THE TRUE BUZZARDS. 



149 



coalesce with the range of Buteo desertonwi, or the intermediate 

 form known as B. ziinmermaiifice. In Scandinavia it breeds 

 as far as 60° N. lat, but its eastern range is beheved to be 

 the Baltic Provinces and the Vistula. It is, to a great extent, 

 a migratory species in the autumn, and passes over Heligoland 

 in great flights, and in Southern Europe it is decidedly local as 

 a breeding species, and in the Mediterranean countries it again 

 meets its rufous ally^ B. desertorwn. 



Habits. — The food of the Buzzard consists largely of field- 

 mice, frogs, reptiles, especially slow-worms, and occasionally 

 small birds. It will therefore be admitted by all that this Rap- 

 torial bird is of great use in keeping down small vermin, and, 

 like the Barn-Owls, ought to be rigorously protected, and not 

 shot down, as is, unfortunately, too often the case with both 

 species. In Germany the utility of the Buzzard in forest dis- 

 tricts is better recognised. 



In its ways the Buzzard is rather a sluggish bird, and may 

 often be seen sitting motionless, sometimes for hours together, 

 on a tree or on the ground, only moving when it sees a mouse 

 or other small prey. At other times it circles high in the air, 

 uttering its plaintive, squealing cry; and when in flight the 

 action of the bird is described by all observers to be imposing 

 and graceful. 



Nest. — The nest is generally placed in a tree, but sometimes 

 on rocks, and one, taken in Ross-shire a few years ago, is in 

 the British Museum. The birds had built their rough nest of 

 sticks on the floor of a small hollow in the cliff, in a well shel- 

 tered situation. The nest is made of rough and ragged sticks 

 for a foundation, with more slender twigs on the top, and is 

 rather flat. A curious habit of the bird is to line the nest 

 with green leaves, which it evidently renews from time to 

 time. Mr. Seebohm found this lining of green leaves in ten 

 out of eleven nests, some of which contained eggs and some 

 young birds ; and it was only in a nest in which the young ones 

 were far advanced that the lining was absent. Buzzards, how- 

 ever, are not the only Birds of Prey which line their nests with 

 green leaves, but the object of this proceeding is not clear. 



Eggs. — From two to four in number, generally three. The 



