The Scottish Naturalist. 291 



nothing, and can say nothing, but "oh, you need not tell us, we 

 have seen them kill game," ignoring the fact that they also do 

 much good. 



From the 305 birds (already mentioned) 9 have to be deducted 

 whose stomachs contained nothing, still we have the large num- 

 ber of 296, comprising 17 different species, who had almost 

 nothing in their stomachs but the remains of creatures more or 

 less injurious to farmers, gardeners, and landed proprietors. 

 Of the above 1 7 species, 3 were Golden Eagles, whose stomachs 

 contained some lamb's wool and part of a rabbit ; 2 Sea Eagles, 

 who had nothing in their stomachs ; 3 Rough-legged Buzzards, 

 nothing in their stomachs ; 3 Common Buzzards, whose stom- 

 achs contained frogs and mice ; 2 Honey Buzzards, having 

 wasps and their larvae as their food ; 2 Hen-harriers, having 

 each part of a rabbit in their stomachs ; 3 Ospreys, besides 

 their ordinary food, which is fish, each had numbers of beetles 

 in their stomachs, — this, be it observed, is an addition to their 

 food, as far as I am aware, not previously noticed ; 6 Peregrine 

 Falcons, stomach of one contained part of a bird, species undis- 

 tinguishable, the others had their food too far digested to 

 make out what it might have been ; 2 Hobbys, both of whom 

 had shrews in their stomachs ; 12 Merlins, one had just dined 

 on a linnet, and another on beetles, all the remaining ten hav- 

 ing mice and shrews ; 1 Red-legged Falcon, whose stomach was 

 rilled with beetles and a mouse ; of 36 Kestrels, three had bee- 

 tles, 1 grasshoppers, 1 larvae of different kinds, 1 had 60 cater- 

 pillars, 30 grasshoppers, 11 beetles, and 1 earwig — the cater- 

 pillars being chiefly those which feed on gooseberry -leaves — 

 another had the fur of a rabbit and beetles, and the remaining 2 9 

 had mice and shrews — some as many as 7 mice ; of 49 Sparrow 

 Hawks, 6 had small birds hi their stomachs, the remaining 43 hav- 

 ing all mice and shrews ; of 70 Long-eared Owls, 1 had a small bird, 

 and all the others mice and shrews ; of 80 Tawny Owls, 1 had 

 common earth-worms, 2 had small birds, 1 part of a rabbit, another 

 caterpillars, 1 bits of Scotch fir and beetles, and another a weazel ; 

 4 had empty stomachs, the remaining 69 having all fed on mice 

 and shrews ; 16 Barn Owls, all having mice of several species ; 

 of 14 Short-eared Owls, one had just breakfasted on a jacksnipe; 

 all the others had mice. a 



This (as already stated) is the fruits of ten years' work ; and, as 

 will have been seen, mice constitute the principal food of our rapa- 

 cious birds. Hence I maintain — in short would demand, as every 



