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brown, the latter barred with lighter brown, the feathers of the 
former named parts having lighter coloured edges ; the wing 
primaries, brownish black ; the chin and throat, almost white ; 
front of the neck, breast, under wing coverts, belly and thighs, 
greyish white, spotted and streaked with brocoli brown ; under 
tail coverts, white; under surface of the tail feathers, greyish 
white, barred transversely with dark wood brown ; legs and toes 
yellow ; the claws black.’ 
As it seems most essential to afford observers in the Hills, 
the utmost assistance possible, in determining, whether any of 
the Buzzards that they may obtain, really belong to this species 
or not, I proceed further to quote largely from Mr. Macegilliv- 
ray’s admirable history of British Birds. 
The following are his characters of the species: 
‘Male, with the upper parts, deep brown, the feathers mar- 
gined with paler, the lower parts, yellowish-white, with longi- 
tudinal, oblong, brown spots, the tail with numerous brown and 
pale bands. Female, deep brown above, and beneath the 
throat streaked with whitish, the breast spotted with the same. 
Young, with the feathers margined with light red. 
He gives the following detailed description of the male, 
female, and young. 
Maur. ‘The wings are large and rounded, with twenty-five 
quills, the first four primaries abruptly cut out on the inner 
web, the first six attenuated on the outer; the first quill four 
inches shorter than the third, which is longest, but exceeds the 
fourth only by one-twelfth of an inch, the fifth very little 
shorter, the second intermediate between the fifth and sixth, the 
first equal to the eighth. The tail is rather long, broad, and 
slightly rounded, the middle feather being about three quarters 
of an inch longer than the lateral. 
The bill is black, at the base greyish blue, its soft margins 
at the base, yellow, the cere and bare space over the eye, green- 
ish-yellow; the irides, brownish yellow; the feet, bright yellow, 
the claws black, tinged with blue at the base. The general 
colour of the upper parts is umber brown, glossed with a tinge 
of purple; but on the head and hind neck streaked with 
yellowish-white, the bases and margins of the feathers being of 
that colour. The feathers of the back and wings with the 
margins pale, or brownish-grey ; they and the scapulars barred 
with white in their concealed parts, the bases of all being white, 
which becomes apparent on the lined neck when they are raised ; 
the upper tail coverts are barred with whitish. ‘he primary 
quills are brownish-black towards the end, the secondaries brown, 
a great part of the inner webs towards the base white, barred 
