126 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS 



food consisting of many creatures eminently more 

 destructive. Of its harmlessness we hope to 

 convince the reader in our account of its general 

 habits. Collectors, too, are responsible to a great 

 extent for the Buzzard's present rarity. British- 

 taken eggs have long been a craze, and the high 

 prices which these have commanded have tempted 

 woodmen and keepers to seek for and rob many a 

 nest which might otherwise have been left alone. 

 If we are to retain the Common Buzzard as a 

 British species, this persecution must cease; and 

 we trust that County Councils, agriculturists, and 

 big landowners will in their own interests save 

 the bird from the extinction which threatens it. 

 Nowadays the Common Buzzard still breeds on 

 some of the Welsh cliifs and in the larger woods 

 of the Principality, as it also does in a few of the 

 wilder wooded districts of England. In Scotland 

 we are glad to say it has not been so sorely 

 persecuted, and still breeds in many secluded 

 spots ; whilst in Ireland, although far less common 

 than it used to be, it is known to nest here and 

 there in localities which are best kept secret. The 

 range of the Common Buzzard outside the British 

 Islands is a somewhat restricted one. The bird is 

 generally distributed over Western Europe from 



