The birds of the reed-land know this raider well, and as soon as the first flap of his wing is heard the terrified Lapwings, Gulls, Terns, and others, arise with loud cries and attack him tooth and nail. When brooding it lives almost exclusively by egg stealing; later on the moor hens afford provender for this insatiable thief. It leaves Hungary for the winter, but returns in early spring. Its cry varies. In spring it is “kei, kei,” in autumn it is like that of the Jay. The female utters a loud “pitz! pitz.”
This bird is common in the Hungarian marshes.
The drainage of our Eastern fens and the reclaiming of marshland in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Shropshire, Dorset, Somerset, and some other counties once frequented by this bird has caused it to become scarce where formerly it used to breed freely. Sometimes a pair having wandered over from Holland will try to rear a brood in our Norfolk Broads district, but the sportsman—sic—and the collector will not allow them to succeed. In Ireland the bird was formerly common enough about Lough Erne, along the Shannon valley, in Co. Cork, and other districts, but during the last fifty years the gamekeepers have nearly exterminated it by poison. It is known to be a great destroyer of the eggs and young of Waterfowl, but during most of the year it feeds on small mammals, frogs, and reptiles as well as birds.
This is the Duck-Hawk of the marshmen. When the sun is glinting through the mist he may be seen gliding hither and thither, low down over the grey-green flats. At noon he is high up in the clear blue sky. The tender young ducks—called “flappers” are his favourite diet.
Jean Ingelow, in “The Four Bridges,” says:
“The bold Marsh-Harrier wets her tawny breast—
We scared her oft in childhood from her prey.”
The Marsh-Harrier is smaller and noticeably slimmer in build than the Buzzard. The tail is long, the legs are long, thin, and bare of feathers, and the claws sharp. The Head has something about it that suggests an Owl, for the facial disk is conspicuous and the eyes glance forwards as well as to the side. The bird’s plumage is brown, very dark in places: but the head is light-coloured, being whitish in males and yellowish in females. Inhabiting reed-beds, the bird builds its nest among reed-stems or bulrushes. The eggs, five or less frequently six in number, are greenish-white in colour.
The Hen-Harrier.
(Circus cyaneus.)
The nest of the Hen-Harrier is built of roots and plant stems, is soft within and is often placed on the ground; if in heather, or dried up marsh, it is often a foot high. From four to six bluish-white eggs, sometimes yellowish-brown or rufous markings, are laid.
This bird of prey has a light, sweeping flight. It leaves Hungary in winter. It hunts alone and takes its food exclusively from the ground. This consists of small mammals, especially mice, the bird is also particularly fond of robbing the nests of such birds as build on the ground; it sucks the eggs and devours the small downy creatures within them. It also takes the little hares—in short, it is one of the most destructive birds in the fields which it frequents and hunts over untiringly. On the other hand, there comes a time when the number of field mice has increased beyond measure. Then the Hen-Harrier joins the other birds of prey and destroys enormous numbers of those enemies of the farmer. For this reason the species should not be altogether exterminated.