86 Falconidce. 



Down in 1860 and 1861, from Seend in 1866, from Easterton in 

 1867, and from Hill worth, Devizes, in 1875. 



Like all the other species of this genus, it has a slow flight, an 

 indolent, lazy, heavy aspect, and a timid disposition. It preys 

 upon small birds, quadrupeds, and reptiles, which it will strike 

 upon the ground, but which it does not care to pursue, and often 

 it will stand motionless for hours on the bare limb of some 

 decayed tree, watching the accidental arrival of a victim. Its 

 legs and feet are comparatively short and strong, as we generally 

 find to be the case with those genera or species which prey on 

 quadrupeds in preference to birds. In France it is much sought 

 for during winter for the sake of the flesh, which is esteemed 

 delicious in that country ; and I was much amused at Marseilles 

 on one occasion when, on passing through the market, I was im- 

 portuned by an old lady, who presided over a poultry stall, to 

 purchase a bird of this species, whose plumpness she pointed 

 out, and whose excellence for the table she vehemently asserted. 

 But I was not tempted, for the taste of an Englishman differs in 

 some respects from that of the Gaul. 



The name buteo is interpreted by the B.O.U. Committee to 

 signify 'the crier-out'; and from this is derived the English 

 word ' Buzzard,' and the French buse, which has come to be 

 applied in anything but a complimentary sense to a dolt and 

 a fool I presume on account of the dull, heavy appearance of 

 the bird. Mause Folk (' Mouse Falcon ') is the very appropriate 

 German name, for the mouse forms the chief staple of food to this 

 most harmless, useful species. In Spain it is Pella ; and in 

 Portugal Tartaranhdo. 



13. ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD (Buteo lagopus). 

 Though rarer as a species than the last, this has been occasion- 

 ally met with in various parts of the county. In 1854 two were seen 

 in the neighbourhood of Ogbourn, one of which was killed by Mr. 

 Godwin, of Brimslade. The Rev. G. Marsh possessed one which was 

 taken in the parish of Brinkworth, at Somerford Common, in 1839, 

 and reported it as very rare there; indeed, that was the only 



