{50 COMMON BUZZARD 
COMMON BUZZARD 
BUTEO VULGARIS 
Upper plumage, neck and head, dark brown ; lower, greyish brown, mottled 
with darker brown; tail marked with twelve dark transverse bands ; 
beak lead-coloured ; cere, iris, and feet yellow. Length twenty to twenty- 
two inches. Eggs white, variously marked with pale greenish brown. 
Tue Buzzard, though ranked very properly among birds belonging 
to the Falcon tribe, is deficient in the graceful activity which char- 
acterizes the true Falcons. In sluggishnessof habits it approaches 
the Vultures, and in its soft plumage and mode of flight the Owls ; 
but differs from the former in feeding on live prey as well as carrion, 
and from the latter in its diurnal habits. In form indeed it resembles 
neither, being a bulky broad-winged Hawk, with stout legs and a 
short much-curved beak. It can fly swiftly enough when occasion 
requires, but its favourite custom is to take its station on some 
withered branch, or on the projecting corner of a rock, whence 
it can both obtain a good view of the surrounding country, and, 
when it has digested its last meal, sally forth in quest of a new 
one as soon as a victim comes within its range of observation. 
It pounces on this while on the ground, and pursues its chase with a 
low skimming flight, keeping a sharp look-out for moles, young 
hares and rabbits, mice, reptiles, small birds and insects. At 
times it rises high into the air, and, soaring in circles, examines the 
surface of the ground for carrion. It has neither the spirit nor 
daring of the noble Falcons, submitting patiently to the attacks 
of birds much less than itself, and flying from the Magpie or Jack- 
daw. As an architect the Buzzard displays no more constructive 
skill than other birds of its tribe, building its nest of a few sticks, 
either on a rock or in a tree, and not unfrequently occupying the 
deserted nest of some other bird. It has, however, a redeeming 
point, being a most assiduous nurse. The female sits close, and 
will allow the near approach of an intruder before she leaves her 
eggs. In captivity, strange to say, though by nature having a 
strong inclination for the flesh of chickens, she has been known 
to sit on the eggs of the domestic hen, to hatch a brood, and to 
rear them with as much solicitude as their natural mother could 
have shown, distributing to them morsels of raw meat, not com- 
prehending, of course, their repugnance to such fare, and bearing 
with extreme patience and good humour their unaccountable pre- 
ference for barley and crumbs of bread. The male bird is scarcely 
less affectionate as a parent: an instance being recorded of one, 
which, on the death of his partner, completed the period of incuba- 
