MOOR HARRIER. FAMILY VULTURIDJE. 



413 



on the wing, than the Buzzards; they chiefly frequent open moor- 

 lands, over which they skim in search of prey very close to the 



ground ; and they 

 nestle and roost on 

 its surface, building 

 their nests among 

 reeds or fern. The 

 Moor Harrier (Fig. 

 217), the largest 

 species inhabiting 

 this country, is 

 commonly known as 

 the Moor Buzzard ; 

 it is a native of most 

 parts of Europe, 

 Asia, and Africa ; 

 frequenting boggy 

 moorlands and ex- 

 tensive marshes. It 

 feeds upon various 



kinds of Water Birds, which it surprises by its almost noiseless 

 flight ; also upon water-rats, and fish which expose themselves 

 to it by swimming near the surface of the water. It will 

 also feed on carrion ; and like most Carrion Birds, is somewhat 

 gregarious in its habits. 



376. We have seen that the Birds of the family FALCONID^ 

 have for their office to regulate the numbers of living Birds and 

 small Quadrupeds ; and that their head-quarters are in the cold 

 and temperate regions of the globe. The Vultures, and other 

 Birds of the family VULTURID^E, on the other hand, are the 

 appointed cleansers of the earth from the dead bodies of such 

 animals as have perished from other causes ; and their head- 

 quarters are between the tropics, few of them having any exten- 

 sive range to the north or south of these lines. Still, however, 

 they are for the most part inhabitants of mountainous regions ; 

 and their abodes are often on the confines of perpetual snow. 

 They execute that kind of duty, which no animals but Birds 



