egg was smaller, and not so round as those of the Common
Buzzard; was dotted at each end with small red spots, and
surrounded in the middle with a broad blood-red zone.1'1
Pennant mentions an instance of a Honey Buzzard that was
shot on her nest, which contained two eggs blotched over
with two shades of red, something darker than those of the
Kestrel. The eggs of the Honey Buzzard are rare : I have
only seen three or four specimens, one of which answered to
the description given by White, the colouring matter being
confined to a broad band round the middle. One specimen
in my collection resembles those mentioned by Pennant,
being mottled nearly all over with two shades of orange
brown : long diameter, two inches one line ; transverse diameter,
one inch nine lines. Willughby says, the Honey
Buzzard builds its nest of small twigs, lining it with wool,
and adds, u We saw one that made use of an old Kite’s nest
to breed in, and that fed its young with the nymphse of
wasps; for in the nest we found the combs of wasps’ nests,
and in the stomach of the young the limbs and fragments of
wasp-maggots. There were in the nest but two young ones,
covered with a white down, spotted with black. Their feet
were of a pale yellow; their bills between the nostrils and
the head, white ; their craws large,—in which were lizards,
frogs, Sec. In the crop of one of them we found two lizards
entire, with their heads lying towards the bird’s mouth, as if
they sought to creep out.”
Willughby appears to have been the first to describe and
name the Honey Buzzard as a British bird.
Besides various specimens obtained in Suffolk, Norfolk,
and along the eastern coast as far north as Northumberland,
which have been already referred to, the Honey Buzzard has
been killed in several western counties, including Dorsetshire,
Devonshire, and Worcestershire. Dr. Heysham considered
it very rare in Cumberland, and had only met with one specimen
: he was told that it bred in the woods at Lowther.
Mr. Thompson of Belfast has recorded one example killed in
the North of Ireland. Mr. Macgillivray mentions two instances
of the occurrence of this species in Scotland.
According to Linneus, Brunnich, Muller, and Pennant,
the Honey Buzzard inhabits Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and
Russia. From thence southward, it is found in Germany,
France, Italy, and the South of Europe generally. M. Tem-
minck considers it very rare in Holland. I t is said to be
a native of Eastern climes ; and Mr. Gould states that he
has seen it in collections of skins from India.
The fig ure and description here given were taken from a
specimen in the British Museum, which was killed near York.
Honey Buzzards measure from twenty-two to twenty-five
inches, depending on the sex. The beak is black ; the cere
grey, the irides yellow ; the space between the beak and the
eye covered with feathers, small, round, and closely set ; the
upper part of the head and back of the neck buffy white,
with brown streaks ; upper surface of the body and wings
uniform brown colour ; the primaries nearly black, the third
and fourth feathers the longest and equal : the tail long ; the
upper surface of the tail-feathers barred transversely with two
shades of brown : the front of the neck, breast, and belly,
pale yellow brown ; the shaft and middle line of each feather
marked by a dark brown longitudinal streak or patch, those
of the belly transversely barred : thighs and under tail-coverts
varied with yellowish brown and white ; the tarsi feathered
half-way down, the lower portion reticulated and yellow ; the
toes yellow ; the claws black, rather long, slender, and not
much curved.
This species, like the other Buzzards, occasionally presents
some variety in colour and markings. Those specimens
which have the head of a uniform ash grey have been called
the Capped Buzzard.