THE HEN-HARRIER. 301 



had it preserved. Another example, of the same sex, was 

 shot at Drakemire on the 22nd of December 1888. 



The Hen-Harrier is generally seen skimming over the 

 surface of the ground on buoyant wing in search of prey, 

 which consists of small quadrupeds, birds, and reptiles. It 

 is very destructive to game, especially young Grouse and 

 Partridges, and, on this account, it has been exterminated 

 in Berwickshire. 



It nests on the ground, usually in the heather on a 

 moor, or amongst whins or other low bushes on waste 

 land ; and when a reed-bed in a marsh is selected for 

 its breeding quarters, the nest is piled up with sticks and 

 sedges to a little height above the surface of the bog, to 

 protect the eggs and young from the water with which the 

 swamp is liable to be flooded after heavy rains. The 

 eggs, which are four or five in number, are usually bluish 

 white, without spots, but they are sometimes slightly 

 marked with yellowish brown. 



It is probable that the Kite (Milvus ictinus) was found 

 in Berwickshire in former times, and it would, along with 

 the Hen-Harrier and the Buzzard, be known as the Gled. 

 In addition to Gledstane Forest, previously mentioned, the 

 Gled appears to have given its name to Gladswood, on the 

 Tweed above Dryburgh, and Gladscleugh Burn which joins 

 Whalplaw Burn near Peat Law (1367 ft.), in the parish of 

 Lauder. 



There is no record of any specimen of the Marsh 

 Harrier {Circus ceruginosus), or Montagu's Harrier {Circus 

 cineraceus), having been obtained in Berwickshire. 





...iW'SW 'St-^'^'t^^^'.ff^^ 



