54 BIRDS. ACCIPITRES. Buteo. 



tinguish this species from the other British Accipitres. Female, with the plu- 

 mage, above, brown, with pale margins ; beneath, yellowish-brown, with lon- 

 gitudinal dark spots. The two middle tail feathers with dark cinereous and 

 blackish bands. In this state, it is the Falco pygargus of Linnaeus, and the 

 Ring-tail of British ornithologists. Willoughby had hinted at their identity, 

 Om. p. 40. ; and Barington seems to have admitted it, Phil. Trans. 1770, 

 p. 14; but it was Montagu who removed all doubts on the subject. Breeds 

 in furse and heath. Eggs 4 or 5, bluish white, and without spots. Young 

 like the female. This species flies near the ground, and is very destructive 

 to poultry and game. 



Gen. XIII. BUTEO. Buzzard— Wings and tail long, the 

 latter rounded. 



a. The fourth quillfcather longest. 

 (a.) Wings reaching nearly to the end of the tail. 



21. B. vulgaris. Common Buzzard. — Upper quarter of the 

 tarsi feathered. Nostrils round ; the margin of the upper man- 

 dible slightly waved. 



Will. Orn. 38. Sibb. Scot. 15 — Buzzard, Perm. Brit. Zool. i. 180 — Falco 

 buteo, Temm. i. 63. — E, Puttock; W, Bod teircail; G, CJamhan. — 

 Common, near large woods. 



Length 21, breadth 50 inches; weight 32 pounds. Bill bluish, cere, irides, 

 and feet yellow. Plumage, above, deep brown, with pale margins; below, 

 greyish-brown, with darker spots, sometimes with cross bars of white, scarcely 

 apparent on the throat, but increasing on the breast, belly, and vent. Thighs 

 plain dusky-brown on the outside, more rufous on the hiside. The first four 

 quills, with the inner webs abbreviated and black towards the extremity. 

 Tail-feathers dusky, with pale tips and brown bars ; a little longer than the 

 wings. Breeds in trees. Eggs 2 or 3, size of those of a hen, white, with 

 rusty spots at the larger end. The young have the plumage light brown, 

 variegated with white and yellow ; throat and belly white, the latter with 

 longitudinal large spots. Feeds on rabbits and birds, pouncing its prey on the 

 ground. 



22. B. Lagopus. Rough-legged Buzzard.— Tarsi feathered 

 nearly to the toes. 



Bough-legged Falcon, Penn. Brit. Zool. ii. G23. Monl. Orn. Diet — Falco 



Lagopus, Temm. i. 65 — In England, rare, Leverian Museum ; Kent, Dr 



Latham; Suffolk, Montagu. 



Length 19 to 27 inches. Bill and claws black ; cere and feet yellow ; irides 



browm Head, neck, throat, breast, and thighs yellowish-white, with large 



streaks of brown. Back dark-brown, with yellowish margins. Belly with a 



large brown spot; the rest beneath yellowish-white. Quills white at the 



base, dusky at the ends. Tail, with the basal half, white ; then a broad brown 



band ; the tips whitish. In the female, the head, neck, and tail are whiter ; 



the sides and belly browner. Breeds hi trees. Eggs 4, clouded with red. 



Young have brown spots above, varied with white, with a stripe of the same 



colour over the eye. Tail with three bands near the end. Feeds on glires 



and frogs. It is frequent hi the north of Europe. 



(b.) Wings much shorter than the tail (The Accipiter of Wil- 

 loughby ; Astur and Nisus of Cuvier.J 



23. B. Palumbarws. Goshawk. — Tarsi short. A white line 

 over the eye. 



