Class II. COMMON BUZZARD. 233 



soft materials ; it lays two or three eggs, which 

 are sometimes wholly white ; sometimes spot- 

 ted with yellow. The cock buzzard will hatch 

 and bring up the young, if the hen is killed *. 

 The young consort with the old ones for some 

 little time after they quit the nest ; which, is not 

 usual with other birds of prey, who always 

 drive away their brood as soon as they can fly. 

 This species is very sluggish and inactive ; and 

 is much less in motion than other hawks, re- 

 maining perched on the same bough for the 

 greatest part of the day, and is found at most 

 times near the same place. It feeds on birds, 

 rabbets, moles and mice ; it will also eat frogs, 

 earth-worms and insects. 



This bird is subject to some variety in its Descrip- 

 colors ; we have seen some whose breast and 

 belly were brown, and only marked across the 

 craw with a large white crescent : usually the 

 breast is of a yellowish white, spotted with ob- 

 long rust-colored spots, pointing downwards. 

 The chin is ferruginous ; the back of the head 

 and neck, and the coverts of the wings are of a 

 deep brown, edged with a pale rust color : the 

 scapular feathers brown, with white towards their 

 roots : the middle of the back is covered only 



* Hay's Letters. 352. 



