72 THE BIRDS OF DEVONSHIRE. 



the ground, among furze, and contained an addled 

 egg and three young ones. Mr, Tucker supposed 

 this second nest to be that of the Hen Harrier, but 

 took and reared the young, which in due time 

 proved to be Montagu's Harriers. The year 

 following, Mr, Tucker found a third nest of 

 Montagu's Harrier, placed among furze, like 

 the last, on a hill near Ashburton. This also 

 contained three young Harriers and a single addled 



egg- 



Coming now to recent records, we find Gatcombe 



recording '' A magnificent adult male Montagu's 



Harrier" killed at Trowlesworthy, Dartmoor, April 



1872, with the comment; "Immature Montagu's 



Harriers are now and then obtained on our moors, 



but the fully adults are rarely seen " (Zool. 1872. p. 



3101). It was of this bird, that Gatcombe wrote 



on May 8rd to John Gould ; "A few days ago I 



had a fine old male Montagu's Harrier brought to 



me. It was killed on Dartmoor, and from its crop 



and stomach I took no less than fourteen lizards of 



two kinds" (Introduction to Birds of Great Britain, 



p. 40). The late Mr. Gurney records a beautiful 



adult pair of the dark race of this Harrier, killed in 



N. Devon, May 1870 (Zool. 1870. p. 2261). 



Shopland, the taxidermist, found lizards, a slowworm 



a field mouse, and some Skylark's eggs, in the 



stomachs of these birds. Mr. Nicholls found a 



female, killed near Kingsbridge, May 1847, to 



contain Skylark's eggs. Mr. G. F. Mathew records 



