240 WOODLANDERS AND FIELD FOLK 



his valley. When a lad he was in the habit of setting 

 " gins " for woodcock, and one morning, on going to 

 examine his snares, he discovered a buzzard near one 

 which was struck. The bird attempted to escape, 

 but being evidently held fast could not. A wood- 

 cock had been taken in one of the gins, which, whilst 

 fluttering, had been seen and attacked by the 

 buzzard. Not content, however, with the body of 

 the woodcock it had swallowed a leg also, around 

 which the noose was drawn, and the limb was so 

 securely lodged in its stomach that no force that the 

 bird could exert was sufficient to withdraw it. 



The cormorants come to the mountain tarns but 

 are most difficult to approach. They either spend 

 their time in fishing, at which they are great adepts, 

 or sit solitary upon a huge black rock which just rises 

 above the water. Sometimes in autumn a small 

 flock will make its appearance, when, from their 

 white breasts, it will be seen that the majority are 

 birds of the year. More rarely, but in company 

 with the last-named species, a few shags or green 

 cormorants will make their appearance. 



When the weather is rough the black-headed and 

 lesser black-backed gulls seem to find food on the 

 edges of the elevated merelets, and daily in late 

 summer and autumn visit the tarns. On wild and 

 stormy nights the curlew, attracted by the lights 

 of our bell tent, flew and screamed in the 

 darkness. These breed upon the plashy shoulders 



