were too wary to allow us to come within gun-shot. In
the softness and fulness of its plumage, its feathered legs,
and habits, this bird bears some resemblance to the Owls.
It flies slowly, sits for a long time on the bough of a tree,
watching for mice, frogs, &c. and is often seen skimming
over swampy pieces of ground, and hunting for its prey by
the subdued daylight, which illuminates even the midnight
hours in the high parallels of latitude. Wilson observes;, that
in Pennsylvania it is in the habit of coursing over the meadows
long after the sun has set. I t is fitted for this nocturnal
chase by the softness of its plumage, which contributes to
render its flight noiseless, like that of an Owl.”
The whole length of the specimen figured was twenty-four
inches ; the beak black; the cere and irides yellow ; the top
of the head, the cheeks, nape, and upper part of the neck,
pale buff, each feather streaked or patched in the centre with
dark brown ; the back, wings, wing-coverts, and rump, clove
brown, some of the feathers edged with fawn colour ; primaries
brownish black, the fourth the longest, the first and seventh
equal in length; upper tail-coverts buffy white, with
an angular brown patch near the end of each feather ; upper
surface of the tail-feathers buffy white on the proximal half
of their length, the distal half brown. The chin, throat, and
breast, fawn colour, tinged with ferruginous, streaked and
patched with brown ; the belly almost uniform clove brown ;
thighs and tarsi to the junction of the toes covered with
feathers of fawn colour spotted with brown : the toes with
three broad scales at the base of the claw, yellow; the
claws or nails black: under surface of wing-primaries to
the end of the broad part of the inner web white, from
the emarsrination brownish black : under tail-coverts uniform
buffy white; proximal half of the under surface of the
tail-feathers white, the distal half greyish brown.
RAPTORES. FALCONIDÆ.
TH E HONEY BUZZARD.
Falco apioorus, Honey Buzzard, P enn Brit. Zool. vol. i. p. 235.
9 ,, ,, M ont. Ornith. Diet. ,, ,, ,, ,, Bewick, Brit. Birds, vol. i. p. 24.
Pernis ,, ,, ,, Plem. Brit. An. p. 52. ,, , ,, ,, Selby, Brit. Ornith. vol. i. p. 62.
Buteo ,, ,, ,, J enyns, Brit. Vert. p. 88.
Pernis ,, ,, ,, Gould, Birds of Europe, pt. xvi.
Falco ,, Buse Bondrde, T emm. Man. d’Ornith. vol. i. p. 67.
P ernis. Generic Characters.—Bill slender, rather weak, curved from the
base, the cutting edge of the upper mandible nearly straight; the cere large •
nostrils elongated, placed obliquely ; the lore covered with small scale-like
feathers. Wings long and large; the first quill-feather short; the third and
fourth feathers the longest in the wing; inner webs of the first four deeply
notched. Tail long. Tarsi short, half-plumed,'the rest reticulated ; toes of
moderate length and strength ; the claws only slightly curved.