214 
HONEY BUZZARD. 
only two young ones, covered with a white 
down, spotted with black. Their crops were 
large, in which were lizards, frogs, &c.”* The 
same ornithologist also mentions that he found 
l! a huge number of green caterpillars, of that 
sort called Geometra, in the stomach and guts of 
one which he dissected.” Mr White states that 
the “ craw of the female shot in Selborne-hanger, 
contained the limbs of frogs, and many grey 
snails without shells.” f 
The form of this bird is rather graceful ; the 
head small and the bill weak, are evidently not 
intended for tearing a strong prey. Its structure, 
however, seems finely adapted for its peculiar 
mode of attack; and the scaly formed feathers 
covering the eyelids, and every exposed part of 
the face, protect them from the stings of the 
colonies it preys upon. From the account given 
us by Mr Selby, the feet also appear to be 
capable of being well employed in scraping, 
while Willoughby remarks that “ this bird runs 
very swiftly like a hen.” 
A specimen procured in France is in length 
about twenty inches. The crown, head, and 
cheeks, clothed with imbricated feathers, smaller 
and more closely arranged on the face. These 
are of an ash grey, gradually shading into the 
* Willoughby's Ornithology, p. 72. 
t Selborne, 4to edit. p. 109. 
