455 



stomach were as follows — " five Sorex vulgaris, nine large larvae of Spliinx elpenor, two of Sph. 

 ocellata, two Locusta verrucivora, and five or six smaller grasshoppers." According to Pastor 

 Snell, the Buzzard being too slow on the wing, and therefore unable to catch birds, is sometimes 

 during the winter season reduced to great straits, and will then even feed on berries and wild 

 fruits, such as the fruit of Prunus spinosa and the berries of the dog-rose (Rosa canina). He 

 relates that he has seen one sitting on a hedge and greedily plucking and devouring the latter 

 berries. 



Though, as a rule, the Buzzard is a peaceable and quiet bird, yet, during the breeding- 

 season, it has been known to fight desperately. Mr. Benzon informs me that in Northern 

 Seeland (Denmark) an acquaintance of his witnessed a tough battle between two Buzzards, 

 which, after fighting for some time in the air, fell to the ground whilst in close combat, and still 

 continued their duel with such ferocity that he was able to walk up to and kill them with a 

 riding- whip. 



Though one would scarcely consider the flesh of a Buzzard fit for human food, yet Nilsson 

 states (Sk. Fauna, Fogl. i. p. 74) that in Southern Sweden considerable numbers are caught and 

 used for food. " In Skanor," he writes, " and especially in Falsterbo, numbers of Buzzards are 

 annually caught and used for household purposes. In October, when they pass through Skane 

 on their passage to the south, they remain for some time on the outermost point of land to 

 await a suitable westerly wind to cross. Large numbers collect and roost at night in the trees 

 (especially in the willows) which grow there. When the darkness sets in, two men go in company 

 to catch them, one with a sack, and the other with a stout cudgel. The latter climbs quietly up 

 into the tree, where he can just distinguish the bird, whilst the other remains below; and so soon 

 as the climber has got up to where he can reach a bird, he catches it by the legs with the left 

 hand, and either twists its neck with his right hand or stuns it with a blow of the cudgel, and 

 throws it down to his companion on the ground, who crams it into the sack. In this manner 

 two men can catch thirty or forty in an evening, or, according to Borgm. C, as many even as 

 seventy or eighty ; and Captain E. relates that twenty were obtained one evening from the same 

 tree. They are easiest to catch when it is dark and blowing hard, so that the bird cannot easily 

 hear the noise. In all, many hundreds are caught annually, some of which are cooked fresh or 

 made into soup, but most are salted down and kept for use during the winter." 



The Buzzard is a somewhat early breeder, the eggs being deposited either in April or, in 

 some instances, even late in March. In Scotland, according to Professor Newton, it generally 

 places its nest on rocks, or on the edges of steep scars or beds of torrents ; but, so far as my 

 own experience goes, it breeds in Germany and Scandinavia in non-evergreen trees, placing the 

 nest either tolerably high or at no great altitude from the ground. Mr. Benzon writes to me 

 from Copenhagen as follows : — " I have only found the Buzzard breeding in deciduous trees — 

 beeches or oaks, seldom elms ; but it is probable that it chooses any suitable non-evergreen tree. 

 Its nest is rarely placed as high as those of the other larger Raptores, and is sometimes not 

 higher than a couple of fathoms or so above the ground. The nest is less than that of the Kite, 

 being about 40-45 centimetres in outside diameter, and is constructed of larger branches in the 

 foundation (or not unfrequently an old Crow's nest is made use of) ; and the inner lining consists 

 of grass &c, and sometimes even a few feathers are used. The diameter of the inner cup is 



