32 Northern Observations of Inland Birds 



could be made so sensitive, and upon this sensitiveness 

 the whole flight of the bird, also the whole principle 

 involved, is hinged. Therefore it would seem that we 

 would do well to leave bird flight out of our reckonings 

 and to work out our air problems on our own lines and 

 to meet our few available methods. 



So far as I can ascertain the buzzard feeds chiefly on 

 burrowing rodents, large insects, and small reptiles. 

 They are not so much addicted to carrion eating as eagles, 

 but still they are more given to the habit than most 

 observers think. I have known one to rear its young within 

 half a mile of the carcass of a sheep, conspicuous on the 

 skyline, but never to touch the carcass ; yet I have seen 

 buzzard's feathers, together with those of crows or ravens, 

 clinging to the heather surrounding a carcass. In many 

 parts of the New World the buzzards live almost entirely 

 on carrion, and there is no special reason why our buzzards 

 should differ from those of other lands in this respect. 

 Most of its food the buzzard plucks from the ground and 

 swallows while flying. Its descent is usually slow, and I' 

 have often wondered why its prey, particularly in deep 

 heather, does not get out of the way. One day a buzzard 

 rose from a narrow gully along the brow of which I was 

 walking, and alighted in a whitethorn near. It had a 

 very young rabbit in its talons, and heedless of my 

 proximity began to feed on it. Usually the bird builds 

 among broken crags, often in woodlands, and as a rule 

 its eggs, unlike those of the peregrine, are visible from 

 above and easy to reach. The eyrie shown in the photo- 

 graph was situated in the wooded slopes of the Bennan 

 overlooking Loch Ken. 



