SOME ROUGH NOTES 241 



The Peregrine flourishes on the Welsh sea-cHffs, 

 although a great many eyries are robbed annually ; 

 still there is little fear of this noble Falcon becoming 

 extinct, for it is a very wary species, offering in this 

 respect a marked contrast to the Buzzard, which is 

 easily trapped. Were the inland cliffs precipitous 

 enough, no doubt many pairs of Peregrines would 

 nestle away from the sea, just as they do in Scotland 

 and the Lake district. Even as it is, there are one or 

 two pairs scattered about in the hills. Mr. Gwynne- 

 Vaughan tells us of one pair which, till about a dozen 

 years ago, nested regularly in a certain inland rock ; 

 but as they proved very destructive to the Grouse on 

 an adjacent moor, both birds were shot, and rather 

 oddly the old eyrie was never tenanted by another pair. 



It seems an odd thing that the little Merlin is not 

 generally distributed over the Welsh hills and moors, 

 but, as a fact, it is exceedingly scarce. Another bird 

 which is unaccountably absent from these hills is the 

 Hooded Crow ; and more than that, apart from the 

 breeding season it is seldom seen in the winter. 



Although we have never found a Harrier's nest in 

 these parts, we feel confident that a few pairs still 

 continue to rear their young on some of the wildest 

 hills ; indeed, we saw a male Hen or Montagu's 

 Harrier last spring — probably the latter, but it was 

 too far off to say to which species it belonged for 

 certain. 



Our advice to those who would study birds in their 

 haunts is to go, when possible, alone, with nothing 

 but their favourite pipe for companionship (be sure 

 that the matches are not left at home), and rather 



17 



