FAMILY FALCONID.E ; BUZZARDS, HARRIERS. 



411 



them. On a brood of young chickens being given to her, to save 

 her the trouble of sitting, she destroyed them all. (Yarrell} 

 The Honey Buzzard, belonging to a different genus from the 



preceding, is remark- 

 able for the peculiar 

 character of its food, 

 from which its name 

 is derived. This does 

 not consist of honey, 

 however ; but of the 

 larvce of bees, wasps, 

 caterpillars, and other 

 insects, not to the 

 exclusion of moles, 

 rats, small birds, rep- 

 tiles, and slugs. It 

 is a very rare Bird 

 in Britain ; but it is 

 more common in the 

 warmer countries of 

 Europe, where it is 

 migratory ; and it is also found in Asia. It flies low, and runs 

 on the ground with great celerity. The Caracaras, a small 

 group of birds almost exclusively confined to South America, are 

 nearly allied to the Buzzards, and form a sort of transition from 

 these and the Eagles to the Vultures, with which they agree in 

 their carrion-eating habits. There are several species of these 

 birds, which accompany or follow the Vultures in attacking the 

 carcasses of animals which die on the great plains of South 

 America, and one of them is said by Mr. Darwin to be the last 

 bird to leave the skeleton, as it " may often be seen within the 

 ribs of a cow or horse, like a bird in a cage." 



374. The Harriers differ from the Buzzards in the greater 

 length and slenderness of the tarsi ; and in the inferior robust- 

 ness of their bodies, and the length of the wings and tail. The 

 plumage is soft, and of looser texture than in most of the Fal- 

 conidae ; and the feathers round the face are so disposed, as to 



FIG. 215. HONEY BCZZARD. 



