148 Allen's naturalist's library. 



white ; under surface of body yellowish-white ; the breast, 

 sides of body, and thighs more uniform brown, clouding the 

 whole of these portions of the under-parts ; primary-quills 

 dark brown, externally shaded with n shy-grey, with distinct bars 

 of darker brown, less plainly indicated on the secondaries, 

 which are paler brown like the back, the inner webs of all the 

 quills white for two-thirds of their length ; tail ashy-brown, 

 with a rufous shade towards the tip, and crossed with twelve 

 or thirteen bands of darker brown ; cere yellow ; bill bluish- 

 black, darker towards the tip ; feet yellow; iris yellowish-brown. 

 Total length, 22 inches; culmen, 1*45; wing, i5*o ; tail, 9-0; 

 tarsus, 3'i. 



Adult Female. — Similar to the male, and very little larger. 

 Total length, 23 inches; wing, 16*5 ; tail, 9-5 ; tarsus, 3-1. 



Young Birds. — The young of the Common Buzzard is always 

 much paler than the adults, and frequently has the head and 

 under surface of the body creamy-white, with a few streaks and 

 spots of brown. 



I consider all these light-coloured birds to be immature, 

 though some ornithologists regard this pale plumage as indica- 

 tive of albinism, and the darker forms to be melanistic. While 

 admitting that Buzzards have a tendency to melanism, my ex- 

 perience has been that the birds grow darker with age, and have 

 few^er bars on the tail than when they are young. 



Range in Great Britain. — The Common Buzzard is by no means 

 so plentiful in the British Islands as it used to be, owing to the 

 ill-advised way in which it has been shot down by game-pre- 

 servers. In Scotland and Wales, however, it is still to be found 

 in the wilder districts, and in many parts of England specimens 

 are obtained on migration : these are mostly young birds. In 

 Ireland Mr. R. J. Ussher says that in Donegal, Londonderry, 

 Antrim, and Down, where it was formerly recorded by Thomp- 

 son as resident, it has now been nearly exterminated, and the 

 bird is, therefore, as rare in its ancient habitat as it is in 

 England. 



Range outside the British Islands. — Commonly distributed over 

 the greater part of Western Europe, but its eastern range is by 

 no means satisfactorily determined, as in Russia it appears to 



