Harriers and Kites 145 



whom he had given shelter, and who at last fell himself 

 before a Saxon blade. 



To the south and east the moor rolls away in billowy 

 ridges, to Moel-cwm-sarn-llwyd and the Berwyns. The 

 Hen Harrier maintained a footing here up till the middle 

 of the last century, and has occurred occasionally since. 

 A nest is said to have been found twelve or fifteen years 

 ago ; but all the information I had from gamekeepers was 

 somewhat vague, the species not being distinguished by 

 them from Montagu's Harrier, which occasionally nests on 

 these moors, a nest and eggs having been taken here in 

 1900. Both birds were killed at this nest, and are, I 

 believe, preserved at Pale, the eggs being in the possession 

 of a gentleman residing near Bala. I was never so fortunate 

 as to see a Harrier here ; but I talked with several keepers 

 who had killed them within recent years, and had found 

 their nest amongst the heather (including the last delin- 

 quent); and one man assured me that he saw a blue male 

 here, in December 1906, which would doubtless be a Hen 

 Harrier. There are so few nesting stations of this bird 

 now left in Britain, that it seems a pity the last of them 

 should be extirpated, however impossible it may be to deny 

 the amount of harm they do upon a grouse moor. Few 

 birds of prey, unfortunately, are more destructive to young 

 game-birds, and even an old one has to bestir itself, to avoid 

 capture, should a Harrier get above it. A good deal has 

 been done by Lord Cawdor, and some of the members of 

 the British Ornithologists' Club, towards the protection of 

 the few remaining Welsh Kites : could these gentlemen not 

 be persuaded to extend their good offices in favour of the 

 Harrier, which is as much in need of protection, and per- 

 haps as deserving of it ? 



Some people I met in the district professed to be 

 acquainted with the Hen Harrier, and its memory is per- 

 petuated on the sign of the village Inn at Llanuwchllyn. 

 The name of the Inn is Gwesdy-yr-Eryrod, or "The 

 Eagles," but on the signboard the King of birds is repre- 

 sented by three very dove-like Harriers in pursuit of a 

 hare. The painting is, no doubt, the work of a local artist, 



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