20 



BRITISH BIRDS' NESTS. 



white. Wing-quills brownish-black. Chin and 

 throat yellowish- or dusky-white. Breast, belly, 

 and thighs greyish- or yellowish-white, streaked 

 and spotted with yellowish-brown. Under tail- 

 coverts white. Legs and toes yellow ; claws black. 

 The female is darker than the male, and often 

 larger. The colour of plumage in both sexes is 



subject to great vari- 

 ation. 



Situation and Lo- 

 cality. In the forked 

 branches of a tree, 

 sometimes on a hori- 

 zontal branch at a 

 little distance from 

 the trunk. Also in 

 high, inaccessible 

 maritime cliffs and 

 tall crags in wild 

 secluded districts of 

 England, Wales, 

 Scotland, and Ire- 

 land. The bird will 

 often adopt an old 



crow's nest, and generally returns to the same 

 breeding-place year after year. It is still fairly 

 common in some parts of Wales, where I have 

 seen as many as three pairs on the wing at once. 

 Materials. Sticks and twigs in liberal quan- 

 tities, lined with hay, wool, and leaves, sometimes 

 scraps of down. 



Eggs. Two to four, generally three. Some- 

 times dingy white and unspotted, and in other in- 

 stances greenish- or bluish-white, spotted, blotched, 

 and streaked with red-brown and pale rust-colour. 



COMMON BUZZARDS' BREEDING HAUNT. 



