THE EAGLE, BUZZAED, AND HEN HARRIER. 55 



weaker and weaker, and long before morning 

 they are all dead. We do not like these birds ; 

 but if any gentlemen do particularly hke to see 

 them sometimes flying round and round in lazy 

 circles, we do not fancy that their presence on 

 a well-stocked moor will very materially reduce 

 the number of grouse, and they will no doubt 

 be glad enough to take a sick or wounded bird. 

 We have known them make their nest on the 

 ground at the edge of a ravine, and they lay 

 three eggs of a dirty white colour. 



The hen harrier is scarcely mentioned to the 

 Committee at all. It is rare, and it is desirable 

 it should remain so. The difference of colour 

 between the plumage of the male and female is 

 most striking. The cock bird at a httle dis- 

 tance may be taken for a sea-gull. We saw an 

 old female shot last September, as it rose from 

 the body of a half-grown hare, and we shot 

 another as it was in the act of killing an old 

 partridge in January. They are difficult to 



