84 FALCONID AS. 
of a short oval form, two inches three lines in length by 
one inch and ten lines in breadth, of a soiled white colour, 
slightly spotted with pale brown. Both parent birds attend 
upon and feed their young with great assiduity ; and Ray, 
in his letters, as recorded by Pennant, says, that the male 
Buzzard will hatch and bring up the offspring if the hen 
is killed. The young accompany the old ones for some 
little time after they quit the nest; and White of 
Selborne adds, that they follow their dam with a piping 
and wailing noise. In confinement, says Mr. Atkinson, our 
Buzzards are observed to hide their food when satisfied, 
like the Magpie. 
The extreme partiality of the Common Buzzard to the 
seasonal task of incubation and rearing young birds has 
been exemplified in various instances. A few years back, 
a female Buzzard, kept in the garden of the Chequers Inn 
at Uxbridge, showed an inclination to sit by collecting and 
bending all the loose sticks she could obtain possession of. 
Her owner, noticing her actions, supplied her with materials; 
she completed her nest, and sat on two hen’s eggs which 
she hatched, and afterwards reared the young. Since then, 
she has hatched and brought up a brood of chickens every 
year. She indicates her desire to sit by scratching holes in 
the ground, and breaking and tearmg everything within her 
reach. One summer in order to save her the fatigue of 
sittmg, some young Chickens just hatched were put down 
to her; but she destroyed the whole. Her family in June 
1831 consisted of nme; the original number were ten, but 
one had been lost. When flesh was given to her, she was 
very assiduous in tearing and offering it as food to her 
nurslngs, and appeared uneasy if, after taking small 
portions from her, they turned away to pick up grain. 
Several other similar instances are recorded. 
