*ftr 



458 A VES— BUZZARD. 



They feed on locusts, and on a species of lizard which is very numerons 

 in that part of the country — and are said also to devour small green snakes. 

 The flight of this bird is easy and graceful, with sometimes occasional 

 sweeps among the trees. 



THE COMMON BUZZARD,! 



Which is one of the most widely known kinds of hawk in England, is about 

 twenty inches in length, and four feet and a half in breadth, when measured 

 across the expansion of the wings. The lower parts of the body are pale, 

 varied with brown ; on the upper parts dusky bars of a darker hue, mark 

 the wings and tail, the latter of which is grayish beneath, and tipped with 

 dusky white. The legs are yellow, the claws black, and the bill lead- 

 colored, short, and hooked. 



Though strong and active, the buzzard is so cowardly that he will fly even 

 from the sparrow-hawk, and, Avhen he is overtaken, will allow himself to 

 be beaten, and cast to the ground, without making any resistance. His 

 indolence is equal to his cowardice, as he will sit perched on the same bough 

 during the greatest part of the day. Such is his laziness that he seldom 

 constructs a nest, but contents himself with repairing the old nest of a crow, 

 and lining it with wool and other soft materials. Rats, mice, and often all 

 sorts of carrion, are his articles of subsistence. 



It is but fair, however, that justice should be done to the good qualities of 

 the buzzard. He may be tamed ; and, in his domestic state, he manifests a 

 very strong attachment to his owner. Buffon has given a highly amusing 

 account of one which was reclaimed from the wild state by the Rector of 

 St Pierre de St Belesme, and which displayed much of the sagacity and 

 affection of a dog. " After having shut it up about six weeks," says he, " I 

 legan to allow it a little liberty, taking the precaution, however, to tie both 

 die pinions of its Avings. In this condition it walked out in my garden, and 



1 Falco buteo, Lin. 



