The Buzzard. if^ 



Familv—FAL CONIDyE. 



Buzzard. 



Buteo vulgaris, Leach. 



THE Common Buzzard, the type of the gams Buteo, no longer merits its old 

 name in England, for it is onlj^ in the extreme west, in parts of Wales, 

 in the Lake District, in Scotland, and in Ireland, that the Buzzard may still be 

 met with, a few having survived the ceaseless persecution waged against all the 

 Accipitrine birds. On the coasts of Devon, especially on the northern, on Exraoor, 

 on the rocky coasts of Wales, there are still a few pairs nesting in the cliffs, but 

 very few compared to what there were fifty years ago, when in the Valley of 

 Rocks, at Eynton, six or seven might have been seen soaring in the air at once, 

 and when the bird was well-known to warreners b}- the name of the Black Eagle, 

 and was trapped by them in numbers when it came after the young rabbits. The 

 number of places named after the Common Buzzard ® in Pembrokeshire witness 

 to its former abundance in that part of Wales. The writer has ver}^ often en- 

 countered the Buzzard on Dartmoor and Exmoor, and also on moors in South 

 Wales, and might have shot many had he cared to do so, the birds often foolishly 

 or through curiosity, flying up to the gun. In most parts of England the Buzzard 

 is only known at the present day as an occasional visitor at the seasons of mi- 

 gration ; many of the old woodlands and crags where it formerly nested now 

 know it no more. As a rule the Buzzard is a sluggish bird, remaining perched 

 and motionless for hours at a time, and when moved fl3'ing off in a heavy, sluggish 

 fashion, but at the nesting time it indulges in soaring flights, high above the 

 nest, that are maintained for a considerable time. At their migrations Buzzards 

 travel in large flocks, very high in the air, and can only be recognized by their 

 cries as they pass over. The plumage is full and soft, and there are great 

 variations in its colour ; very dark, almost black, specimens are met with ; others 

 are brown ; others ginger coloured and pale rufous ; others partialh- white. Many 

 years ago the writer saw a perfect albino that had been trapped on Exmoor, and 

 sent into Barnstaple alive and perfect!}' uninjured, "to be killed and stuffed." ! 



* Bwncath. 



