m.K 



: - 



Back and wing* aUU-bluo; 

 hoad luul bolly whitish, spotted with brown. Irui fine rod. 



It u mid to fly to great bright, where it remain* a long time poiaed 

 or itaUonary, and cleave* the air with rapidity in order to MM the 

 great iDMcta which are iU prey, independently of reptile* and birds. 

 It U a native of America. 



Head and foot of IrHmia plumlea. 



Cirfta (of Authors). Beak moderate ; nostrils sub-oval ; tarsi 

 elongated ; acrotarsia ncutellated ; toes generally short ; third quill 

 longest ; aides of the head furnished with a circle of feathers very 

 like the capital disc of the Owls. 



" This genus," says Mr. Vigors, " exhibits still a slight approximation 

 to the last group* in the structure of the upper mandible, which has 

 a rounded protuberance towards the middle, similar to that of the 

 Dawks. They are distinguished from the rest of the buzzards by 

 their elevated and slender torsi, which are covered with feathers for 

 ome space below the knee, and of which the acrotarsia are scutel- 

 lated. The naras are sub-oval and transverse on the cere, and the 

 third quill-feather* are the longest." It includes, according to Mr. 

 Vigor-, tin; European species P. <mginoitu of Aldrovaudus, ami 

 P. fygargtu of Limueus, to which he says may be added P. acoli 

 and P. wulaxoleucot of Daudin, together with some newly-described 



; 



C. ar*ginoiiu. This is the Harpaye, Busnrd Harpaye, and Board 

 de Marnis of the French ; Falco Caatagnolo and Falco coil la Testa 



Ilnd and foot of Whltc-lle* I'd Harpy (Cima <rrN/fno<<). 



Bianca (yotmg birds), Falco Albanelln con il Collare (old), of the 

 Italian* ; Schwartx-Brauncr Kisch-Qeyer luit dem grlhcn Kopf, 



Brauner Rohr-Geyer, Brandweiho, Waaserweihe, and Sumpfn-i ill.-. of 



miaui; Moor-Buzzard, Marsh-Harrier, Duck-Hawk, II 

 and Whito-Headed Hari>y, of the English; and Bod y Ow, 

 Welsh. 



Adult Male (third moult). B<k bluish-black, with a slight festoon 

 on the cutting edge ; cere and iridcs yellow ; top of the head, cl. 

 and nape of the neck, yellowish-white, tinged with rufous, and streaked 

 with dark brown ; back, wing-coverts, and tortialx, dark reddish-brown , 

 with lighter margin* ; primaries brownish-black ; secondaries and tail- 

 feathers ash-gray. 



After the third Moult Wing-coverts and tertiols become, in addi- 

 tion, partially or entirely ash-gray ; wing-primaries slate-gray ; chin 

 and throat nearly white ; breast rufous, streaked longitudinally with 

 dork brown ; belly, thighs, and under tail-covert*, reddish-brown, 

 feather streaked with dark brown ; legs long, slender, and yellow ; 

 toes yellow ; claws sharp and black. 



Second Year. Head, neck, chin, and throat, dull yellow, witli an 

 occasional patch of the same colour on the corpus, or anterior point 

 of the wing. (Bewick's Figure.) 



Young of the Year. AH the plumage chocolate-brown ; feathers 

 tipped with lighter reddish-brown ; irides darker than in the adult ; 

 legs and feet as in old birds ; length from 21 to 23 inches, depending 

 on the sex. (Yarrell.) 



The Moor-Buzzard, when in pursuit of game, flies low, and will, so 

 to speak, beat a moor or other piece of ground with the regularity 

 almost of a well-trained pointer. Young rabbits, small qundr 

 birds, especially water-birds, reptiles, and even fish are itp 

 Sometimes it will sit on the look-out on a stone or low bush. I' 

 builds its nest generally on the ground, in a tuft of rushes or < 

 grass or furze, and composed of rushes or rank gross, and small - 

 Latham says that it will sometimes build its nest in the fork of a largo 

 tree, but that the instance is rare. Eggs, thre or four, oval, i 

 pointed at one end, 2 inches and 1 line in length, by 1 inch 6 linos in 

 breadth. (Yarrell.) 



It is found in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, south of Russia, Ger- 

 many, France, Holland, Spain, Italy, and Turkey ; in all countries 

 where there are marshes; very abundant in Holland; rare in the 

 south, migratory in the autumn (Tcuiminck) ; common in the 

 marshes near Rome, but only young birds, and migratory (Bona- 

 parte); Trebizond (Abbott) ; Gauges,' between Calcutta and Bcnare*, 

 &c. (James Franklin) ; Europe, India, Africa (Gould) ; Smyrna 

 (Strickland). 



The Moor-Buzzard may be seen in most parts of England and 

 Wales favourable to its habit*. It occurs in Scotland and the 

 Hebrides, and Mr. Thompson notes it as existing in several counties 

 of Ireland from Cork to Antrim. 



Mr. Vigors observes that the snU-family of Buzzard* is that which 

 of all the falconida; approaches nearest to the family of the Owls 

 (Strigidai). In their dull and slothful habits, their heavy flight, and 

 indeed their whole appearance, these contiguous groups evince, ho 

 remarks, a general resemblance, indicating a corresponding inferiority 

 in the qualities which distinguish the birds of prey. The soft and 

 loose texture of the plumage of both presents a similar affinity, and 

 he adds that Circus, iu particular, furnishes us with a still further 

 ami more intimate point of resemblance. The feathers that cover 

 the checks and ears form, as he says, a sort of rounded i- .liar that 

 rises on each side of the face; thus exhibiting a conformity to tli- 

 disc or circular erection of the face-feathers so conspicuous iu the 

 Owls. 



Speaking of C. cyanciu, the Hen-IIarrier, Mr. Gould, in noticing 

 the Trebizond collection of birds presented to the Zoological Society 

 by Mr. Keith Abbott, says that European, African, Indian, Chinese, 

 and North American specimens present no specific dilleren 



' tut he notes as European, Indian, and African, ('/.mil. 1'roc.,' 

 1834.) In tho South African Museum will be found C'. < 

 (with habit* very much resembling those of our M,.i Hi,. ., : .i>. <'. 

 Maunu, C. Swawwonii, and C. Vaillantii. In tho British Museum 

 there U a very good series of the Moor-Buzzard, illustrating the d i i 

 changes of plumage. 



Pemit (Cuvier). Book moderate ; lore covered with serrated 

 feathers; tarsi moderate, semi-plumed ; acrotarsia reticulated; third 

 quill longest 



Mr. Vigors observes that Pernit is distinguished by tho singular 

 character of the lorum that surrounds the eye, being covered with 

 feathers, instead of being naked as in the other faloonttkx, or famished 

 only with hairs. In other respects also, he states, the genus . i 

 from that of Buteo which follows. Its acrotarsia are reticulated, anil, 

 like Circtu, it has tho third quill the longest. The nares are ximilar 

 to those of llutco, Falco ajiivarout of Linnicus, the Honer-Battard, 

 and a corresponding species from Java, /'. ^lilurhynchiu of Tuuiininck, 

 form, he adds, tho typical species of the e 



P. apitonu, the Honey-Buzzard. It is La Bondrco and Buse 

 Bondrce of the Frem-h ; "\Vunpen-Busard of the (ii-nnans; Frosch- 

 Geyer of Kramer; Stag-Hok of the ' Fauna Suecica ; ' Musc-Haegand 

 Muse Baage of Brunnich ; and Bod y Mel of the Welsh. 



Old Male. Space between the eye and the beak covered with small 

 serried feathers. Top of th.- li-id very pure ashy-blue; upper parts 

 of the body brown, more or less ashy ; secondaries barred alternately 



