THE COMMON BUZZARD 127 



about lat. 60° north in Scandinavia southwards to 

 the Mediterranean, the valley of the Danube, the 

 Black Sea, and the Volga Delta. In North Africa 

 it is replaced by nearly allied forms, but the 

 typical species seems to be the one that breeds on 

 the Canary Islands. In the extreme north it is a 

 migrant, but in the southern areas it is resident. 



The Common Buzzard is a resident in the British 

 Islands — that is to say, the indigenous individuals. 

 In its habits it is somewhat sluggish, wanting the 

 nimble movements and the impetuous dash that 

 characterise the Falcons and the Hawks. Its flight 

 is usually slow and laboured, the wings beaten 

 deliberately; but on occasion the bird displays 

 some exceptionally fine aerial movements, as, for 

 instance, when it ascends in a spiral manner to a 

 vast height, usually in the breeding season, and 

 above the woods that contain its nest. It hunts 

 for food in a very patient manner, often sitting on 

 a fence or bare limb of a tree waiting: for some 

 small animal to appear, which it drops down upon 

 and secures. Its food consists very largely of 

 field mice (a nest visited by Seebohm contained no 

 less than eleven field mice), frogs, small snakes, 

 and rarely birds. Indeed, this Buzzard is of as 

 much service to the agriculturist as the Owl, and 



