THE TRUE BUZZARDS. 
149 
coalesce with the range of Buteo deseriorum, or the intermediate 
form known as B. ziuunennannm. In Scandinavia it breeds 
as far as 60° N. lat, but its eastern range is believed to be 
the Baltic Provinces and the Vistula. It is, to a great extent, 
a migratory species in the autumn, and passes over Heligoland 
in great flights, and in Southern Europe it is decidedly local as 
a breeding species, and in the Mediterranean countries it again 
meets its rufous ally, B. desertorum. 
HaBits. — The food of the Buzzard consists largely of field- 
mice, frogs, reptiles, especially slow-worms, and occasionally 
small birds. It will therefore be admitted by all that this Rap- 
torial bird is of great use in keeping down small vermin, and, 
like the Barn-Owls, ought to be rigorously protected, and not 
shot down, as is, unfortunately, too often the case with both 
species. In Germany the utility of the Buzzard in forest dis- 
tricts is better recognised. 
In its ways the Buzzard is rather a sluggish bird, and may 
often be seen sitting motionless, sometimes for hours together, 
on a tree or on the ground, only moving when it sees a mouse 
or other small prey. At other times it circles high in the air, 
uttering its plaintive, squealing cry; and when in flight the 
action of the bird is described by all observers to be imposing 
and graceful. 
Nest. — The nest is generally placed in a tree, but sometimes 
on rocks, and one, taken in Ross-shire a few years ago, is in 
the British Museum. The birds had built their rough nest of 
sticks on the floor of a small hollow in the cliff, in a well shel- 
tered situation. The nest is made of rough and ragged sticks 
for a foundation, with more slender twigs on the top, and is 
rather flat. A curious habit of the bird is to line the nest 
with green leaves, which it evidently renews from time to 
time. Mr. Seebohm found this lining of green leaves in ten 
out of eleven nests, some of which contained eggs and some 
young birds ; and it was only in a nest in which the young ones 
were far advanced that tlie lining was absent. Buzzards, how- 
ever, are not the only Birds of Prey which line their nests with 
green leaves, but the object of this proceeding is not clear. 
Eggs. — From two to four in number, generally three. The 
