228 BIRDS AND MAN 



from which there was a view of the open country 

 beyond, he pointed to a great green down, a couple 

 of miles away, and told me that on the other side I 

 would come on a large patch of furze, and that by 

 sitting quietly there for half an hour or so I might 

 see a dozen furze wrens. Then he added : " A dozen, 

 did I say ? Why, I saw not fewer than forty or 

 fifty flitting about the bushes the very last time I 

 went there, and I daresay if you are patient enough 

 you will see quite as many." 



I assured him that there were no furze wrens at 

 the spot he had indicated, nor anywhere in that 

 neighbourhood, and I ventured to add that he must 

 be telling me of what he had witnessed a good many 

 years ago. " No, not so many," he returned, " and 

 I am astonished and grieved to hear that the birds 

 are gone — four or five years, perhaps. No, it was 

 longer ago. You are right — I think it must be at 

 least fifteen years since I went to that spot the last 

 time. I am not so strong as I was, and for some 

 years have not been able to take any long walks." 



Fifteen years may seem but a short space of time 

 to a man verging on ninety ; in the mournful story 

 of the extermination of rare and beautiful British 

 birds for the cabinet it is in reality a long period. 

 Fifteen years ago the honey buzzard was a breeding 



