38 
FALCONINiE. BUTEO. 
Eyes large, with a hroad superciliary ridge. Head large^ 
broad, flattened. Feet short, robust ; tarsus feathered in 
front half-way down, anteriorly and posteriorly scutellate, or 
feathered in its whole length ; toes of moderate length, 
rather stout, all scutellate toward the end, the first and second 
stoutest ; claws long, well-curved, tapering, very acute, flat 
beneath. Plumage full, soft. Wings long, broad, rounded, 
the fourth quill longest, the outer four with the inner web 
abruptly narrowed. Tail of moderate length, or rather long^ 
broad, and rounded. 
Among the least active birds of this family, but having 
a strong, buoyant flight. They sail in circles, mounting to a 
great height ; but when searching for food, fly low over the 
fields. They seldom pursue birds on wing ; feed on quadru- 
peds, birds, reptiles, insects, and worms. 
2 , Buteo euscus. Brown Buzzard. 
Tarsi bare in their lower part. Male with the upper parts 
deep brown, the feathers margined with paler, the lower parts 
yellowish-white, with longitudinal oblong brown spots, the 
tail with numerous brown and pale bands. Female deep 
brown above and beneath, the throat streaked with whitish, 
the breast spotted with the same. Young of a lighter brown, 
with the feathers margined with light red. 
Male, 19, 49, 16^, l/^, 2i§, 1 Female, 21, 50. 
Generally distributed in Britain. Occurs also in Ireland, 
Feeds on small quadrupeds, birds, lizards, beetles, larvse, and 
even earth-worms. In its soaring flight it greatly resembles 
the Golden Eagle, to which it is closely allied. Nestles in 
trees, and in rocky places on the ground. Eggs three or four, 
broadly elliptical, 2i inches in length, 1}| in breadth, dull 
white, spotted and patched with yellowish-brown, 
Glead. Glade. Kite. Puttock. Common Buzzard, 
Falco Buteo, Linn, Syst. Nat. i. 127. — Falco Buteo, Temm. 
Man. d’Orn. i. 63 ; hi. 35. — Buteo fuscus. Brown or Common 
Buzzard, MacGillivray, Brit. Birds, hi. 183. 
3. Buteo lagopus. Bough-legged Buzzard. 
Tarsi feathered to the toes. Upper parts brown, the head 
and neck streaked with white ; lower parts yellowish-white, 
with a broad patch of brown on the breast ; the tail white for 
more than half its length. Old birds almost entirely choco- 
