, a blotched egg, an egg merely dotted, and an egg al-most destitute of markings. The colouring as above givendiffers in nothing from that of many common Sparrow Hawks,excepting in the white spots on the head, and the differentnumber of bands on the tail, both of which circumstances maybe incorrectly stated. Finally, however, it is very possible thattwo species may be confounded under the same 363 CIRCUS. HARRIER. The birds which constitute the genus Circus are remarkablefor presenting characters indicative of an approximation to theOwls on the one hand, and on the other to the Hawks, pro-perly so called, and the Buzzards. The bill is short, as broad as high at the base, compressedand attenuated toward the end : upper mandible with its dor-sal outline declinate and nearly straight as far as the edge of thecere, then decurved in about the fourth of a circle, the ridgeon the cere broad and flattened, afterwards narrow but convex,the sides rapidly sloping and moderately convex, the edges witha broad festoon, the tip deflected, subtrigonal, acute ; lowermandible with the angle medial, wide, and rounded, the crurasloping upwards
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookidhistoryofbr, booksubjectbirdsgreatbritain
