History of British animals - University of Guam Marine Laboratory

54 BIRDS. ACCIPITRES. Buteo.tinguish this species from the other British Accipitres. Female, with the plumage,above, brown, with pale margins ; beneath, yellowish-brown, with longitudinaldark spots. The two middle tail feathers with dark cinereous andblackish bands. In this state, it is the Falco pygargus of Linnaeus, and theRing-tail of British ornithologists.Willoughby had hinted at their identity,Om. p. 40. ; and Barington seems to have admitted it, Phil. Trans. 1770,p. 14; but it was Montagu who removed all doubts on the subject. Breedsin furse and heath. Eggs 4 or 5, bluish white, and without spots. Younglike the female. This species flies near the ground, and is very destructiveto poultry and game.Gen. XIII. BUTEO. Buzzard— Wings and tail long, thelatter rounded.(a.)a. The fourth quillfcather longest.Wings reaching nearly to the end of the tail.21. B. vulgaris. Common Buzzard.— Upper quarter of thetarsi feathered. Nostrils round ; the margin of the upper mandibleslightly waved.Will. Orn. 38. Sibb. Scot. 15— Buzzard, Perm. Brit. Zool. i. 180—Falcobuteo, Temm. i. 63.— E, Puttock; W, Bod teircail; G, CJamhan.—Common, near large woods.Length 21, breadth 50 inches; weight 32 pounds. Bill bluish, cere, irides,and feet yellow. Plumage, above, deep brown, with pale margins; below,greyish-brown, with darker spots, sometimes with cross bars of white, scarcelyapparent on the throat, but increasing on the breast, belly, and vent. Thighsplain dusky-brown on the outside, more rufous on the hiside. The first fourquills, with the inner webs abbreviated and black towards the extremity.Tail-feathers dusky, with pale tips and brown bars ; a little longer than thewings. Breeds in trees. Eggs 2 or 3, size of those of a hen, white, withrusty spots at the larger end. The young have the plumage light brown,variegated with white and yellow ;throat and belly white, the latter withlongitudinal large spots. Feeds on rabbits and birds, pouncing its prey on theground.22. B. Lagopus. Rough-legged Buzzard.—Tarsi featherednearlyto the toes.Bough-legged Falcon, Penn. Brit. Zool. ii. G23. Monl. Orn. Diet—FalcoLagopus, Temm. i. 65—In England, rare, Leverian Museum ; Kent, DrLatham; Suffolk, Montagu.Length 19 to 27 inches. Bill and claws black cere and feet ; yellow irides;browm Head, neck, throat, breast, and thighs yellowish-white, with largestreaks of brown. Back dark-brown, with yellowish margins. Belly with alarge brown spot; the rest beneath yellowish-white. Quills white at thebase, dusky at the ends. Tail, with the basal half, white ; then a broad brownband ;the tips whitish. In the female, the head, neck, and tail are whiter ;the sides and belly browner. Breeds hi trees. Eggs 4, clouded with red.Young have brown spots above, varied with white, with a stripe of the samecolour over the eye. Tail with three bands near the end. Feeds on gliresand frogs. It is frequent hi the north of Europe.(b.) Wings much shorter than the tail (The Accipiter of Willoughby; Astur and Nisus of Cuvier.J23. B. Palumbarws. Goshawk.— Tarsi short. A white lineover the eye.