ON THE ORNITHOLOGY OF LAPLAND. 255 



"edifice" of sticks, moss, and grass, loosely put 

 together, was often on a fell-ridge, often in a tree, 

 but never down in the forest ; always on the 

 sides of the fells, but always below the snow region, 

 as I often obtain the nest of the honey buzzard 

 in Wermland. I may here observe that we in- 

 variably find them breeding not in the deep fir 

 forest, but in smaller plantings, where much birch 

 is mixed with the fir. The nest here, however, 

 is always on a fir, not on a birch. It is nearly as 

 large as that of the common buzzard, built chiefly 

 of thickish sticks ; but there is one peculiarity in 

 this nest which I never observed in any other of 

 the buzzards. You will always find some green 

 birch branches interwoven with the dry sticks. 

 They go to nest the latest of the whole tribe. We 

 never take a nest till June ; and this year, 1863, 

 I obtained one as late as August 14. The eggs 

 vary much in colour, and are certainly finer and 

 deeper-coloured than any others of this genus. 

 The only egg for which they can be mistaken 

 are those of the peregrine, but they are usually 

 rounder and deeper coloured. Two is in general the 

 full number. I have occasionally seen rough- 

 legged buzzards beating over the lower meadows 

 in the end of July, after the young ducks, but I 

 never by any chance saw one in the forests. The 

 fells appear to be their peculiar summer home, for 



