330 THE BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



shot when hovering over a Pheasant, but that does not prove 

 that it would have attacked so large a bird. 



Every effort is now made to preserve any Honey-Buzzards 

 which reach the New Forest in spring, but apparently protec- 

 tion has come too late, and within the last thirty years or 

 so but few have nested. High prices were given for these 

 "British-taken" eggs, and Saunders states that nearly ;^4o 

 was paid for a pair and nesthngs. The nest is usually built 

 upon the old nest of some other species or on a squirrel-drey ; 

 its chief characteristic is the lining of fresh green leaves and 

 twigs which are sometimes woven into the outer fabric and 

 renewed from time to time. The eggs, usually two or three 

 in number, are very handsome, and consequently coveted by 

 collectors ; they are white, boldly blotched and smeared with 

 rich chestnut or red ; sometimes the markings almost obscure 

 the white (Plate 145). As in most raptorial eggs the colour is 

 not "fast," and if they get wet are smudged by the sitting bird. 



Most raptorial birds are variable in plumage, none more so 

 than the Honey-Buzzard. A usual type is shown on the plate — 

 grey on the head, brown on the back, white spotted and barred 

 wdth brown beneath, The barring on the tail varies in width 

 and number of bars. Some birds, described as a dark form, 

 are mostly brown on the under parts. The young have often 

 a whitish head and the feathers of the upper parts edged with 

 pale brown, and the tail is mottled and barred. In other 

 immiature birds the head is brown. The lores are closely 

 feathered in both young and old, and this may possibly save 

 them from the attacks of wasps, for in many raptorial birds 

 this portion is only protected by bristles. The bill and claws 

 are black, the cere lead-blue, the legs and irides yellow. Most 

 authorities say that the female is slightly larger than the male, 

 but Sharpe gives her measurements as less ; as the bird varies 

 in size as well as plumage there is no invariable rule. Length, 

 22 to 25 ins. Wing, 15 to 17 ins. Tarsus, 2 ins. 



