138 ORNITHOLOGICAL R^UIBLES. 



while in the more open parts of that region the 

 undulating surftxce is covered with heather, fern 

 and gorse, and the holly vies with the oak in 

 forming those detached and broken clumps which 

 add so materially to the picturesque effect of such 

 scenery. But Charlton Forest is almost exclu- 

 sively composed of beech trees, whose tall and 

 naked stems rise to a considerable height from 

 the mossy ground, and then, spreading out into 

 a net-work of branches and foliage, form a ca- 

 nopy overhead nearly impenetrable to the rays of 

 the sun. 



When riding through its glades on a fine au- 

 tumnal evening, you might almost fancy yourself 

 carried back to the days of Kobin Hood, and 

 expect every instant to see a goodly buck dart 

 across your path, followed by the bold outlaw 

 himself and "his merry men"' in hot pursuit. 



I was indulging in some such reverie of "the 

 olden time,'" when my attention was attracted by 

 the appearance of a large raptorial bird about 

 thirty yards off, apparently devouring its prey at 

 the foot of a beech tree. So intently was it occu- 

 pied, that it either did not remark or disregarded 

 my approach, until I had advanced sufficiently 

 near to perceive that it was a honey buzzard in 

 the act of tearing up the soil above a wasp's nest, 

 which it had discovered in an angle formed by 



