[14.|ijgj5; 1. B xjteo vulgaris. Common Buzzard.
G e n u s . B u te o . B e c h s t e i n . Plain Falcon. P e n n . Arct. Zool., ii., p. 207, No. 103. ?. Young female?
Falco obsoletus. L a t h . Ind. , i., p. 28, sp. 61. ?
.P late x x v ii. M a l e.
The Common Buzzard arriving in the fur countries in the middle of April, very
soon afterwards begins to build its nest, and, having reared its young, departs
about the end of September. It haunts the low alluvial points of land which
stretch out under the high banks of a river, and may be observed sitting for a
long time motionless on the bough of a tree, watching patiently for some small
quadruped, bird, or reptile to pass within its reach. As soon as it espies its prey,
it glides silently into the air, and, sweeping easily but rapidly down, seizes it in
its claws. When disturbed, it makes a short circuit, and soon settles on another
perch. One of our specimens had two middle-sized toads in its crop. It builds its
nest on a tree, of short sticks, lining it sparingly with deer’s hair. The eggs,
from three to five in number, are equal in size to those of the domestic fowl, and
have a greenish-white colour, with a few large dark-brown blotches at the thick
end. The Common Buzzard is not mentioned by Wilson or Bonaparte as a North
American bird. It was seen by the Expedition as far north as the fifty-seventh
parallel of latitude, and it most probably has a still higher range. Pennant*
states it to be an inhabitant of New York, Newfoundland, and Hudson’s Bay;
but as he refers to the Ash-coloured Buzzard of Edwards as a representation of
his bird, it is probable that he had not seen an American specimen of the Common
Buzzard. The toothed bill, round nostrils, tarsi half reticulated half feathered,
general appearance, and the circumstance of its preying on the Willow Grouse,
all point out Edwards’s bird to be the Falco Islandicus, under which we have
quoted if.—R.
The minor groups referred by ornithologists to this division of the family, have
not hitherto been investigated; it would, therefore, be hazardous to offer any
decisive opinion as to the type. In the subject of this article, the most common
* Arct. Zool., ii.j p. 207> Nd. 103.