THELARGE BLACK EAGLEBUZZARD.
Having finished my account of the four-footed vermin, I now come to describe the winged-tribe of vermin, inhabitants of the air, which, notwithstanding, often descend to earth, and do much mischief; I shall begin with the Black Eagle-Buzzard, which is one of the largest and fiercest birds of the hawk kind, that breeds in England.
This bird frequents parks and warrens, and often catches leverets, young rabbits and pheasants, or any thing else that moves, as soon as the morning light approaches, forthey are a very early bird; in winter time I have caught them in a steel trap, the same as is set in a cube for a dog; bait it with the guts of rabbits or fowls, or some pieces of rabbits that you find dead by accident; in spring I have caught them in steel traps, with the skin of a young rabbit stuffed and tied to the bridge, but after the young rabbits begin to be able to run about, they sometimes are shy and will not strike at a rabbit, unless they see him run; the steel traps that you set for this vermin should strike seven or eight inches high, in order to clear the bait as it ought to be, otherwise the jaws might only catch the bait, and miss the vermin; I have sometimes caught them with a rat in the following manner: set two traps in the manner as you see in plate VI. fig. 1. head to head, covered very nicely with moss, then round the circle as in the same plate, put some small pieces of fern, or a bush or two, quite low, that the bait may be visible and open; put the bait, whatever it may be, in the middle, betweenthe two traps, then he must of necessity go over one of them, in order to get the bait, and by this means I have often caught him. Sometimes you may observe him to haunt a place in a warren or park for a week or fortnight together, then set your traps in the same method as before laid down, and you will be almost certain of taking him. Let your bait be a dead rat, if you can procure one.