178 EXTRACTS FROM NOTE-BOOKS. CH. XXXI. 



keeper's list of " vermin." But I have gone fully 

 into this subject before. 



One advantage certainly results from birds of 

 prey being killed off: blackbirds, thrushes, and 

 numerous other beautiful little birds, increase in 

 proportion as their enemies are destroyed. In 

 several districts where a few years ago these birds 

 were very rare they are now abundant. 



The ring -ousel, too, is one of the birds who 

 has benefited by this destruction of its enemies. 

 There are some other birds, such as the wheat-ear 

 and tit-lark, who are seldom killed by a hawk, but 

 whose nests and young are the constant prey of 

 weasels and other ground- vermin. These also have 

 good reason to thank the trapper. Wood-pigeons, 

 whose eggs were formerly taken by the crows and 

 magpies in great numbers, and whose young served 

 to feed many kinds of hawks, now increase daily, 

 and begin to be a subject of great complaint amongst 

 farmers ; and yet the wood-pigeon during a great 

 part of the year feeds on the seeds of many weeds 

 and plants which are useless to mankind. The 

 eggs of birds are in general more or less concealed 

 from their enemies, either by the nest being similar 

 in colour to the surrounding substances, or by its 

 situation ; but the eggs of the wood-pigeon are par- 

 ticularly exposed to the attacks of crows, magpies ) 



