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every member of the orders Falconidae, Strigidns, and Corvidae ; 

 when farmers join in the cry in defence of their young poultry and 

 lambs, and evince a sympathy frequently more than a passive 

 one, with the professional corvicide ; can one feel surprised at the 

 gradual disappearance of the Raptores, &c., from our midst, when 

 traps, guns, and poison are indiscriminately used for their ex- 

 tinction ? The prodigious increase of field-mice — both the Long 

 and the Short-tailed varieties — in different quarters, must bring 

 about a reaction in favour of the persecuted owls and hawks, 

 especially the Kestrel. Who that has examined the droppings 

 scattered around the vicinity of a Wind-hover's nursery, can fail to 

 recognise his importance as a killer of vermin in the most appro- 

 priate and strict sense of the term. Of these persecuted birds 

 there yet remain to us the Peregrine Falcon — growing yearly more 

 rare, — the Merlin, the Kestrel, the Sparrow-hawk, the Common 

 Buzzard, and the Harrier — the last mentioned all but extinct. 

 Of the Strigidse, the White or Barn Owl, the Tawny Owl, and the 

 Long-eared and the Short-eared species. 



Of the Merulidse we possess the Dipper, whose lively and 

 interesting mode of life can be studied to perfection in our secluded 

 and sylvan glens. The Ring Ousel also breeds with us sparingly, 

 and I regret to record a palpable diminution of its numbers during 

 the past forty years. The Crag Starling, as we call him, comes to 

 us early in spring, and retires as soon as he has assisted in stripping 

 the Rowan tree of its scarlet fruit. 



Of the Warblers ( Sylviadce), most of them migratory. Lakeland 

 may claim the Wheatear, which breeds in great abundance ; 

 indeed, there are some localities where they may be said to swarm 

 like little colonies. The Whinchat also abounds ; whilst the 

 Stonechat is comparatively rare. Few old walls are without a pair 

 of Redstarts ; and the Blackcap is a real rara-avis. The White- 

 throat, the Sedge- and Grasshopper Warblers, the Wood Wren, the 

 Willow Wren, and the Chiff-Chaff all spend the summer with us ; 

 while the lively little Gold Crest remains with us all the year 

 round. Several pairs breed within a few yards of my house every 

 season, Both Flycatchers — the Spotted and Pied species — visit 



