292 



NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



a precipitous mud-bank on the border of a stream or lake. The eggs vary in number 

 from three to five, and are of a creamy-white color, sometimes with faint and obscure 

 darker blotches, usually quite heavily marked with spots and dashes of brown. 



The last group of this suUfaiiiily which we shall take up is the genus Hitteo, 

 Mhich includes the true buzzards, the number of which varies according to the esti- 

 mates of different authorities as to varieties and geographical races. I'robably tiiere 

 are at least twenty-five well-marked sjiecics distributeil in all parts of the world, 

 except Australia, and jierhajjs half this number are found in America. 



The common ' hen-hawks ' (liuteo borealis and li. IhicaUis) of the eastern United 

 States are familiar examples of the genus, and represent about the average size. Their 





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mmm 



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Flo. 137. — Buleo vulgaris, common buzzard. 



habits are too well known to need extended description, and they may "be seen, sum- 

 mer or winter, sweejiing in graceful curves over the country, rising and fallins in 

 spirals, unless after noting i>rcy, when they sometimes dart down hundreds of yards in 

 a very few seconds. Although they feed much on birds and rabbits, and arc frequent 

 visitors to the farm-yard, they sci-m to have a sjiecinl jucdilection for squirrels ; and 

 in regions extensively wooded with jiines, where the red-squirrel is most abundant, 

 these noisy little rodents must form a large part of the Buteo's food. 



Probably the white-tailed buzzard, B. pteroclea {ulhocaiidatus) of South America 

 rejiresents nearly the ni.ixiimun size in the genus, its length being about two feet, the 

 wing eighteen and one h.alf inches, and tail seven ; but females of the Afric.in .and 

 Himalayan B. ferox, which is not uncommon in soulh-casti'rn Europe, sometimes 



