WITH THE BIRDS IN WALES 137 



in this nest on March i8th and 19th, so clearly 

 another must have been laid after these dates. 

 Secondly, the Raven assuredly begins to " set " after 

 the first egg is laid, and here we noticed that one of 

 the young birds was decidedly larger than his fellow. 

 After a good look at this promising couple and the 

 old Ravens, who were very angry at our intrusion, we 

 made for home, and going through T. nursery 

 found another Magpie's nest in a fir, containing four 

 eggs. 



May 8t/t. — I examined the Wolf's Leap for a Grey 

 Wagtail's nest, but met with no luck. Then up the 

 " Devil's Staircase" and across the moor to N., where 

 we soon saw three Buzzards in the air together. One 

 flew towards us, uttering a screeching croak, not at all 

 like the usual mewing cry. After examining some 

 rocks up the T., we turned down stream, eventually 

 reaching the dingle where Pike and I pictured a 

 Raven's nest on March 17th. These Ravens now 

 have young, of course. Whilst examining this gorge 

 for a Buzzard's eyrie my companion stayed at the 

 top of the cliff, and shortly I saw him beckoning to 

 me. On reaching him I saw a Buzzard in the air 

 which had flapped out of a little gorge facing us and 

 running parallel with the one containing the Raven's 

 nest. Just after this we made out the nest, which 

 was built in a ridiculously easy place, and contained 

 one very plain egg. Here, too, we noticed a pair of 

 Magpies building their home in a thorn-bush only 

 about five feet from terra firnia. Oddly enough, they 

 were getting material from their last year's nest, 

 which was built in another thorn-bush a iev^ yards 



