26o WILD NATURE'S WAYS. 



only made two or three exposures upon the bird 

 during two days^ at the end of which time a 

 raven severed our further acquaintance by sucking 

 the eggs. 



Whilst waiting and watching one day for the 

 common gull, I saw something of the unneigh- 

 bourly behaviour of my old friend the ringed 

 plover. She would not suffer any other bird to 

 rest within a certain area which she had marked 

 out for herself and her four downy tots of chicks. 

 It did not matter whether it was an oyster-catcher 

 or a rock pipit that happened to stray too near 

 her claim, she rushed upon the intruder like a 

 little fury, and speedily expelled him. 



Numbers of rock and stock doves were breed- 

 ing along the coast where I was at work, the former 

 in caves and the latter in rabbit burrows on the 

 edges of the chffs. I noticed several specimens 

 amongst the cave-dwellers bearing signs of arti- 

 ficial selection. They were either escaped 

 domestic varieties or the descendants of such — 

 probably the latter. 



A fine old peregrine falcon flew past me on 

 several occasions, and the fleshless remains of 

 pigeons lying about amongst the rugged crags 

 told their own tale of taxation and tragedy. 

 This bold marauder occasionally falls an indirect 

 victim to his own appetite, however, for a few 

 years ago one floated ashore dead, near to this 



