Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 3 (1899).djvu/513

Rh, about fifteen hundred feet up, feeding with a few Rooks on a grassy slope.

The Raven is another bird which never seems to increase much here, but I expect in this case the young birds are driven away by the old ones. A good many Ravens are trapped yearly by the farmers, as they seem to think they do considerable harm; they will also tell you that if they trap a Raven the surviving one will get another mate in a few days. It is impossible here, even with a rope, to get at the nest, which is always built in an overhanging part of the cliff; the young birds leave this nest about the end of March. I only saw three pairs during August, but they seem to wander a good deal at this time of year.

There are always a good number of Peregrines to be seen, and Kestrels are plentiful enough; they were by far the most common of the Hawks; there were often four or five together, and they seemed to annoy the Choughs very much, as they were continually chasing them. I only saw two or three Sparrow-hawks, and there was one Brown Owl round the house; one pair of the latter generally nest here. I could not find out where the Eagles bred this year; as a rule a pair breed anuuallyannually [sic] among the mountains. For the last two years I have known where the nest was, and am glad to say they are well looked after.

In the middle of a little fresh-water lake there is a small island, upon which numbers of Terns breed annually. The island is round, and not more than ten yards in diameter; it is completely overgrown with nettles, except round the edge, where there is nothing but loose stones. I am sorry to say I was too late to see much of the Terns; there were a few Common Terns about, and I feel sure I saw some Arctic Terns flying round. I was also told on fairly good authority that a very little Tern bred there; also that eggs which were supposed to have been those of the Roseate Tern were taken there this year. I give these statements for what they are worth, not being able to corroborate them from my own observation. I intend to visit the island earlier another year. A few Black-headed Gulls also build on the same island; they are quite the most common of all the Gulls I saw during August.

Coming to the smaller birds, Wheatears could be seen everywhere, the highest point I found them at being two thousand feet.