The European Buzzard

( Originally Published Early 1900's )

(B. Buteo) of western Europe is said to have been occasionally, though of course accidentally, found in the United States. It is from twenty to twenty-two inches in length, and is usually dark brown, mottled with brown of a darker shade, the tail being marked with about twelve narrow bands of dusky, though it varies greatly in coloration. It is described as a bird of quiet, sedentary disposition, feeding, like its American cousins, on small mammals, reptiles, birds, and insects. It was once a common bird in the British Islands, but has been nearly exterminated except in the wildest parts of Scotland and Wales. Its nest is placed on a rocky ledge or in trees, and sometimes it makes use of an old nest of some other species. The eggs are usually three in number, and are white, variously spotted and blotched with reddish brown.