CHAPTER II 



The Buzzards of the Doone Country 



WITH the exception of the Golden Eagle, the Buzzard has perhaps 

 the most impressive appearance of all our wild birds. His great 

 dark-tipped wings with their widely separated primaries stamp him 

 at once as a bird of the highest altitudes ; whilst his flat forehead, curved 

 bluish-black beak, and fierce deep-set eyes suggest a creature of deadly intent 

 and immovable purpose. 



Soaring high in the air above the wild undulating moorlands, he is so 

 conspicuous as to attract and hold the attention of all who take pleasure in 

 so unusual a sight. 



With such majestic ease does he wheel aloft, mounting skywards without 

 the least apparent effort on outstretched motionless wings, that one might 

 well conclude that he must surely be classed among such outstanding fliers 

 as the Hobby and the Peregrine. 



Yet, in spite of his formidable appearance and graceful aerial evolutions, 

 the Buzzard is not by any means a powerful flier, and, moreover, he is possessed 

 of a comparatively poor spirit : in fact, when one considers the type of food 

 upon which he usually preys, one is inclined to marvel at the methods of 

 certain game-preserve owners who have allowed Buzzards to be obliterated 

 on every possible occasion. 



Perhaps the Buzzard, like the Kestrel and the Little Owl, has been accused 

 of taking too great a toll of the game-birds ; but those of us who are acquainted 

 with the flight of- for instance a covey of partridges before a good game 

 hawk, and have noted the agility with which they are able to take advantage 

 of cover, will realize the absurdity of the suggestion. 



The Buzzard, who either grabs his quarry at the first dash, or swings by 

 it like an express train whose brakes have failed to act, would have a very 

 poor chance of taking a full-grown partridge, and we may be sure that, in 

 the case of cheepers, or newly-hatched young, the warning cry of the old bird, 

 which would be uttered the instant the form of the Buzzard loomed into 

 view, would cause the whole family to vanish into hiding as though by 

 magic. 



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