BIRDS 



small fish. I only wish it were protected all 

 the year round. 



101. Bee-eater. Merops apiaster, Linn. 

 One of these very rare and beautiful birds 



was shot in the spring of 1878 on Mapperley 

 Plains near Nottingham, and was preserved 

 by Rose of Mount Street ; traces of where it 

 is now are lost. 



102. Hoopoe. Upupa epops, Linn. 



This striking bird has been seen and shot 

 in Notts several times ; one was shot at Wil- 

 ford in 1863, another seen near Ollerton about 

 the same time, and in 1889 Mr. Webb saw 

 one several times at Newstead Abbey. 



103. Cuckoo. Cucului canarus, Linn. 

 Varies in numbers in different years but it 



is always well distributed over the county. I 

 once took a chocolate coloured mature bird 

 from a trap in Harlow Wood, and the Rev. 

 W. Becher of Wellow also has one in this 

 plumage. The latest date at which I have 

 heard this bird sing was 13 July 1872, and I 

 am quite sure the adult cuckoo leaves directly 

 after its song ceases. 



104. White or Barn Owl. Strix flammea, 



Linn. 



This bird is found thinly distributed over 

 Nottinghamshire and nests in old oaks in 

 Sherwood Forest ; it does a great deal of 

 good, which I am glad to say keepers are be- 

 ginning to find out. A pale cream-coloured 

 variety with pink eyes was shot near Newark 

 in the ' eighties ' and is in my collection. 



105. Long-eared Owl. Am otus (Linn.) 

 Found in the fir woods in fair numbers and 



in the forest, and is thinly distributed in the 

 south of the county. 



1 06. Short-eared Owl. Asia accipitrinus 



(Pallas) 



Now and again a good many arrive in 

 autumn, and I once saw eight on the wing at 

 one time, and we sometimes see them when 

 shooting getting up from turnips. I have 

 looked for its nest in the open forest but have 

 never come across one. 



107. Tawny Owl. Syrnium aluco (Linn.) 

 Observed in suitable localities, but far from 



common. I have seen them in both shades 

 of plumage. 



108. Little Owl. Athene noctua (Scopoli) 

 One was caught alive near Newark-on- 



Trent in 1896, and another was shot in 

 October 1901 near Nottingham. 



109. Marsh Harrier. Circus <eruginosus (Linn.) 

 The only record I have of this now rare 

 bird being killed in the county is one shot by 

 a keeper in Thoresby Park in 1848. 



no. Hen Harrier. Circus cyaneus (Linn.) 



Occurs now and again, birds of both sexes 

 having been killed at Welbeck, Newstead, 

 Rufford and other places. I have seen it at 

 Rainworth three or four times, on one oc- 

 casion a beautiful male in full plumage. 



111. Montagu's Harrier. Circus cineraceus 



(Montagu) 



One of these birds was caught in a pole 

 trap at Ratcher Hill near Rainworth, and is 

 the only occurrence of which I have heard. 



112. Buzzard. Buteo vulgarly Leach. 



It is not often that this fine bird is seen 

 now, though formerly it was not so rare. I 

 have three eggs taken by the late Sir Arthur 

 Need when a boy (probably about the ' thirties ') 

 at Fountain Dale, from a nest in an old Scotch 

 fir tree not far from the lake there. The 

 latest of which I have any note was picked 

 up dead at Stoke by Sir Harry Bromley in 

 1900. 



113. Rough-legged Buzzard. Buteo lagopus 



(]. F. Gmelin) 



Seen now and again, generally in the open 

 forest. Some years ago four or five were killed 

 at Ruffbrd. In March 1899 I saw one flying 

 over the lake at Rainworth, and it was about 

 for over a month and often seen ; its flight was 

 very beautiful, and on the wing it looked 

 about as large as a heron. There was also 

 one here this year (1903). 



[Red-tailed Buzzard. Buteo borealis (Wil- 

 son) 



Mr. Felkin of Lenton near Nottingham 

 stated in a list of birds he drew up in 1866, 

 and which he read at the British Association 

 meeting, that a buzzard was brought to him 

 in the flesh which had been killed between 

 Mansfield and Newstead in the autumn of 

 1850. He submitted it to the late Mr. Gould, 

 who identified it as Buteo borealis, and so far it 

 is the only British specimen.] 



114. White-tailed Eagle. Haliaftus albicilla 



(Linn.) 



One was seen at Welbeck in 1838, and 

 was about there for three weeks. One was 

 shot at Osberton in January 1857 ; and another 

 measuring 7 ft. I in. across and weighing 9^ 

 Ib. was shot by Mr. George Musters at Park 

 farm, Annesley, on 8 November 1896. The 

 latter had been seen a few days before being 



165 



