BIRDS 



100. Buzzard. Buteo vulgaris, Leach. 



Formerly a res>ident, breeding not uncom- 

 monly in trees in the more densely-wooded 

 parts of the county ; now, owing to persecu- 

 tion, a rare occasional visitor of which half a 

 dozen modern occurrences in the county are 

 recorded by Lord Lilford (i. 35-39). 



lOi. Rough-legged Buzzard. Buteo lagopus 

 (Gmelin). 

 An occasional winter visitor, of which three 

 or four occurrences in Northants are noted 

 {Lilford, i. 39-40). 



102. Golden Eagle. Aqulla chrysaetus {L.\nn.). 



Very rare occasional visitor, usually seen in 

 England in winter. One Northants example 

 is on record [Lilford, i. 3-5) shot near Walcot, 

 by Barnack, in October, 1849. 'Golden' 

 eagles are constantly reported in the local 

 papers, but the birds in question are, nineteen 

 times out of twenty, young sea-eagles. 



103. White-tailed or Sea-Eagle. Haliaetus 

 albicilla (Linn.). 



An occasional winter visitor, haunting 

 sheets of water and living on fish and water- 

 birds, but not averse to any carrion. English 

 examples are usually immature, without the 

 white tail, which is not attained till the bird 

 is five or six years old. It has been four times 

 shot in Northants {Lilford, i. 3-7), and more 

 often seen. I saw one near Milton on 

 October 25th, 1895, and more recently still 

 one has passed two winters at Blatherwycke, 

 where it was carefully protected (an example 

 worthy of imitation) notwithstanding the dis- 

 turbance it naturally caused amongst the 

 feathered population. 



104. Sparrow-Hawk. Accipiter nisus (Linn.). 

 A resident of wandering and migratory 



habits, which would long since have been 

 exterminated but for the immigration from 

 abroad. I cannot say much in its defence, 

 for it is a bloodthirsty little rascal. Chiefly 

 haunting woodlands, it builds itself a nest, 

 usually in a tree (only occasionally adopting 

 an old one built by a crow or a woodpigeon), 

 and laying its eggs in May. 



105. Kite. Mih'u; ictinus, Savigny. 



Formerly a resident, brfding not uncom- 

 monly in the larger woodlands in Northants ; 

 now almost exterminated as a breeding bird 

 in Britain, the greater part of the few occur- 

 ring at intervals being wanderers from the 

 continent. Many records in Northants (for 

 which the reader is referred to Lilford (i. 

 30-35), but none newer than 1850. 



106. Honey - Buzzard. Pernis apivorus 



(Linn.). 

 This bird is entirely harmless to game, but 

 has nevertheless been freely destroyed as an 

 enemy by ignorant gamekeepers. It formerly 

 bred in the south of England, not uncom- 

 monly, but is now a rare wanderer on passage 

 in autumn, feeding chiefly on the larvs 

 which it scratches from wasps' nests. Some 

 half a dozen obituary notices may be found 

 in Lilford (i. 41-44). 



107. Peregrine Falcon. Falco peregrinus, 



Tunstall. 

 An occasional winter visitor, staying for 

 some time in woodland districts when not 

 persecuted. Perhaps more plentiful about 

 Lilford than elsewhere in our county, for the 

 above reason. I have seen a good many 

 there in the late Lord Lilford's days, and 

 noticed that they were very indifferent to the 

 proceedings of a shooting party, not having 

 learnt there to fear a gun. I have also there 

 enjoyed partridge hawking with trained pere- 

 grines — a magnificent sport. The presence 

 of wild falcons at Lilford certainly had no ill- 

 effect on the quantity of game, or the sport. 



108. Hobby. Falco subbuteo, Linn. 



A not uncommon summer visitor, appear- 

 ing in May, and breeding in old nests of the 

 crow or wood-pigeon where not persecuted. 

 Chiefly seen in woodland districts. 



109. Merlin. Falco asalon, Tunstall. 



A winter visitor of not uncommon occur- 

 rence, from the north, where it breeds, when 

 permitted, amongst heather on the moors, and 

 where it is, undoubtedly, somewhat destruc- 

 tive to young grouse. With us it does no 

 harm whatever (unless it takes an occasional 

 snipe), as it feeds entirely at that season on 

 small birds, e.g. larks and thrushes. The last 

 merlin I saw here was over our boundary 

 certainly, and was hanging by the legs in 

 Colworth Thick, having been massacred by 

 the keeper. 



1 10. Kestrel or Wind-hover. Falco tinnun- 



culus, Linn. 

 A fairly common resident, and would be 

 commoner, if people only recognized that the 

 bird feeds chiefly on mice (occasionally on 

 small birds, oftener on frogs, grasshoppers, 

 beetles and worms). Occasionally a kestrel 

 develops a vicious habit of visiting the 

 pheasant-coops and taking the chicks, and 

 these individuals ought to have a short shrift, 

 as we punish a vicious man. On the whole, 

 however, a kestrel ought to be protected as 

 strictly as an owl. 

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