AND NEIGHBOURHOOD. 45 



abundant in all localities suited to its habits. It has 

 been driven away from its old haunts in England 

 by the draining and cultivation of the fen-lands, and 

 ruthless persecution, but I have met with it in Cam- 

 bridgeshire and East Norfolk, in Merioneth, Cardigan, 

 and Caermarthenshire, in various parts of Ireland, in 

 France, Spain. Portugal, Sardinia, Sicily, Algeria, 

 Tunis, Greece, European Turkey, Crete, and Cyprus. 

 The Marsh-Harrier is a slow-flying bird, and appears 

 to be constantly on the search for food. We often 

 noticed twenty or more of this species on the wing 

 together about the reedy marshes of Albania, where a 

 wounded Snipe had very little chance of escape from 

 them. I never saw a Marsh-Harrier attack any 

 unwounded bird, but they do, no doubt, occasionally 

 take young Water-fowl, and are great devourers of 

 eggs. All the Harriers seem to have regular beats, 

 which they quarter over at no great height several 

 times each day, and are continually picking up some- 

 thing : the stomachs of two which I examined con- 

 tained the remains of frogs, a half-digested snake, a 

 vole, and some snail-shells. The nest is generally 

 on or close to the ground, sometimes on a low bush 

 amongst the reeds, and is built of sticks, pieces of 

 reed, dry flags, and sedge ; the eggs are three or four, 

 rarely five, of a greenish white, occasionally faintly 

 spotted with rust-colour. The female, whilst sitting, 

 is fed by the male bird, who hovers over the nest 

 and drops the prey to his mate. The conspicuous 

 light-coloured head of the immature birds of this 

 species has gained them the name of Bald Buzzard ; 

 but that name has also certainly been applied to the 

 Osprey. 



