BUZZARDS. 593 
They do not chase their prey when it is on the wing, but secrete 
themselves, where they wait until a victim passes within reach. When 
thus occupied, they will remain for several hours in the most complete 
immobility, presenting an air of lethargy which has become pro- 
verbial. This stupid look is owing to their nonchalant and apathetic 
attitude, and also to the weakness of their eyes, which are affected 
by strong light. 
They generally build their nests on the loftiest trees, occasionally 
in thickets of brushwood growing among rocks. When frost occurs 
they visit farm-yards and make forays upon poultry. If pressed by 
hunger, they become excessively bold. Their general food consists 
of small birds, rodents, serpents, insects, and sometimes corn. They 
are easily tamed. M. Degland mentions one which lived in perfect 
good fellowship with a sporting dog, and even went so far as to 
share its food. Buffon also speaks of another which was so attached 
to its master that it could not be happy unless in his company ; 
it was present at all his meals, when it would caress him with its head 
and bill; and, although this bird always enjoyed the most complete 
liberty, every evening it returned to roost on the window-sill. One 
day when its master was riding on horseback, it followed him for 
more than two leagues, hovering over him in the air. 
Mr. Yarrell relates of these birds, which are much attached to 
their progeny, that in the town of Uxbridge a Buzzard kept ina 
domestic state having manifested a desire for building, the means 
were furnished, and two hen eggs placed under her. The young 
chickens were hatched, and reared as if they had been her own. On 
another occasion, in order to save her the trouble of sitting, some 
chickens just hatching were placed in her nest; these she killed, 
evidently feeling that she was not allied to them by any maternal tie. 
The principal species are the Common Buzzard (Buteo vulgaris, 
Fig. 278), which is found all over Europe—it was until lately very 
common in England ; the Honey Buzzard (Pernzs apivorus), a native 
of Eastern Europe—this bird is partial to bees, wasps, and their 
larvee, of which its food principally consists, it will also eat grain, 
and, in a domestic state, fruit; and the Rough-legged Buzzard 
(Archibuteo lagopus), so called on account of the feathers which 
cover its tarsi down to the toes, it is a native of Europe, Africa, 
and North America. Ptarmigans are their favourite food, so cold 
climates are their principal habitat. 
The birds which belong to the Harrier genus are characterised by 
long and slender tarsi, covered with feathers on the upper portion 
ouly, and also by a sort of collar formed of closely-planted feathers, 
