CATALOGUE OF BIRDS. 75 



rocks, a place that hardly any bird but a Buzzard 

 would be likely to penetrate. The cock was, however, 

 equal to the occasion, as, soaring to a tremendous 

 height and wheeling and circling in every direction, 

 he came right over us, penetrating with his keen eye 

 every nook and corner. After that there was no 

 use staying any longer for the hen to come on her 

 nest, so, giving up the idea of shooting as a fruitless 

 task, I had recourse to my traps, which the shepherd 

 had brought with him. The nest being at no great 

 distance from the top of the cliff, we managed to 

 let Peter McDougall down to it ; it was lined with 

 rabbits' fur, the contents being three young ones, 

 and five or six young rabbits. 



Setting the trap on the edge of the nest where the 

 bird showed evidence of alighting, chaining it 

 to a small shrub, and covering it with rabbits' 

 fur, we left it to do its work. Another trap we set 

 hard by, and baited it with rabbit; so, between the 

 two, we expected to do execution somewhere. 



Before leaving the shepherd I instructed him to 

 make periodical visits to the nest to see whether the 

 hen was in the trap or not, if so, to take her out and 

 set it again for the cock ; this he did, and, in regard 

 to this matter, I may mention that two or three 

 visits were paid, and that it was not until about 

 9 or lo o'clock on the next morning that the hen 

 returned to her young and he found her caught. 



He then set the trap for the cock, and, in about 

 two or three hours, that gentleman met with the 

 same fate ; his timidity had, in fact, been his own 



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