FALCONID^E, 



329 



\V ^ 





THE HONEY-BUZZARD. 



Pernis APivoRUS (Linnaeus). 



The Honey-Buzzard is a regular visitor for breeding purposes to 

 those wooded districts of Europe which lie between 43° N. lat. and 

 the Arctic circle. A certain number visit Great Britain in May and 

 June, and the fact that some remain to nest with us has been known 

 since the days of Willughby ; while, on the return passage in autumn, 

 examples, mostly young, have been obtained in England up to the 

 latter part of November ; and on the east coast of Scotland — accord- 

 ing to R. Gray — instances have even occurred in the depth of winter. 

 To Wales and the neighbouring side of England it rarely wanders, 

 but it has bred as far west as Herefordshire, and its nests have been 

 found at intervals in various counties, from Hampshire to Aberdeen- 

 shire. About i860 it was known that several pairs annually resorted 

 to the New Poorest ; ;^5 soon became the standard price which col- 

 lectors of ' British ' specimens were willing to pay for a couple of 

 well-marked eggs ; and to these inducements were added such ex- 

 travagant sums as nearly ^40 for the pair of old birds. By about 

 1870 the birds which had not been killed were driven away : and if 



