2 $2 Wild Life in Wales 



similar belief. The mist, which so often caps the moun- 

 tain's top in the morning, is known as a helm cloud, from 

 the Anglo-Saxon helan^ a covering for the head. If rain is 

 pending, the cloud creeps down the hill ; and the hawk, 

 coming with it, becomes the precursor of rain : if the day 

 is going to be fine, the mist "lifts," and the bird is able to 

 seek its prey on the open moors. 



That prey, in Merionethshire, consists largely of Moles, 

 and Voles, the latter of which are often very numerous on 

 the mountains, and are followed by the Buzzard, on account 

 of the appreciation in which they are held from a gastro- 

 nomic standpoint. In hunting for them, the Buzzard flies 

 at a moderate height, quartering her ground as diligently as 

 a well-trained setter, and returning to a well-stocked pasture, 

 day after day, with the utmost regularity. Ever and anon 

 she brings herself to a standstill, in mid- air, hovering just 

 like a large Kestrel, and dropping upon the discovered prey 

 with wings more than half closed, trusting entirely to her 

 weight to give her momentum, and striking force. The 

 legs, carried stretched backwards beneath the tail, at their 

 fullest extent, are, at the psychological moment, brought 

 forward to grasp the victim, their short but powerful talons 

 being admirably adapted for squeezing out its life ; but, if 

 required, a bite on the nape of the neck is administered 

 with the bill. The Buzzard is, however, a cowardly bird 

 " ignoble " was the term applied to it in the palmy days of 

 falconry and will rarely attack any animal it cannot readily 

 overcome. Rats, and rabbits, are favourite food, as are also 

 snakes, beetles, and such small deer ; while a dead sheep on 

 the moor is so attractive that it will be returned to again 

 and again, as long as any flesh remains upon the bones. 

 But from such a meal, the Buzzard will generally suffer 

 itself to be driven by a Raven, or even a pair of impudent, 

 but aggressive Crows, without offering more than a show of 

 resistance, though not disdaining to lift up its voice in com- 

 plaint of the bad treatment. 



For so large a " bird-of-prey," a Buzzard is particularly 

 innocent of ill-doing, even from a game-preserver's point of 

 view. It is not quick enough upon the wing to capture 



