56 RAPTORES. BUTEO. BUZZARD. 



Mont. Ornith. Diet. Ib. Sup Lewin's Br. Birds, 1. t. 6. Wale. Syn. 



1. t. 6 Shaw's Zool. 7. p. 109. Bewick's Br. Birds. 1. 15. Pult. Cat. 



Dorset, p. 3. 



Falco GaUinarius, Gmel Syst. p. 266. 



Ash-coloured Buzzard, Arct. Zool. 2. No. 103 Lath. 1. p. 55. 

 Falco cinereus, Gmel. Syst. 1. p. 267- 

 Greater Buzzard, Lath. Syn. 1. p. 49. 

 Spotted Buzzard, Lath. Syn. 1. p. 49. 

 Buzzardet, Penn. Arct. Zool. 2. No. 109. 

 Speckled Buzzard, Lath. Syn. 1. p. 97- 

 Plain Falcon, Arct. Zool. 2. 104. 



PROVINCIAL, Puttock, Wood Buzzard. 



THIS is a well-known species of Falcon, being of common 

 occurrence in all the wooded districts of England. It is a 

 heavy inactive bird, both in disposition and appearance, and 

 is generally seen perched upon some old and decayed tree, 

 such being its favourite haunt. 



Its flight is slow, in extensive circles, and, except during 

 the season of incubation, when it often soars to a considerable 

 height, it seldom remains long on the wing. 



Food. It preys upon leverets, rabbits, game, and small birds, all 



of which it pounces on the ground. It also devours moles 

 and mice, and, when pressed by hunger, will feed on reptiles 

 and insects. 



Nest, &c. It breeds in woods, and forms its nest of sticks, lined with 

 wool, hay, and other materials, and will sometimes occupy 

 the deserted nest of a crow. 



The eggs are two or three in number, larger than those of 

 a hen, and are of a greenish- white, either plain, or spotted 

 with reddish-brown. The young, according to PENNANT, 

 remain in company with the parent birds for some time after 

 having quitted the nest, a circumstance at variance with 

 the usual habits of birds of prey. It is common in all the 

 wooded parts of Europe, and, according to TEMMINCK, very 

 abundant in Holland. In France, this bird is killed during 

 the winter for the sake of its flesh, which is esteemed deli- 

 cious eating. Although previously unnoticed as a North 

 American bird by WILSON and the PRINCE of MUSIGNANO, 

 it was met with by the Expeditions under Captain FRANK- 



