FAIXONID.^. 



313 





THE rough-le(;gku buzzard. 



PiuTEO la(;6pus (J. F. Ciinelin). 



The Rough-legged Buzzard — distinguishable at a glance from 

 the preceding species by having the front and sides of the legs 

 feathered to the toes — is an irregular autumnal visitor to England ; 

 considerable numbers, chiefly immature birds, sometimes making 

 their appearance in the eastern counties, and, if unmolested, remain- 

 ing for the winter. In the southern and western districts it is less 

 frequent; but it is not rare in the midlands, and its line of migra- 

 tion appears to follow the Pennine range. In some of the northern 

 and eastern parts of Scotland it is of almost annual occurrence ; 

 and in the winters of 1875-76 and 1880-81, it was very numerous 

 in the south. To Ireland, however, its visits have only been 

 recorded some six or seven times. The often-repeated statement 

 that the Rough-legged Buzzard nested "year after year, on the 

 ground, amongst the heather, in the moor-dells," near Hackness, in 

 Yorkshire, rests upon a gamekeeper's recollections of twenty-four 

 years back, and is so contrary to the known habits of the bird, that 



