1998 



THE DIURNAL BIRDS OF PREY 



They are specially characterized by the squared tail being of considerable length, and 

 extending markedly below the closed wings; and also by the long oval nostrils, de- 

 void of any central tubercle, and the bare metatarsus. The beak is rather small and 

 weak; the wings have the fourth quill the longest, and the first four deeply notched 

 on their inner margins; the naked metatarsus is of moderate length and covered with 

 scales and scutes; and the toes are short with strong claws. Buzzards are repre- 

 sented by nearly twenty species, and have an almost world-wide distribution, al- 

 though they are unknown in the Indian and Malayan regions, as well as in Oceania 

 and Australasia. The common buzzard (B. vulgaris} is one of the species of British 



COMMON BUZZARD. 



(One-fifth natural size.) 



hawks which has suffered the least from the persecution of gamekeepers, and may 

 still not unfrequently be seen in the wooded parts of the country. It belongs to a 

 large group of the genus in which the tail is marked by more or less complete dark 

 transverse bars, the number of such bars in this species varying from ten to thirteen. 

 The general color of the plumage is a clear dark brown, becoming paler on the crown 

 of the head and cheeks and much darker on the primary quills, but there is such an 

 extraordinary amount of individual variation in respect to color, that scarcely any 

 two birds can be found which are precisely alike. The under parts are, however, 

 generally yellowish white, with the feathers more or less streaked with brown, but 



