BIRDS OF PIIEY. 



LONG-LEGGED PLOVER, or LONGSHANKS. Charadrius hi- 

 mantopus L'echasse. 



This plover, and the sanderling, Bewick places by 

 themselves, as a separate Genus, at the commencement 

 of his second volume. 



PREY, BIRDS OF. 



To shoot the various birds of prey, which belong to 

 the falcon tribe, such as buzzards, kites, hawks, falcons, 

 &c. &c., the easiest and most destructive method is to 

 watch the coppices in the breeding season, or induce 

 the boys, by a trifling reward, to find out their nests. 

 You should wait till the female sits hard on her eggs ; 

 arid then go, late in the evening, with some large shot 

 in a duck gun ; by which means you may either take 

 her as she flies out of the tree, or blow up the whole 

 concern by firing through the nest. 



This is a more certain, and a much less cruel way to 

 destroy mischievous birds than by indiscriminately 

 shooting, or catching, them at a distance from their 

 nests ; where, perhaps, their young ones, having been 

 hatched, are left to be starved with hunger. 



Ravens, carrion-crows, magpies, &c., may be killed 

 in the same manner, or poisoned previously to the breed- 

 ing season, by your putting in some of their favourite 

 trees a few joints of horseflesh, well seasoned with 

 arsenic and nux vomica. Another good way to kill 

 these, particularly magpies, is to drive along the road 

 with a horse that will stand fire, and shoot them from 

 a cart, gig, or other carriage. I have known eight or 

 nine magpies killed in a day by this means (about the 

 pairing season), when the keepers were constantly fol- 

 lowing them without being able to get a shot. 



