THE EAGLE-LIKE SUBFAMILY 



1999 



the flanks and thighs are of a more uniformly brown hue. The under wing coverts 

 are also light colored, and the under tail coverts white; while the tail, which is 

 brown above and grayish white below, is barred on both aspects. Some buzzards 

 are, however, brown all over; while in others, as in our figure, the throat and chest 

 are brown, and as well as the thighs, are as dark as the upper surface, only the re- 

 mainder of the under parts being light colored. The color of the iris varies from 



ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD. 



(One-fifth natural size ) 



dark hazel to light brownish yellow; the legs and toes are yellow, and the claws 

 black. White specimens are occasionally met with. The length of the male is 

 about twenty-two inches, and that of the female about an inch more. The common 

 buzzard is distributed over the greater part of Europe, and is in many districts 

 comparatively abundant. In Northern Africa and Eastern Europe it is, however, 

 replaced by the nearly-allied desert buzzard (. desertorum) , which also ranges into 



