THE HAWK. 



49 



appears to rest himself upon the bosom of the 

 air, and not to make the smallest effort in fly- 

 ing. He lives only upon accidental carnage, 

 almost every bird in the air is able to make 

 good its retreat against him. He may be, 

 therefore, considered as an insidious thief, 

 who only prowls about, and when he finds a 

 small bird wounded or a young chicken stray- 

 ed too far from the mother, instantly seizes 

 the hour of calamity, and, like a famished 

 glutton, is sure to show no mercy. His 

 hunger, indeed, often urges him to acts of 

 seeming desperation. I have seen one of them 

 fly round and round for a while to mark a 

 clutch of chickens, and then on a sudden dart 

 like lightning upon the unresisting little ani- 

 mal, and carry it off, the hen in vain crying 

 out, and the boys hooting and casting stones 

 to scare it from its plunder. For this reason, 

 of all birds, the kite is the good housewife's 

 greatest tormentor and aversion. 



Of all obscene birds, the kite ia the best 

 known ; but the buzzard among us is the most 

 plenty. 1 He is a sluggish, inactive bird, and 



and of Ben Lomond. It is proverbial for the ease and 

 gracefulness of its flight, which generally consists of large 

 and sweeping circles, performed with a motionless wing, 

 or at least with a slight and almost imperceptible stroke 

 of its pinions, and at very distant intervals. In this 

 manner, and directing its course by aid of the tail, 

 which acts as a rudder, and whose slightest motion pro- 

 duces effect, it frequently soars to such a height as to 

 become almost invisible to the human eye. The prey 

 of the kite consists of young game, leverets, rats, mice, 

 lizards, &c. which it takes by pouncing upon the ground. 

 It is a great depredator in farm-yards after chickens, 

 young ducks, and goslings ; and is in consequence 

 bitterly retaliated upon as a common enemy in those 

 districts where it abounds. It will also, under the pres- 

 sure of hunger, devour offal and carrion, and has been 

 known to prey upon dead fish. It breeds early in the 

 spring, in extensive woods, generally making its nest 

 in the fork of a large tree. The nest is composed of 

 slicks, lined with wool, hair, and other soft materials. 

 The eggs are rather larger than those of a hen, and rarely 

 exceed three in number. They are of a grayish-white, 

 speckled with brownish-orange, principally at the larger 



end; but sometimes they are found quite plain. 



Abridged from 



1 The common buzzard preys upon leverets, rabbits, 

 game, and small birds, all of which it pounces on the 



VOL. II. 



often remains perched whole days together 

 upon the same bough. He is rather, an as- 

 sassin than a pursuer ; and lives more upon 

 frogs, mice, and insects, which he can easily 

 seize, than upon birds, which he is obliged to 

 follow. He lives in summer by robbing the 

 nests of other birds, and sucking their eggs, 

 and more resembles the owl kind in his coun- 

 tenance than any other rapacious bird of day. 

 His figure implies the stupidity of his disposi- 

 tion ; and so little is he capable^ of instruction 

 trom man, that it is common to a proverb, to 

 call one who cannot be taught, or continues 

 obstinately ignorant, a buzzard. The honey- 

 buzzard, the moor-buzzard, and the hen-har- 

 rier, are all of this stupid tribe, and differ 

 chiefly in their size, growing less in the order 

 I have named them. The goshawk and 

 sparrow-hawk are what Mr Willoughby calls 

 short-winged birds, and consequently unfit for 

 training, however injurious they may be to 

 the pigeon-house or the sportsman. They 

 have been indeed taught to fly at game ; but 

 little is to be obtained from their efforts, being 



ground. It also devours moles and mice, and, when 

 pressed by hunger, will feed on reptiles and insects. 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 

 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. 



The Rough-legged Buxzard is a rare British species, 

 and can only be considered as an occasional visitant. 

 Montagu mentions two or three instances of its having 

 been taken in the South of England. It is a native of 

 Norway, and other northern countries of Europe, where 

 it frequents marshy districts, preying upon leverets, 

 hamsters, water-rats, moles, and frequently lizards and 

 frogs. According to Temminck, it builds in lofty trees, 

 and lays four white eggs, spotted with reddish-brown. 



The Honey. Buzzard preys upon moles, mice, and 

 small birds, and on lizards and insects, particularly, 

 wasps, bees, and their larvae, which should appear to be 

 their favourite food. Its flight is easy and graceful, and 

 it is frequently seen near pieces of water, on account of 

 the Libellulse, and other aquatic insects. It breeds in 

 lofty trees, forming a nest of twigs lined with wool, and 

 other soft materials. The eggs are small, in proportion 

 to the size of the bird, of a yellowish-white, marked with 

 numerous spots and stains of reddish-brown, sometime 

 so confluent as to make them appear almost entirely 

 brown. It is a native of eastern climes, and according 

 to Temminck, is as rare in Holland as in England. In 

 the south of France it is more abundant, but migratory. 



Allied to the Buzzards are the Harriers. They are 

 bolder and more active than the buzzards. They strike 

 their prey upon the ground, and generally fly very low 



The Marsh- Harriers abound in all the marshy dis- 

 tricts of England and Scotland, and, according to Mon- 

 tagu, are very numerous in Wales, where they prey upon 

 the rabbits that inhabit the sand-banks of the shores of 

 G 



