OF BIRDS. 
1 75 
is large, and armed with a short hooked bill. The plu- 
mage on the upper part of the body is of a darkish dun; 
the belly of a yellowish white, with rusty spots on the 
breast. The thighs are large, and feathered below the 
knee; and the legs and feet are covered with scales. 
This bird is well known in England, and is of a se- 
dentary and indolent disposition; it continues for many 
hours perched upon a tree or revenue, whence it darts 
upon the game that comes within its reach: it feeds upon 
small quadrupeds, reptiles, and insects. Its nest is con= 
structed with small branches, lined in the inside with 
wooi and other soft materials; it lays two or three eggs, 
of a whitish colour spotted with yellow. It feeds and 
tends its young with great assiduity. 
Moor Buzzard. (PI. 25.) This bird’s length is about 
twenty-one inches. The bill is black; cere and eyes yel- 
low; the whole crown of the head is of a yellowish white, 
lightly tinged with brown; the throat is of a light rust 
colour: the rest of the plumage is of a reddish brown, 
with pale edges;- the greater wing-coverts are tipped with 
white: the legs are yellow; and claws black. 
The moor-buzzard preys oh rabbits, young wild ducks, 
and other water fowl; and likewise feeds on fish, frogs, 
reptiles, and even insects: its haunts are in hedges and 
bushes, near pools, marshes, and rivers that abound with 
fish. It builds its nest a little above the surface of the 
ground, or in hillocks covered with thick herbage: the 
female lays three or four eggs of a whitish colour, irre- 
gularly sprinkled with dusky spots. Though smaller, it 
is more active and bolder than the common buzzard, and 
when pursued, it -faces its antagonist, and makes a vigo- 
rous defence. 
Birds of this kind vary much; in some the crown and 
back part of the head are yellow; and some have been 
seen uniformly of a chocolate brown, with a tinge of rust 
colour. 
Falcon. (pi. 26.) This is a very elegant bird, and is 
larger than the goshawk. Its bill is much hooked, and 
yellow; the iris is dusky; the throat white, as is likewise 
tke general colour of the plumage, but spotted with 
