A HISTORY OF STAFFORDSHIRE 



particulars are given, and without stronger 

 evidence the record cannot be considered as 

 satisfactory. 



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

 Formerly common and bred in the county, 



but now a rare occasional visitor. It is 

 noticed without remark by Dickenson in 1 798. 

 Garner describes it as occasional. In 1852 

 one was shot at Swythamley, where it has 

 bred. Mr. Sainter includes it in his list of 

 breeding birds. At Burton it has once been re- 

 corded (E. A. Brown). Near Stone it has 

 been seen on the wing (Birds of Staffordshire, 

 p. 90). One was shot on Cannock Chase in 

 1899, and another in 1900, both in Lord 

 Lichfield'scollectionat Shugborough. This bird 

 is observed on Cannock Chase most years but 

 unfortunately shot or trapped, or would pro- 

 bably remain to breed (Report North Staffs 

 Field Club, 1903). 



99. Common Buzzard. Buteo vulgaris, 



Leach. 



Now a rare visitor to the north of the 

 county but eighty or ninety years ago it was 

 a common resident in the wooded districts, 

 such as Needwood Forest (Nat. Hist, of Tut- 

 bury, p. 33). One was killed at Horninglow 

 in 1860 (Fauna of Burton, p. 92), and others 

 have been reported from Oakamoor in March 

 1886, and also in 1893, May Bank in 1879, 

 and Endon in 1894 (Reports North Staff's Field 

 Club}. Mr. Sainter mentions one shot on the 

 Roaches near Leek about 1872 (Sci. Rambles 

 round Macclesfield). 



100. Rough-legged Buzzard. Buteo lagopus 



(J."F. Gmelin) 



Occasionally visits the moorlands of north 

 Staffordshire on migration and has several 

 times been observed in the south of the 

 county. Garner mentions one shot near Leek 

 and another from Needwood. This latter 

 bird is probably the male in the Rolleston 

 Hall museum which was shot at Rangemoor 

 in 1840. Another was seen at Rolleston for 

 several days in January 1846, but was not 

 shot (Nat. Hist, of Tut bury, p. 34). One shot 

 on Cannock Chase in January 1895 is now 

 in the collection at Shugborough (Report North 

 Staffs Field Club, 1903). 



101. Golden Eagle. Aquila chrysaetus (Linn.) 

 Some doubt rests upon the reported occur- 

 rences of this species, as probably the writers 

 were not in every case competent to dis- 

 tinguish between this species and the imma- 

 ture sea eagle. Plot in 1686 writes, ' Witness 

 the eagle in Beaudesert Hall killed in the Park.' 

 Eagles have been observed too in the forest of 



Needwood. Garner in 1844 Sa 7 s '* nas been 

 seen at Needwood ' in late years ' and that 

 one was shot on Lichfield Cathedral in the 

 reign of Charles I. About 1873 Mr. H. 

 Evans and Lord Waterpark had a good view 

 of one in Brakenhurst Cover perched in a tree 

 about 60 yards away. 



102. White-tailed Eagle. Haliaetus albicilla 



(Linn.) 



The two eagles mentioned by Dickenson 

 in 1798 as seen on Cannock Chase a few 

 years before, and one of which was shot by 

 Sir Edward Littleton's gamekeeper, have been 

 proved to be of this species (' Notes on Birds ' 

 by W. E. Beckwith in Trans. Shropshire Arch. 

 Soc. 1887). 



103. Goshawk. Aitur palumbarius (Linn.) 

 One was shot at Swythamley in 1853. 



Another, a male bird, was killed at Rolleston 

 in 1877 and is now in the Rolleston mu- 

 seum. 



104. Sparrow-Hawk. Accipiter nisus (Linn.) 

 One of the few hawks which still nest 



regularly in the county and is not uncommon 

 except where exterminated by gamekeepers. 

 Several instances have been recorded within 

 the county where this bird has been killed 

 outright or stunned by flying against plate- 

 glass windows when in pursuit of small birds. 



105. Kite. Milvus ictinus (Savigny) 

 Although at one time a common bird the 



kite has long been a rare visitor to the county. 

 Garner speaks of it as ' occasional,' and says 

 it has been trapped in Needwood Forest. Mr. 

 E. Brown (Fauna of Burton, p. 92) mentions one 

 seen near Branstone in 1855, and Mr. Rising's 

 collection contained a pair of Staffordshire 

 killed birds, while Mr. R. W. Chase has one 

 shot at Ornslow many years ago in his col- 

 lection. The latest occurrence was in 1877 

 one seen at Swynnerton (Birds of Staffordshire, 

 p. 93). Dovedale is supposed to have been 

 a former breeding place of this bird. 



1 06. Honey-Buzzard. Perms apivorus (Linn.) 

 Garner records one shot at Trentham in 



1844, and in August 1885 (in error this date 

 is given as October 1884) a second was shot 

 at Swynnerton (Reports North Staffs Field Club y 

 1885). J. E. Harting states that the nest 

 has been found in Stafford (Buchanan) in his 

 handbook. In the Zoologist, 1888 (p. 394) 

 one is recorded as having been shot at Beau- 

 desert on 27 July 1888, and another at 

 Little Aston near Birmingham on 16 June 

 1891 (Zool. 1897, p. 271). One shot at The 

 Wergs, near Wolverhampton, 19 June 1903. 



150 



