154 



TEXT-BOOK OF ZOOLOGY 



where it can find abundant food for itself and its young. The nest is 

 built out of sticks on the tops of lofty trees. It displays little artistic 



skill in its construction, for, being a strong bird, 

 the buzzard is well able to defend its young, and is 



. . , . not obliged to hide them and their cradle from the 



■p''^% intrusive attention of such nest-plunderers as mag- 



pies, jays, etc. (Compare it, on the other hand, 



with the nightingale and the chaffinch.) The ei/gs are greenish-white, 



spotted with brown. 



D. Adaptation of the Body for a Predatory Mode of Life. 



1. The buzzard may often be seen sitting on a tree or hill motionless, 

 and apparently quite indifferent to its surroundings, but all the time 

 looking out for prey, with its feathers puffed up. (The plumage in the 

 young birds is of a lighter or darker brown ; in old birds it is much 

 spotted with white.) At other times it circles high in the air, surveying 

 its hunting-grounds. In this manner the bird not only enlarges its 

 range of vision (if we desire to get a wide view of surrounding country, 

 we ascend a hill or tower), but also escapes the observation of the 



