ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD. 95 



the Common Buzzard ; and, like that bird, it occasionally 

 exhibits some deviation in the colour of the plumage from 

 that which may be considered characteristic of the species. 

 The Rough-legged Buzzard is much the more rare bird of 

 the two ; and although it has now been killed once or 

 oftener in almost every county in England, it has rarely 

 been known to breed here, and is usually obtained in the 

 spring or autumn, when changing its latitude from south to 

 north, or vice versa. 



The Rough-legged Buzzard appears from various autho- 

 rities to prefer marshy districts; and Mr. Selby has re- 

 corded his own personal observation of the habits of two 

 birds of this species. " Their flight was smooth, but slow, 

 not unlike that of the Common Buzzard ; and they seldom 

 continued for any length of time on the wing." They 

 preyed upon rabbits, mice, wild ducks, other birds, and 

 some reptiles, as lizards and frogs. 



Mr. Williamson, in his remarks on the appearance of 

 rare birds in the vicinity of Scarborough, says that " the 

 Rough-legged Buzzard breeds occasionally in a precipitous 

 dell near Hackness. A marked female returned the fol- 

 lowing year with a new mate to her former favourite 

 haunt." 



According to M. Temminck, this bird generally builds 

 on high trees, and lays three or four eggs. A coloured 

 figure of the egg will be found in the first part of Dr. 

 Thieneman's work on the Eggs of the Birds of Europe, 

 tab. iii. fig. 2 : this representation is two inches two lines 

 in length, by one inch eight lines in breadth, of a pale 

 brownish white, blotched over the larger end with darker 

 brown. Mr. Thompson of Belfast, in his Birds of Ire- 

 land, mentions three or four instances of the occurrence 

 of the Rough-legged Buzzard in that country; and 

 Sir William Jardine notices several that have been killed 



