HONEY BUZZARD. 49 
to dark brown: sometimes the neck, like the head, is white, 
or cream white, or pale yellowish brown; nape, dark brown 
or ash grey; chin, whitish; in some specimens white, as are 
the rest of the feathers round the base of the beak; throat, 
white, or yellowish white, with dark brown shaft lines; breast, 
white, yellowish white, or pale yellowish brown, barred trans- 
versely with broad brown bands, tinged with rust-colour, which 
are lighter in front, and darker towards the sides; the hght 
feathers are tipped with bright brown; back, dark brown 
shaded with grey, or ash colour, the feathers themselves 
having a blot of a darker shade in the centre, and sometimes 
tipped with white, and many of them crossed by dusky 
marks, which cause a series of bars when the wings are 
closed. The wings are longer than those of the true. 
Buzzards, and rounded at the ends; they expand above four 
feet; greater wing coverts, brownish grey: primaries, nearly 
black. The tail is very long, and in this particular, as well 
as in the length of the wings and the smallness of the head, 
this species shews an approximation to the Kites. The tip is 
brownish white, and the base of the feathers white, as is the 
case with most of the feathers on the body, if not withall. It is 
of a rather dark brown, tinged with grey, and barred with dark 
brown, but the bars vary, so that no dependence can be placed 
upon their number, and in some there is no bar at all; the 
middle feathers are the longest; tail coverts, partly white, 
sometimes white; under tail coverts, varied with yellowish brown 
and white. The legs are rather short, and feathered half way 
down; the lower part is a good deal reticulated, and of a 
dull yellow colour; toes, dull yellow. The claws, which are 
black, are long, rather slight, and very acute, but not much 
curved. 
The female is larger than the male, namely, about two feet 
two inches: the forehead, grey; upper parts of the plumage, 
deep umber brown; under parts, light yellowish red, spotted 
with brownish red, sometimes white with dark crescent-shaped 
spots upon a white ground, and the upper parts barred with 
brown and grey. 
The young are said to resemble the adult birds in colour, 
but Willughby deseribes them as covered with white down, 
spotted with black. 
The Honey Buzzard is subject to very great variety of plumage. 
In the ‘Zoologist,’ pages 375 etc. there are figures and descriptions 
given by W. R. Fisher, Esq. of seven of its varieties gradually 
VOL, I. E 
