108 FALCOX1DJ5. 



Female. Above brown ; below bufly whifo, striped \\ith russet. 

 Young. General colour dark chocolate-brown, lightest below. Length 

 18-11) indies. 



183. Melierax polyzonus (Kiippoll). The Many-banded Hawk. 



Obtained by Mr. Drake at Mogador (' Ibis,' 1869, p. 153). The 

 Zoological Gardens also had one living a short time back, which 

 came diivcl from Morocco, and Lord Lilford received one from 

 Mogador. 



Above slaty blue. Core ami legs vermilion. Upper tail-coverts white, 

 barred with .slaty grey. Length 21 inches. 



184. Buteo vulgraris, Leach. The Common Buzzard. 



Moorish. Kesir Eknnli (Famer). Spanish. Arpdlla. 



According to Favier, the Common Buzzard is seen in flights 

 on passage in March and April, like the Black Kite. I have 

 seen them myself crossing the Straits on- the llth, 15th, and 2 -1th 

 "of March. 



On the Spanish side they are very abundant from November to 

 the end of February. We never detected any remaining to breed 

 near ( Jihrultar ; but from a nest in a pine-tree, containing two 

 eggs, I shot one on the 29th of April near Seville. 



In the Cork- wood of Almoraima there are certain high trees 

 which are the favourite resting-places of Buzzards. These trees are 

 always chosen to command a good look-out, and are used winter 

 after winter in succession ; if one bird is shot, another takes its 

 place. They are too lazy to annoy the sportsman ; so, except 

 now and then killing one for identification's sake, I never 

 molested them. I once observed a Buzzard feeding on the 

 carcass of a donkey, in company with some Griffon Vultures. 



This species is one of the most useful of birds, destroying vast 

 numbers of rats, mice, voles, and moles; occasionally they take 

 small rabbits ; they seize their prey on the ground, Avatching 

 for it from a tree or rock. In one locality in England they almost 



