946 



THE NATURE BOOK 



the Night Jar a very difficult bird to 

 watch. 



Formerly the Kite, the Honey and 

 Common Buzzard, and the Hen Harrier 

 frequented the Forest, but now, I am afraid, 

 that but for a rare and very occasional, 

 single visitor, they can be no longer 

 counted amongst its feathered inhabitants. 

 The e.xtinction of the Honey Buzzard was 

 undoubtedly hastened by the professional 

 collector, who remorselessly sought for the 

 eggs. It is sad to think that a similar 

 fate must inevitably overtake many 

 interesting and beautiful birds who still 

 make their homes within the precincts of 

 the Forest, unless something is very 

 promptly done to put a stop to the present 

 persecution during the breeding season. 



One curious and interesting point in 

 connection with the extinction of the 

 Kite and Hen Harrier, is the remarkable 

 increase in the number of small birds 

 within the Forest; and, probably also 

 thanks to the absence of their feathered 

 foes, many of these birds are becoming 

 wonderfully bold and confiding. There- 



fore, although one must needs regret the 

 extinction of the noble Kite and Harrier, 

 there is solace in the fact that their 

 absence from the Forest enables one to 

 watch the ways and manners of many 

 a small bird who formerly could only 

 be kept under observation with great 

 difficulty. 



As the nesting season advances, there 

 comes from many a bush, and tangle of 

 bramble and bracken, the faint shrilling 

 trill of the baby birds, whose appetites 

 seem to be insatiable. Very gently 

 parting the branches and peeping in, 

 we catch a glimpse of the long, scrawny 

 necks, and quivering heads with eager, 

 gaping beaks, of the unfledged nestlings. 

 Sometimes the sound is stronger and 

 more insistent, and then we may find the 

 nest filled with the spacious form of a 

 full-fledged young cuckoo who a few 

 hours after its birth ousted the rightful 

 inhabitants, and now claims the un- 

 remitting attention of their parents, who 

 seem well-nigh distracted by the unceasing 

 demands of their foster-child for food. 



THE NEST IS FILLED WITH THh. SPACIOUS FORM OF A YOUNG CUCKOO. 



