Genus P a n d io n .
6 . P a n d io n h a l ia e tu s . . . . . . . . . . . . Vol. I . P I . V
O s pr ey .
Formerly common in Scotland (where its eyry might have been found on most o f the ruined castles in the
neighbourhood of, and on the islands in the lochs), it has now become scarce, and, unless it be protected,
will soon be extirpated. If, as has been supposed, there is but one species o f this form, then it may be said
to be almost universally distributed over the other parts o f the Old World, as it also is in the greater part
of the New. Lives almost wholly on fish. Is a summer visitant, arriving a t its breeding-places in the
spring, and departing southward in autumn.
Subfamily BUTEONINdE.
Buzzards are found in nearly every country o f the globe. The fauna o f Europe comprises three o r four
species, all o f which have been killed in B ritain ; but o f these, one has but slender claims to be enumerated
among the birds of our islands.
Genus B u t e o .
7 . B u t eo v u l g a r i s ............................................................................................................................................................................. j p j y j
C ommon B u zzard.
Formerly very common in many o f our counties, it still breeds in some o f them, particularly in certain
parts o f Kent.
8 . B u t e o d e s e r t o r um .
Falco desertorum, Daud. Traite d’Orn. tom. ii. p. 162.
— cirtensis, Levaill.
mlpinusy Licht.
capensis, part., Schleg.
tachardus, Bree, Birds of Eur. vol. i. p. 97.
anceps, Brehm.
Mr. J . Clarke Hawkshaw has favoured me with the skin o f a Buzzard which, he tells me, was killed at
Everley, in Wiltshire, in September 1864. After having made a careful examination o f the specimen,
Mr. J . H. Gurney assures me that it is an example of the species to which the above names have been
assigned by the various authors mentioned, that of desertorum having the precedence. The countries
frequented by it are Algeria, Mogador, European Turkey, the mouths of the Volga, Syria, India, and Ceylon.
Mr. Gurney considers that there is no specific difference between this bird and that which is named in
collections Buteo eirteosis. He came to this conclusion after examining specimens from Mogador, Tangiers,
Erzeroum, and the mouths of the Volga. I t is included by Schlegel in his ‘ Fauna Japonic»;' so that it has
a very wide range.
“ The appearance of this bird when alive,” says Mr. Gurney, “ is less heavy and more elegant than that of
B . vulgaris. My living specimen, which was dull-brown when I bought it, has moulted into a rich rufous
plumage; and one that was alive in the Zoological Gardens a few years since, underwent a similar change.”
According to M. Favier, it nests among the rocks, and the male takes its turn in sitting. The egg has a
strong resemblance to that of the Black Kite, but is a little more pointed, and the ground-colour a cream-
white, that of the former having a greenish tinge.
Mr. Gurney states that “ the cere, tarsi, and feet of this Buzzard are lemon-yellow; the irides are
sometimes light-hazel, and a t others yellow, p r o b a b l y assuming the latter colour as the bird advances in
ag e; a similar variation, however, which exists in the irides of the Common Buzzard is not always referable
to age, as I have ascertained by experience.”
9 . B ut eo l in ea t u s .
Red-shouldered Buzzard.
I t becomes necessary to notice this species, a single example having been shot at Kingussie, iu
Aberdeenshire, on the 26th of February, 1863. I t is now in the collection o f Mr. Newcombe, of Feltwell
Hall, Brandon, Norfolk. As this is a strictly North-American species, I do not consider it necessary to
figure i t ; but such of my readers as may desire to know its history can refer to the writings ofWilson,
Audubon, and other authors on American birds.
Genus A r c h ib u t eo .
Vol. I. PI. VII.
10. A r c h ib u t eo lagopus . . . . . • • • • •
R ou gh -leg ged B u zzard.
Arrives in the British Islands in autumn, occasionally in considerable numbers, when moving m