NESTING-SERIES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 195 



No. 155. PEREGRINE FALCON. (Falco pc-veiiTinus.) 



Thougli greatly persecuted (iii account of the liavoc it commits 

 among game, this species is still fairly abundant and generally dis- 

 tributed in suitable localities throughout the British Islands. It preys 

 chiefly on Grouse, Partridges, Pigeons, and Ducks, as well as on 

 Sea-fowl of various kinds. No nest is made ; either a sliglit hollow is 

 scratched in the soil on some overhung ledge of an inland rock or 

 sea-cliff, or an old nest of some otlicr bird, such as the Raven, Crow, 

 or Heron, is made use of. The eggs, which arc from two to four in 

 number, vary in colour from freckled orange-brown to ricli brick-red. 

 As is the case with other birds-of-prey, the female is much larger than 

 the male, and tlie difference is conspicuous even in the young 

 birds cxhilutcd in the Case. 



lloss-shire, June. 



Presented by Captain Savile G. Rtid i^ IV. R. Oyilviv-Grunt, Esq. 



No. 156. KESTREL. (Oerchneis tinnuiifulus.) 



This useful friend of the agriculturist is the commonest bird of prey 

 in the British Islands, where it is often known as the Wind-hover, 

 from its habit of hovering or hanging almost motionless in the air, 

 against the wind, over one spot, while it searches the ground beneath 

 for prey. Its food consists chiefly of rodents, large beetles, and other 

 insects, but occasionally small or young birds are taken. The eggs, 

 which arc reddish-brown and from four to six in number, are laid, as a 

 rule, in the old nest of a Crow or Magpie, etc., but cavities in hollow 

 trees, clifls, and towers are also utilized. 



Sutherlandshire, j\Iay. 



Presented by Colonel L. H. Irby 4f Captain S. G. Reid. 



No. 157. COMMON BUZZARD. (Buteo vulgaris.) 



Though still fairly numerous in many of the wilder parts of Scotland, 

 in the north-west of England and iu Wales, this species is atmuallv 

 decreasing in numbers, owing t(j tlie constant persecution to which it is 

 subjected. Its food consists cliiefly of young rabbits and hares and 

 otlier small mammals, but reptiles, grasshoppers and other insects, as 

 well as small birds, are also eaten. The large nest of sticks and dead 

 heather is either built in a tree or placed on the ledge of a cliff, iu the 

 ueighbourliood of rabbit-burrows. Three or four greyish-white eggs, 



