l<;o 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- 

 tw'o inches. Eggs white, variously marked with pale greenish brown. 



The Buzzard, though ranked very properly among bh'ds belonging 

 to the Falcon tribe, is deficient in the graceful activity which char- 

 acterizes the true Falcons. In sluggishness of 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- 



