BIRDS 



' Nonsense ! ' and going to the tree, he found 

 abundance of pellets, showing that the por- 

 ridge had been a successful bait for the rats 

 and mice and saved the owls the trouble of 

 going far afield. 



101. Tengmalm's Owl. Nycta/a tengmalmi 



(J. F. Gmelin). 



An accidental visitor. One was taken at 

 Whitburn, n October, 1848, now in the 

 Hancock Museum. Several others have been 

 reported since that date. 



The Scops Owl, Seeps giu (Scopoli), has been 

 set down as occurring in Durham but with- 

 out sufficient evidence. 



102. Snowy Owl. Nyctea xandiaca (Linn.). 



One was shot near Bishop Auckland on 

 7 November, 1858. 



103. Marsh-Harrier. Circus * ruginesus(L,\nn.). 

 Formerly resident, and nesting. Now ex- 

 terminated. The last bird of which I have 

 heard was in 1840. In my youth I have 

 several times taken the nest. 



104. Hen-Harrier. Circus cyaneus (Linn.). 



Common and bred regularly in certain 

 localities till about the year 1876. Now 

 only an accidental visitor. 



Circus 



cmeracem 



105. Montagu's Harrier. 



(Montagu). 

 Formerly a resident breeding, but now 

 extinct. The last known nest was in 1835. 

 Three or four specimens have been taken in 

 the last fifty years. 



106. Common Buzzard. Buteevu/garis,L,each. 



Locally Glede. 



Now a rare occasional straggler. Within 

 living memory it regularly bred in many 

 parts of the county, but has been exterminated 

 by game preservers aided by egg collectors. 

 I remember, when a boy, having taken three 

 nests of four eggs each, in one season, I think 

 in 1 834, none of the nests being a mile apart. 



107. Rough-legged Buzzard. But to lagopus 



(J. F. Gmelin). 



A rare winter visitor. One in Newcastle 

 Museum was taken by the late G. T. Fox at 

 Marsden. Several were shot on the Tees, 

 and one at Bishop Auckland in 1840. I 

 only know of one other instance since that 

 date. The late Raph Carr Ellison of Hedge- 

 ley informed me that in the seventies a solitary 

 rough-legged buzzard took up its quarters for 

 three winters running, in the woods close to 

 his house. Being a keen naturalist, the bird 



was strictly preserved by him, and never left 

 the place, which swarmed with rabbits. I 

 saw the bird myself on one occasion. 



1 08. Golden Eagle. Aquila chrysaftus (Linn.). 



We have no record of the golden eagle 

 nesting in this county, though it bred in North- 

 umberland on Cheviot as late as about 1760. 

 It is now the rarest of casual visitors. One 

 in first year's plumage was seen by me, as 

 mentioned in the introduction, on Kilhope 

 Fell. Seldom a year passes but there is a 

 statement in the newspapers of an eagle being 

 seen, generally near the coast, but of which 

 species cannot be ascertained. 



109. White-tailed or Sea Eagle. Haliaftus 



albicilla (Linn.). 



A very rare visitor. A specimen was shot 

 on the Tees on 5 November, 1823. Mr. 

 Hancock observed closely a bird of this species 

 in Lambton Park for several days. It went 

 thence on to Ravensworth, where it remained 

 for some time, and finally departed unharmed. 



no. Goshawk. Astur palumbarius (Linn.). 



Does not seem ever in historic times to 

 have been a resident. It is now the rarest of 

 occasional visitors to the county. One, a female, 

 shot in Castle Eden Dene in 1872, and which 

 I saw in the flesh, now in the possession of 

 Col. Rowland Burdon, is the only unquestioned 

 instance I can find. 



111. Sparrow-Hawk. Accipittr nisus (Linn.). 



Very rarely to be seen. In Upper Wear- 

 dale, and in woods near the Tees, a few pairs 

 have hitherto escaped destruction. 



112. Kite. Milvus ictinus, Savigny. 



LocafyRcd Glebe. 



Formerly bred in our woods. Now extinct. 

 Three were shot at Bishop Auckland in 1834, 

 one of which is in Newcastle Museum. I 

 have heard of one or two instances in later 

 years of its occurrence near Stockton. 



113. Honey-Buzzard. Pernis apivorus (Linn.). 



Occurs not infrequently on spring and 

 autumn migration. Though it is known to 

 have bred in Northumberland, I cannot ascer- 

 tain that the nest has ever been taken in 

 Durham. 



Falco pertgrinus. 



114. Peregrine Falcon. 

 Tunstall. 



Stated by Selby eighty years ago to be 'not 

 uncommon.' Up to 1860 it bred near 

 Weardale Head. The late Mr. Rowland 

 Burdon, of Castle Eden, has often pointed out 



183 



