BRITISH BIRDS* 
1 6 
beaten, and even brought to the ground without 
fell fiance. 
The Buzzard is about twenty inches in length, 
and in breadth four feet and a half ; its bill is of a 
lead colour ; eyes pale yellow ; the upper parts of 
the body are of a dufky brown colour ; the wings 
and tail are marked with bars of a darker hue ; 
the upper parts pale, variegated with a light red- 
difh brown ; the legs are yellow ; claws black. 
This well-known bird is of a fedentary and indo- 
lent difpofition ; it continues for many hours per- 
ched upon a tree or eminence, from whence it 
darts upon the game that comes within its reach ; 
it feeds on birds, fmall quadrupeds, reptiles, and 
infe&s ; its nefl is conflru£ted with fmall branches, 
lined in the infide with wool, and other foft mate- 
rials ; it lays two or three eggs, of a whitifh co- 
lour, fpotted with yellow ; it feeds and tends its 
young with great affiduity. Ray affirms, that if the 
female be killed during the time of incubation, the 
male Buzzard takes the charge of them, and pa- 
tiently rears the young till they are able to pro- 
vide for themfelves. Birds of this fpecies are fub- 
je£t to greater variations than moll other birds, 
fcarcely two being alike ; fome are entirely white, 
of others the head only is white, and others again 
are mottled with brown and white. 
We were favoured with one of thefe birds by 
John Trevelyan, Efq. of Wallington, in the county 
of Northumberland, by whom it yras ffiot in the 
