THE BUZZARD loi 



to the young broods. During the season of the year, too, when 

 she has no young ones to provide for, carrion of all kinds forms 

 her principal food. In consequence of her greedy disposition, 

 the kite is very easily trapped. From her habit of following 

 the course of streams, and hunting along the shores of the loch 

 in search of dead fish or drowned animals of any kind, one of 

 the most successful ways of trapping the kite is to peg down 

 the entrails of some animal in the shallow part of the water, 

 and then to place the trap either on the shore immediately 

 adjoining ; or, what is often done, to form a small artificial 

 promontory close to the bait, and to set the trap on this. 

 The garbage catches the sharp eye of the bird, as she soars 

 at a great height above it, and the clever trapper seldom fails 

 in catching her in this manner. 



The buzzard ^ is another of the hawk tribe which is gradually 

 becoming rarer and rarer, and from the same cause. Like the 

 kite, too, the buzzard is a carrion-feeding bird, and seldom kills 

 anything but small birds, mice, or frogs, excepting during the 

 breeding-season, when it is very destructive to game ; at other 

 times the buzzard lives an indolent, lazy life. After having 

 satisfied her hunger, this bird will sit for hours perfectly motion- 

 less on some withered branch, or on a projecting corner of rock, 

 whence she commands a good view of the surrounding country, 

 and can easily detect the approach of danger. A cowardly bird, 

 except when excited by hunger, she submits patiently to the 

 attacks of the smaller birds, and flies from the magpie or jackdaw. 

 Like the kite, the raven, the eagle, and all birds who feed much 

 on carrion, the buzzard has a lofty flight when in search of food. 

 Soaring high up in the air, and wheeling in circles, she appears 

 to examine the surface of the land for miles and miles, in hopes 

 of detecting some dead sheep or other carcass. The buzzard 

 evinces little cunning in avoiding traps, and is easily caught. 

 I have found their nests, containing from three to four large 

 and nearly white eggs, in different situations ; sometimes built 

 on rocks, and at other times in the branches of a tree, at' no 

 great height from the ground. She sits close, and will allow 

 the near approach of a passer-by before she leaves her eggs. 

 Though she is one of the most ignoble of the hawk kind, I 

 have a lingering affection for this bird, in consequence of her 



1 The buzzard {Buteo vulgaris]. 



