The brood consists of four or five eggs, round in shape, and having delicate shells; these are of a greenish white colour, sometimes marked with very tiny spots and streaks, but are entirely without lustre. The young are reared upon mice, small birds, frogs, and insects. THE REED KITE, OR MARSH HARRIER. [Illustration: THE REED KITE OR MARSH HARRIER (_Circus rufus_).] The REED KITE, or MARSH HARRIER (_Circus rufus_), closely resembles the birds above described in its general construction, but its beak is longer and more powerful, and its tarsi more robust; the facial disc, moreover, is only slightly indicated. Its length is twenty-one inches, of which ten belong to the tail; its breadth varies from forty to fifty inches. The female is from one and a half to two inches longer, and three broader than her mate. The plumage of the adult male is often much variegated. The top of the head and brow are brown; the cheeks and throat are covered with pale yellow feathers, having dark shafts; the upper part of the breast is yellow, streaked with brown, and the feathers on the under part of the body are rust colour, tipped with a light shade; most of the secondary quills, and all the tail-feathers, are grey. In the female the top of the head and nape are yellow, striped with brown, the rest of the mantle is reddish brown; the shoulder and upper wing-covers of the axillary region are yellow, streaked with brown; the throat is yellow, the cheeks and fore part of the body reddish brown. The young are usually dark brown, with yellow heads, but vary much in their plumage. The feet of all are pale yellow; the beak is black; the eye of the adult bird yellow; that of the young, nut brown. It is at present uncertain to what countries the habitat of this species is restricted, as it has been occasionally met with in many parts of the world. Marshy districts afford its favourite retreats, and it is constantly seen in the vicinity of water or bog land, carefully avoiding high, dry plains, or mountainous regions. During the winter this Harrier is one of the commonest birds of India and Egypt. It reaches Europe about March, and at once takes possession of its appropriate haunts. In its mode of life and habits it so closely resembles the Blue Kite that further description would be mere repetition. Its food consists principally of water and marsh birds, frogs, fish, and insects; according to Jerdon, it will also eat shrew mice and water rats. Large eggs it opens with great dexterity, small ones are devoured whole; with Swan's eggs it appears to be unable to grapple, for Naumann mentions having seen a Reed Kite turning them over, and vainly endeavouring to get at the interior: it is no doubt from fear of this voracious enemy that many birds are at such pains to conceal their nests. From the breeding season until autumn this species pursues all kinds of Water Fowl with insatiable avidity; it is in vain