144 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



appearance then is very characteristic. Ringing up in great 

 spirals, with broad rounded wings held almost horizontally, and 

 broad, slightly rounded tail expanded, a Buzzard looks like a large 

 moth silhouetted against the sky ; and its identity is confirmed 

 by long-drawn, plaintive mewing " pee-yeou," audible at great 

 distance. Hunger -cry of young is an iterated whistling " whee-ou, 

 whee-ou." 



Breeding-habits. — -Formerly haunted our English woodlands, 

 but now almost entirely confined to moorlands and mountain 

 districts, where most nests are on rocks or steep broken hillsides, 

 only occasionally in trees. Nest. — Bulky, built of sticks, heather 

 stems and twigs, while inner cup is decorated with fresh green 

 boughs of pine, ivy, larch or other tree. One nest contained several 

 bones of sheep. Dead grass, Luzula and bits of bark also found 

 in lining. Eggs. — Normally 2 or 3, in old birds only 1, while sets 

 of four are exceptional and twice sets of 5 have been met with in 

 England. Colour white, sometimes with light bluish tinge, either 

 unmarked or blotched, smeared and spotted with red-brown of 

 varying shades, sometimes evenly distributed and sometimes as 

 zone or cap at large end. Average of 100 British eggs, 56.8x45.4. 

 Max.: 61x45.6 and 59x49. In.: 52.1x43 and 53.1x42.5. 

 Breeding-season. — Usually last fortnight of April and early May in 

 Great Britain. Incubation. — Chiefly by female, often begins with 

 first egg and lasts 28-31 days. Single brooded. Fledging-period. — 

 About 6 weeks. 



Food. — Chiefly small mammals (especially voles, moles and some- 

 times rabbit), dead lambs and placenta of ewe, an occasional bird, 

 picked up from ground in most cases, and earthworms. Other 

 mammals occasionally killed include hare, rat, mice, shrew, stoat 

 and once marten. Birds taken include Jackdaw, various Finches 

 and Tits, Blackbird, Thrushes, Fieldfare, Redwing, Sky-Lark, 

 Meadow-Pipit, Partridge, Red Grouse (old as well as young), Wood- 

 Pigeon, Moor -Hen, Lapwing, and young wild duck and domestic 

 chickens. Also snakes (viper and grass snake), frogs, small toads, 

 lizard, slow-worm, bivalve molluscs, coleoptera (dung-beetles) 

 and larvae of lepidoptera (Sphinx as well as Noctuidce). 



Distribution. — Great Britain. — Resident, breeding commonly 

 in Wales, Devonian peninsula and Lakeland (as well as very 

 sparingly in Pennines and New Forest), and in central, west and 

 north Scotland including I. Hebrides ; only exceptionally elsewhere. 

 On east coast irregular migrant, but elsewhere only occasional 

 visitor, although numerous in some winters ; occurrence at any 

 time in Shetlands doubtful, and only once O. Hebrides (Lewis). 

 Ireland. — Exterminated as resident probably between 1880 and 

 1890, now only autumn to spring vagrant. 



Distribution. — Abroad. — Europe from about lat. 66° in Sweden, 

 but local and rare in south-east Europe. Replaced by other races 



