72 CATALOGUE OF BIRDS, 



CASE R 



THE BUZZARD. 



Order, Accipitres. Family, Falconidce. 



What a difference between this bird and the 

 Peregrine Falcon in character ! Amongst all the 

 Hawks of which I have any practical knowledge 

 the Buzzard is the most timid, and I may say 

 contemptible coward. This opinion will be found to 

 be fully justified after a perusal of all the difficulty I 

 experienced in obtaining the specimen. 



There is no doubt that the species is not nearly 

 so plentiful as it used to be ; probably owing to its 

 destruction by gamekeepers, who by no means are 

 agreed about its being perfectly harmless in its 

 habits. One prey I can vouch for myself as to its 

 being very fond of, and that is young rabbits. 



Howard Saunders says : " That at one time the 

 Buzzard used to be very plentiful in Norfolk, and 

 other counties where there was much ground-game 

 and partridges, but with the increase of pheasant- 

 worship the bird's doom was sealed," 



So far as I can gather from personal observation 

 it is more in evidence in Scotland and Wales 

 than elsewhere, for I have come across it in 

 both those countries wherever suitable localities 

 existed. The nests that I have seen have usually 

 been on the face of a cliff with a lot of overhanging 

 growth. Ivy, for instance, is a favourite nesting 

 site ; the bird also builds in trees where the district 

 is woodland. The nest itself is a very large bulky 



