BIRDS. 



515 



hawk, and the like. In habits all are very similar, and a description of 

 one will answer for all. They sail in broad circles high in the air, and 

 exhibit perhaps as well as any other common birds the phenomenon of 

 soaring to which allusion has already been made. From their position on 

 high they are constantly scanning the ground beneath, looking out for 



Fig. 427. — Rough-legged buzzard (Arvhibuteo lagopus). 



some chicken, or a far more acceptable meal — a rabbit or a squirrel. They 

 are much bolder, more aggressive, and far more active than the rough- 

 legged buzzard. 



The fish-hawk, or osprey, which, with its young, is admirably depicted 

 on our plate, is one of the most interesting of all the birds of prey. It is 

 distributed over almost the whole world, and everywhere its habits are 

 much the same, due allowance being made for the change in environment. 



