76 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



Mause Falk ) 



(German}-). 



Wald Ge3 ? er ) 



Falco Bottaon j ^ } . 

 Pagana ) v y/ 



Bocl teircaiil (Anc. Britain). 



Vulgaris. — From Vulgo (L.), common. 



Size.— Male, length from 1 8 to 20 inches, 

 expanse of wings about four feet ; female, 

 length 28 inches, expanse nearly five feet. 



Plumage. — Very few birds vary more 

 than the Common Buzzard in the color of its 

 plumage ; some being very dark, while others 

 are very light. The bill is pale brown ; cere 

 and eye yellow ; back, in ordinary specimens, | 

 uniform brown ; throat, breast, and under 

 parts creamy, with brown transverse spots ; 

 wings brown ; tail paler brown, with darker 

 bars ; legs yellow. 



Immature birds have generally more 

 mottling about the feathers, the colors not 

 being so distinct. The eye is brown, and 

 the claws not so long. The feathers on the 

 back are edged with a paler color. 



Varieties of this species are not un- 

 frequently met with in countries where it is 

 common. A very dark variety (pi. 4, fig. 2) 

 is in the collection of Mr. James Varley, of 

 Huddersheld. It is uniform dark brown, 

 with a few pale streaks under the chin, and 

 a few pale transverse bars under the belly. 

 Another very handsome variety (pi. 4, fig. 3) 

 is in the possession of Mr. Hyanson, of 

 Wakefield. Mr. Fredk. Bond, F.L.S., has 

 had a specimen of this species perfectly 

 white. 



Note. — The note is a sort of wild 

 melancholy whistle, quite in keeping with the 

 desolate scenes generally frequented by the 

 bird. 



Flight. — The Common Buzzard has 

 frequently been seen flying low over fallow 

 land, skimming just above the ground, prob- 

 ably searching for its prey, perhaps by scent. 

 At other times its liight is high, and when 

 seen against the sky its large round wings 

 give to it an appearance larger than it really 

 is, and experienced naturalists have mis- 



taken it for an eagle. When capturing its ,]l. r 

 prey it swoops down from a height or from 

 the branch of some tree, clutches the victim 

 in its talons, and bears it away. Mr. W. C. 

 Clarke ^ays (Nat., Vol. 5, p. 51) : — "Before 1 

 us is a celebrated mountain from whose in- 

 accessible side a buzzard flies ; at first she 

 wings her way with heavy flight, performed 

 by slow and deliberate flaps of her broad and 

 powerful wings. She pauses, almost coming 

 to a standstill, and then wheeling, commences 

 to rise by the most graceful and easy gyra- 

 tions, performed apparently without the 

 slightest effort. Higher and higher the bird 

 rises, until at last she becomes a mere speck 

 in the clouds, and the elevation reached 

 cannot be less than 6000 feet. 



Migration. — In England the Buzzard 

 can hardly be said to be migratory, though 

 \ large flocks have been seen all flying in one 

 J direction. It also ceases to roost on the fells 

 I as winter approaches, and comes down into 

 I the lower plantations, and, no doubt, those in 

 the northern localities will come further 

 south. In America, where it is very com- 

 mon, it is a regular migrant, arriving in the 

 northern parts about the middle of April, and 

 departing south at the end of September. 

 Food. — The food of the Common Buzz- 

 ! ard consists of rabbits, hares, rats, frogs, and 

 j the smaller birds ; it will also eat carrion, 

 I but probably only when other food is scarce. 

 1 The mole seems to be one of the animals 

 preyed upon by this bird. 



In Confinement the Buzzard is said to be 

 easily tamed, and it soon becomes attached 

 i to its keeper. It should be fed upon raw 

 meat, but if allowed at liberty it will find a| 

 considerable portion of its own fare in the 

 shape of worms, and other garden vermin. 



Habitat. — 'he Common Buzzard, like 

 all other birds of prey, is much rarer than it 

 was in former years ; still it cannot be said 

 to be uncommon, breeding plentifully in 

 some parts of Scotland and Ireland, also in | 

 various places in -England and Wales, where jl" * 

 one keeper recently trapped fourteen in 



