THE COMMON BUZZARD 165 



probable truth of the matter being that it is 

 already adhering to some stick gathered by the 

 Buzzard. Usually, however, it occurs when a 

 Raven's, Crow's, or Kite's habitation is augmented, 

 in which case the event needs no explanation. A 

 quite recent writer insists that the Buzzard fre- 

 quently pads its eyrie with wool and hair. Does 

 it? All I can say is that in the scores of nests 

 I have examined, except for the above-mentioned 

 cases, I have never found either of these sub- 

 stances. The Kite, of course, always lines its 

 nest thickly with wool, and often with hair. 



Particles of white, fluffy down, and sometimes 

 a few feathers, from the old Buzzards cling to the 

 nest and its environment in greater or less abun- 

 dance ; and tree-nests often have a side platform 

 of sticks superadded to them after the young are 

 hatched, on which their parents stand to break up 

 their " commons." On cliffs, of course, there is 

 no necessity for this, as a ledge adjacent to the 

 eyrie serves the purpose. The lining of the nest, 

 if of rough material, is nevertheless fairly smooth, 

 but in one instance it was so " ridgy " that none 

 of the three eggs touched. Normally the " egg- 

 basin " is very flat, though never so markedly as 

 that of the Kite. In very exceptional cases the 

 eggs are laid on a little dead grass collected on a 

 rock -ledge. 



In mid-March, and even before that, Buzzards 

 make a pretence of building by partially patching 



