HONEY BUZZARD. 



PERNIS APIVORUS. 



Top of the head ash-grey ; neck and back greyish brown ; throat yellowish 

 white, with brown spots ; breast white, marked with triangular brown spots ; 

 tail with three brownish black bars ; beak and claws black ; cere grey ; irides 

 and toes yellow. Female — upper plumage reddish bro%vn with darker spots ; 

 lower pale yellowish red with dark brown spots. Length : male twenty-four 

 inches ; female twenty-six inches. Eggs yellowish white, blotched with 

 reddish brown. 



On the Continent, the Honey Buzzard is a migratory bird, 

 common enough in the middle of France and on the banks 

 of the Loire, where it breeds, and passing to the south at 

 the approach of winter. Like others of the Hawk tribe, 

 it preys on reptiles, the smaller warm-blooded animals, 

 and on insects. Its Latin specific name — Apivorus (bee- 

 eating) — is more correct than its English prefix, Honey ; 

 but a more accurate title than either would be, Vespivorus 



