184 BIRDS OF BRITISH BUKMAH. 



Subfamily BUTEONIN.E. 

 Genus BUTEO, Cuvier. 



560. BUTEO PLUMIPES. 

 THE HARRIER BUZZARD. 



Circus plumipes, Hodgs. in Gray's Zool. Misc. p. 81. Buteo plumipes, Hodgs. 

 P. Z. S. 1845, p. 37 ; Jerd. JB. Ind. i. p. 91 j Hume, Rough Notes, ii. p. 285 ; 

 Sharps, Cat. Birds B. Mus. i. p. 180, pi. vii. fig-. 1 ; Bl. $ Wald. B. Burm. p. 64; 

 Hume, 8. F. iv. p. 358 ; Gurney, Ibis, 1876, p. 369 ; id. 8. F. v. p. 65 ; Hume, 

 8. F. v. p. 347; Legge, Birds Ceylon, p. 31 ; Hume, 8. F. viii. p. 82 ; Scully, S. F. 

 viii. p. 225 ; Oates, S. F. x. p. 180. Buteo japonicus, apud Hume, S. F. iii. 

 p. 30. 



Description. Everywhere dull smoky brown, the wing-coverts and 

 scapulars lighter; primaries dark brown, inclining to purplish brown 

 towards the tips ; the inner web buffy white barred with brown ; shafts 

 whitish secondaries paler brown like the back ; tail uniform smoky 

 brown, with whitish shafts and pale whity-brown tips, showing under 

 certain lights obsolete remains of light cross bars, which are still distinctly 

 indicated on the inner web and under surface of the tail, which is ashy 

 white ; lores whitish ; sides of face and of neck as well as the entire under 

 surface of the body, including the under wing- and tail- coverts, uniform 

 smoky brown, somewhat washed with rufous on the sides of the face and 

 throat. (Sharpe.) 



Length 20 inches, tail 9, wing 15 '4, tarsus 3, bare part of tarsus in front 

 1-1 to the root of the middle toe, on the side to sole of foot 1, culmen 1'25. 

 (Sharpe.) 



I have not ventured to investigate the difficult group of the Buzzards, 

 and I therefore gladly avail myself of Mr. Sharped description of Mr. 

 Hodgson's type of B. plumipes, the species with which Mr. H ume identifies 

 Buzzards procured in Burmah. I have never seen any Buzzards from that 

 country, and therefore any investigations carried out in England, in the 

 absence of Burmese birds, would have been of little use so far as the object 

 of this work was concerned. 



The Buzzards vary immensely in the colour of the plumage, and I do 

 not think that any number of elaborate descriptions would enable the bird 

 to be recognized in all its stages. The Buzzards have the upper half of the 

 tarsus feathered, and the whole of the naked part behind is scaled, not 

 reticulated. This character is possessed by the Harriers and Hawks ; but 

 the Buzzards may be distinguished from both these groups by their massive 

 make and by their enormously thick short tarsus. 



