BUZZARD. él 
notice of the fact of its migration in this country, communicated 
to him in the year 1847, by his brother, then residing at 
Coleford, in the forest of Dean, in Gloucestershire. I must 
observe that the letter was not originally intended to be 
published. 
‘Coleford, 1847. 
I have a curious circumstance in ornithology to tell you. 
There is no account that I have heard of relating particularly 
to the migration of some of the Hawks, proving them to as- 
semble in flocks for the purpose of migration, and going off 
together in large parties like Swallows, but of this I have 
positive proof in the Common Buzzard. On the 2nd. of 
August, 1847, just at sunset, we were assembled in the yard 
to the number of five persons; we were busily engaged talking 
on a fine bright evening: the air was filled as far as we could 
see, (about forty yards to the north, and one hundred to the 
south,) with great Hawks, all proceeding together steadily and 
slowly to the westward. Those immediately above us were 
within gunshot of the top of the house—with large shot I 
might have brought some down from where I stood. The 
man called them Shreaks—a common name for the Wood 
Buzzard. The evening was so bright, and they were so near, 
that I saw them as plain as if they were in my hand. They 
were flying in little parties of from two to five, all these 
little parties flying so close together that their wings almost 
touched, whilst each little party was separated from the next 
about fifteen or twenty yards: fourteen parties passed imme- 
diately over us that 1 counted, but as I did not begin to 
count them at first, and as 1 have no doubt the flock extended 
beyond the boundary of jour view, I cannot tell how many 
the flock consisted of. On this day a remarkable change 
occurred in the weather, which may have caused an early 
migration.’ 
Again, the same gentleman writing from Coleford in the 
following year, 1848, says— 
‘Coleford, 1848. 
I last year wrote you a history of the migration of large 
parties of the Great Wood Buzzard. ‘This year, on the 29th. 
of July, 1848, a party went over numbering forty, and the 
next day another flight of eighteen. I calculate the Hawks 
in three months must eat more than a ton weight of food, 
