The RED-WINGED or GRASSHOPPER BUZZARD (_Poliornis rufipennis_) is a small
lively bird, inhabiting Central Africa. This species is recognisable by
its long, powerful, but slightly curved beak, and over-hanging cere. Its
pointed wings, in which the fourth quill is the longest, reach almost
to the end of the long tail; the legs are high, and the toes small; the
brow white, the mantle brownish grey, the head, nape, and lower portions
of the body reddish yellow; the feathers upon the back have dark shafts
and light borders, those on the under part of the body are marked with
dark streaks; the tail is deep grey, edged with white, and darkly striped
towards its tip. The quills are reddish brown, lightest in shade upon the
inner web, tipped with black, and having a white border. The cere, bare
cheek-stripes, and feet are bright yellow; the beak is deep orange at its
base and greyish black at the tip. The length of the male is fourteen
inches and a quarter; the wing measures eleven, and the tail six inches
and three-quarters.
The Grasshopper Buzzard makes its appearance upon the plains of Central
Africa about the rainy season, during which period it finds abundance of
food, and after lingering for some time, quits that part of the continent
for still warmer regions. In its habits this bird is half Falcon and
half Buzzard; like the latter it perches for hours together upon the
branches of a tree, surveying the surrounding country, and watching for
prey; then, suddenly rising, it flies, with rapid strokes of its wings,
to a considerable distance, and, after hovering for a few seconds, swoops
down, and pounces upon the grasshopper it has marked for its own. We are
without further particulars of the life of this bird.