THE SACRED BIRD 89 



were tcllinp^ their friends in LoiuIdu lliat .'i pair of birds 

 of a fine species, lonj^' extirpated in southern Knj^hmd, 

 had come to their \vo<k1s to breed. A httle later the 

 heatl keeper reported that tliese same fine Ijirds had 

 mysteriously disappeared ! 



One more case, again from an estate in a southern 

 county, the shootintj of which was let to a j^^entleman 

 who is greatly interested in the preservation of rare 

 birds, especially the hawks. I knew the ground well, 

 having received permission from the owner to go where 

 I liked: I also knew the keepers and (like a fool) be- 

 lieved they would carry out the instructions of their 

 master. I informed them that a pair of hobby-hawks 

 were breeding in a clump of trees on the edge of the 

 park, and asked them to be careful not to mistake them 

 for sparrowhawks. At the same time I told them that 

 a pair of Montagu's harriers were constantly to be seen 

 at a lonely marshy spot in the woods, a mile from the 

 park ; I had been watching them for three days at that 

 spot and believed they were nesting. I also told them 

 where a pair of great spotted \voodi)eckers were breed- 

 ing in the woods. They promised to "keep an eye" 

 on the hawks, and I daresay they did, seeing that both 

 hobby s and harriers had vanished in the course of the 

 next few days. But they would not promise to save 

 the woodpeckers: one of the under-keepers had been 

 asked by a lady to get her a few pretty birds to put in 

 a glass case, and the head keeper told him he could have 

 these woodpeckers. 



Did I in these cases inform the owner and the shoot- 



