Buzzard. RAPTORES. BUTEO. 59 



The Rough-legged Buzzard is a rare British species, and Occasional 

 can only be considered as an occasional visitant. visitan . 



Montagu mentions two or three instances of its having 

 been taken in the south of England. In the winter of 1815, 

 Northumberland was visited by some of these birds, and se- 

 veral opportunities were afforded me of inspecting both living 

 and dead specimens. 



Those which came under examination closely resembled 

 each other as to colour and markings, though some indivi- 

 duals were darker along the belly than others ; and the quan- 

 tity of white upon the upper half of the tail was not always 

 of equal breadth. Two of these birds, from having attached 

 themselves to a neighbouring marsh, passed under my fre- 

 quent observation. 



Their flight was smooth, but slow, and not unlike that of 

 the Common Buzzard, and they seldom continued for any 

 length of time on the wing. They preyed upon wild ducks, Food. 

 and other birds, which they pounced upon the ground ; and 

 it would appear that mice and frogs must have constituted 

 a great part of their food, as the remains of both were found 

 in the stomachs of those that were killed. 



Since the above-mentioned year they have not been again 

 seen in that neighbourhood.* 



It is a native of Norway, and other northern countries of 

 Europe, where it frequents marshy districts, preying upon 

 leverets, hamsters, water-rats, moles, and frequently lizards 

 and frogs. According to Temminck, it builds in lofty trees, Nest, &c. 

 and lays four white eggs, spotted with reddish-brown. In 

 North America it is a common species, and possesses an ex- 

 tensive range^ having been frequently seen in the districts 



• Sir "William Jardine, in his edition of Wilson's American Or- 

 nithology (in a Note appended to tlie " Rough-legged Falcon "), mentions 

 several that have subsequently been killed in East Lothian, and other 

 southern districts of Scotland. A fine specimen, shot near Alnwick, in 

 March 1828, was also sent to me. Scarcely a year passes without the ap- 

 pearance of this bird upon the rabbit-warrens in Norfolk, /^i^i,^ (^,, [■.',. .;^' ;, 



