COMMON BUZZARD. 205 



America it seems more sparingly distributed, and 

 chiefly in the northern parts ; it was met with by 

 Dr Richardson so high as the fifty-seventh degree.* 

 We possess a specimen from Madeira, for which 

 we are indebted to the attention of W. T. Car- 

 ruthers of Dormont, but we have been unable to 

 trace its range to any part of the African conti- 

 nent, of which the Madeiras may be considered 

 as partly the suburbs, and where, in this direc- 

 tion, we commence to see a mixture of African 

 and European forms. 



The Common Buzzard varies considerably in 

 die colouring of the plumage, scarcely two speci- 

 mens being similar. The differences consist 

 chiefly in the intensity of the tint of the upper 

 parts, and in the presence of a greater or lesser 

 degree of marking below. The general colour 

 above is some shade of umber brown, varying to 

 hair brown, and brocoli brown ; the feathers 

 darker in the centre, often edged with a paler 

 tint, or with reddish yellow, and generally glossed 

 with a rich and shining purple, which is most 

 prevalent in dark coloured specimens. Wings at 

 the tips are deep umber brown, shading into pure 

 white at the base, where the feather becomes soft 

 and downy ; they are crossed with irregular 

 clouded dark bars, which decrease in breadth and 



* Richardson Faun, Bor. Am. 



