202 HANDBOOK OF BRITISH INLAND BIRDS 
summer visitor only, and a few pairs still nest 
annually in the New Forest and other large wood- 
lands. It does not arrive till May, when the 
woods are coming into leaf, so that it is likely 
to be overlooked, in spite of its large size, even in 
places where it is present. Its plumage is chiefly 
brown above, and, in the male, white barred with 
brown beneath the body, and on the undersides of 
the wings ; in the female the white is replaced by 
yellowish-red. Both birds are grey on the head, 
and the flight resembles that of the Buzzard, but 
is even more easy and graceful, while the wings 
are longer and more pointed. The Honey 
Buzzard feeds on various insects and reptiles, as 
well as, occasionally, on small birds and animals, 
but its special and characteristic food is wasps, 
bumble-bees, and their grubs, in pursuit of which, 
and not for the sake of honey, it scratches open 
their nests in the earth, and will carry off the 
grub-filled combs to its own nest. This is a large 
shallow structure built in a tree of sticks, and is 
often lined with green beech leaves. The two or 
three eggs are creamy-white, blotched and flushed 
with reddish-brown. They are laid in June. 
