THE HONEY BUZZARD. 115 



bai'S of black brown. The honey buzzard derives its name from the partiality it shows 

 for bees, wasps, and their larvte, as food ; wliile it preys also on small quadrupeds and 

 reptiles, but not when these can be obtamed. 



Thus Sir Wilham Jardine says : — " The distance around Twizel (Berwickshire) appears 

 to have something attractive to this species, for within these few years several specimens 

 have been procui-ed, both in the adult and immature plumage. One of these birds was 

 accidentally observed to rise from the situation of a wasp's nest, which it had been 

 attempting to excavate, or, in fact, to a certain extent had accomphshed ; and the large 

 hole which had been scraped showed that a much gi'cater power could be employed, and 

 that the bird possessed organs much better fitted to remove the obstacles which generally 

 concealed its prey, than a superficial examination of the feet and legs would warrant us 

 in ascribmg to it. A few hours afterwards, the task was found to be entirely completed, 

 the comb torn out and cleared from the hnmatm-e young ; and after dissection proved 

 that at this season (autumn), at least, bii-ds or mammaha formed no part of the food. 

 A steel trap, baited with the comb, sccm-ed the aggi-essor in the course of the next day, 

 when he had returned to renew the scene of his pi-evious havoc." 



In the "Magazine of Natural History," there is a notice of one of these birds, which 

 was shot in Pendring Hall Park, Sufiblk. "The person who killed it saw it first on the 

 gi'ound ; there were several wasps' nests near the spot. On dissecting it," says the 

 WTiter, " I fovmd a quantity of wasps and nymphse from the comb, both in its craw and 

 stomach, with a few small beetles. ... It would be highly interesting could we be 

 made acquainted with the maimer m wliich this bird conducts the attack on the wasps' 

 nest. . . . The hawk, in order to get at the comb, must in some way enlarge the 

 entrance : the legs and claws of the bird I have described were very dirty, even to the 

 knee, most likely from searchmg much on the ground for food, and using them in mak- 

 mg an entrance mto the wasps' nest. . . . The close feathering round the base of 

 the bill is, in all probabihty, intended as a protection agamst the stings of these msects 

 when seized and in the act of bemg crushed between the mandibles." 



Willoughby observes, that " the honey buzzard builds its nest of small twigs, laying 

 upon them wool, and upon the wool its eggs. We saw one that made use of an old 

 kite's nest to breed ui, and that fed its young with nymphge of wasps ; for in the nest 

 we found the comb of wasps' nests, and La the stomachs of the young, fragments of wasp 

 maggots. There were in the nests only two young ones, covered with white down, spotted 

 Avith black. Their feet were of a pale yellow ; their bills, between the nostrDs and the 

 head, white ; their craws large, m which were lizards, frogs, &c. In the crop of one of 

 them we found two lizards entire, with then* heads lying towards the mouth, as if they 

 sought to creep out." 



White teUs us, in his " Natural History of Selborne," that a pan' of honey buzzards 

 built them a large shallow nest, composed of twigs, and lined with dead beechen leaves, 

 upon a small slender beech, near to Selborne Hanger. In the middle of the month of 

 June, a bold boy climbed tliis tree, though standing on so deep and dizzy a situation, 

 and brought down an egg, the only one in the nest, which had been sat on for some 

 time, and contained the embryo of a young bird. The egg was smaller and not so round 

 as the egg of the common buzzard ; was dotted at each end with small red spots, and 

 surrounded in the middle with a broad and blood-red gore. 



The honey buzzard inhaljits Russia, Sweden, Demnark, and Norway. It is found in 

 Germany, France, Italy, and generally in the south of Europe. Mr. Gould observed it 

 in collections of skins from India : and it is said to be a native of the East. 



i2 



