Sub-fam. 5. _Buteoninae_, or Buzzards and Kites.–In this group the Rough-legged Buzzards (_Archibuteo_) are separated from the genus _Buteo_ on account of their feathered metatarsi. _A. lagopus_, well-known in Britain from the numbers which frequently appear in autumn, is alleged to have bred once in Yorkshire, while in Northern Europe it is common, extending thence to about the Lena in Asia, and migrating in winter to South Europe, Turkestan, and even Natal. At the same season a darker sub-species _A. sancti johannis_, which breeds north of the United States, occurs southwards to Mexico. The former bird is cream-coloured, with brown markings of various depth, becoming more streaky below; the tail shews a white base and three or four dark cross-bars, of which the sub-terminal is very broad. In Scandinavia, when there is a plague of lemmings, it is as valuable an ally as the owls; the habits being identical with those of _Buteo_. _A. ferrugineus_ of western North America has the upper surface and thighs ferruginous with brown streaks, the head, neck, and tail whiter, and the under parts nearly pure white. _A. hemiptilopus_ (_strophiatus_) of Nepal and Tibet is nearly uniform brown with a white pectoral band. _Buteo_ is a genus of some thirty species, which together inhabit nearly the whole globe, except the Australian region; the {165}only form thence recorded seeming to be _B. solitarius_ of the Sandwich Archipelago–the _Pandion solitarius_ of Cassin and so-called _Onychotes gruberi_ of Mr. Ridgway. All may be represented both in appearance and manners by _B. vulgaris_, the Common Buzzard, which breeds not uncommonly in a few wild districts of Britain, chiefly towards the west, and is found on migration in other parts. Abroad the range includes the Atlantic Islands, West and Central Europe, whence it strays at times to Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, and North Africa; the resident bird of those countries, however, is _B. desertorum_. The colour above is brown, with slight white marks and twelve dusky bars on the tail, the lower surface being yellowish-white with brown streaks; but varieties are very frequent in the genus, and these may be either darker or exhibit creamy tints, a trimorphic tendency of which the Sandwich Islands form is a notable instance. The English name Puttock and the Welsh Cetn appear to be applied indiscriminately to the Common Buzzard and the Kite. The flight is powerful, though slow and heavy, nor is it uncommon to see individuals circling in the air or poising themselves aloft on motionless wings; when quartering the ground the movements are not unlike those of Harriers, but the style is more steady, and the operations less protracted. Much of the food consists of small mammals, and especially rodents; it includes, however, small birds, reptiles, frogs, beetles, and grasshoppers; and many gamekeepers now recognise the bird's utility by protecting its breeding-quarters. Its congener _B. jakal_ is even more