THE BUZZARD. 103 
Family—FALCONIDA:. 
BUZZARD. 
Buteo vulgaris, LEACH. 
HE Common Buzzard, the type of the genus Buteo, no longer merits its old 
name in England, for it is only 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 Exmoor, 
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 Lynton, six or seven might have been seen soaring in the air at once, 
and when the bird was well-known to warreners by 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 very 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 tothe 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 flying 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 partially white. Many 
years ago the writer saw a perfect albino that had been trapped on Exmoor, and 
sent into Barnstaple alive and perfectly uninjured, ‘“‘to be killed and stuffed.’’! 
’ 
* Bwncath. 
