BRITISH BIRDS. 39 



The Buzzard is about twenty inches in length, 

 breadth four feet and a half. Its bill is of a lead 

 grey ; in some the eyes are pale yellow ; in others 

 hazel ; upper parts of the body dusky brown ; wings 

 and tail marked with bars of a darker hue : the 

 under parts pale, variegated with light reddish 

 brown : legs yellow ; claws black. But birds of 

 this species are subject to great variations, as 

 scarcely two are alike ; some are entirely white ; of 

 others the head only is white ; and others again . 

 are mottled with brown and white. 



This well-known bird is of a sedentary disposi- 

 tion : it continues many hours perched upon a tree 

 or eminence, whence it darts upon the game that 

 comes within its reach ; it feeds on birds, small 

 quadrupeds, reptiles, and insects. Its nest is con- 

 structed with small branches, lined with wool and 

 other soft materials ; it lays two or three eggs, 

 whitish, spotted with brown. It feeds and tends 

 its young with great assiduity. 



The author was favoured with one of these birds 

 by John Trevelyan, Esq., of Wallington, by whom 

 it was shot in the act of devouring its prey a 

 Partridge it had just killed. It had separated the 

 flesh from the bones, w r hich, with the legs and 

 wings, were discovered lying at a small distance 

 from the place where the Buzzard was shot. 



