Volume 20, Plate XIX / Ornithology (Birds)

Honey Buzzard

Pernis apivorus

One of the rarest British Falconidae and much sought by collectors, the Honey Buzzard appears chiefly in the autumnal months in the north of England, probably driven from migration, and ranges south of the Forth. Of light buoyant flight, it haunts watery places and feeds largely on wasps, bees, their combs and grubs, digging out nests at the roots of trees, taking birds and small animals only when such insect food fails in winter.