WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS 



flight, the kite appears not to be very destructive to old 

 grouse, but to confine her attacks to the young broods. 

 During the season of the year, too, when she has no young 

 ones to provide for, carrion of all kinds forms her principal 

 food. In consequence of her greedy disposition, the kite 

 is very easily trapped. From her habit of following the 

 course of streams, and hunting along the shores of the 

 loch in search of dead fish or drowned animals of any kind, 

 one of the most successful ways of trapping the kite is to 

 peg down the entrails of some animal in the shallow part 

 of the water, and then to place the trap either on the shore 

 immediately adjoining; or, what is often done, to form a 

 small artificial promontory close to the bait, and to set the 

 trap on this. The garbage catches the sharp eye of the 

 bird, as she soars at a great height above it, and the clever 

 trapper seldom fails in catching her in this manner. 



The buzzard is another of the hawk tribe, which is grad- 

 ually becoming rarer and rarer, and from the same cause. 

 Like the kite, too, the buzzard is a carrion-feeding bird, 

 and seldom kills anything but small birds, mice, or frogs, 

 excepting" during the breeding-season, when it is very de- 

 structive to game; at other times the buzzard lives an in- 

 dolent lazy life. After having satisfied her hunger, this 

 bird will sit for hours perfectly motionless on some wither- 

 ed branch,oron a projectingcornerofrock, whence shecom- 

 mands a good view of the surrounding country, and can 

 easily detect the approach of danger. A cowardly bird, ex- 

 cept when excited by hunger, she submits patiently to the 

 attacks of the smaller birds, and flies from the magpie or 

 jackdaw. Like the kite, the raven, the eagle, and all birds 



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