3(>8 Pictures of Bird Life 



Waoliiils by the greater leiio-tli of its tiiil. Kiidcr the «4hiss 

 the (^rey A\"agtail is of (juite exceptional beauty ; l)iit it 

 breeds early, and I did not meet with any nests. 



Among the rocky towers and pinnacles whicli o\erhang 

 Dovedale, and add so much to its l)eauty. Kestrels breed 

 in comparative safety. Climbing on hands and knees up a 

 narrow gorge in searcli of their nest, we heard some young- 

 Kestrels chatter loudly, as one of tlie parents sailed round 

 into view : and though they were e\'idently, from the sound, 

 (juite close to us, sluit in as we were between two rock- 

 walls, it w^as impossible to locate exactly the position of the 

 nest. We worked our way up to the top, coming down on 

 the other side of the most probable rock, but failed to 

 discover it. In all probability we should have been imable, 

 without a rope, to ascend the extra twenty or thirty feet 

 which separated us from the nest. Jackdaws also clustered 

 round the rocks, some of which resemble spires, while others 

 take the semblance of ruined towers : and over tlie valleys 

 may nearly always be seen the sable form of a Cai-rion- 

 crow. 



In the caves at the entrance to Dovedale from ^lill- 

 dale, known as tiie Doveholes, a pair of Dippers have 

 for many years nested in security from any human foes ; 

 for their chosen retreat is in a chimney-like aperture in 

 the roof of the largest cave, quite out of all reach. 



INIy friend's garden, as befits an ardent ornithologist, 

 was well fitted up Avitli bird-boxes, mostly inhabited by 

 Starlings, Great Tits, and the usual inhabitants of such 



