2O BIRD-LIFE IN A SOUTHERN COUNTY. 



unpleasant if not downright dangerous character. 

 Lapwings, we should say, are still fairly common 

 during the breeding season on certain parts of the 

 moor, and their complaining wailing notes, sug- 

 gestive of solitude, give a welcome sense of life to 

 otherwise deserted wastes. Dartmoor cannot be 

 regarded as a district rich in raptorial birds. 

 Legend says that the Golden Eagle once bred 

 within its , boundaries ; tradition informs us that 

 the Kite was common there a hundred years ago ;. 

 whilst Montagu's Harrier formerly bred there in 

 fair plenty until brought to the verge of extermi- 

 nation by the gamekeepers. Nowadays the moor 

 seems to be frequented regularly by Kestrels and 

 Common Buzzards only. Now and then a Harrier, 

 or a Rough-legged Buzzard on migration, may visit 

 it, but the ordinary observer's chance of seeing 

 them is very remote. The Common Buzzard 

 breeds in one or two localities known to us, but 

 these, in the interests of the bird, we forbear 

 specially to name. It is difficult to suggest a 

 reason for the absence of such a species as the 

 Merlin during summer, and we should almost 

 suspect that it is overlooked. We have a note 

 of its occurrence, possibly on passage, between 



