PLATE I 

 BUZZARD. Buteo vulgar is 



May i8///, 1896. Argyllshire. Although I have visited several Buzzard's nests, 

 and taken photographs of them from close quarters, I have never been able 

 to obtain a satisfactory picture of the eggs and nest. Possibly this is because 

 the birds choose such inaccessible places to build in on account of the persecu- 

 tion to which they are subjected. The Plate is taken from the top of a gorge 

 through which runs a stream, and on the left-hand side of the Plate on the 

 south or shady side of the gorge a pair of Buzzards have built their nest 

 year after year. 



I saw the female arrive at the nest with a mouse in her talons ; she paid 

 no attention to us, as we stood far above her on the top of the cliff, evidently 

 knowing that she was quite out of our reach. I threw down several small 

 pebbles, but as the nest was snugly hidden under an overhanging rock 

 among some briers, I failed to dislodge her. The male had unfortunately 

 been caught in a trap some days previously, so she was left to rear her 

 young alone. 



