192 DELIBERATE DESTRUCTION OF ANIMAL LIFE 



So too with the Osprey in Scotland. The brunt of its 

 disappearance also must be borne by the collector; for even 

 when it was reduced to a few pairs he harried its nest time 

 and again, until one site after another was forsaken. The 

 later history of the Loch-an-Eilan Ospreys in -Inverness- 

 shire is a tale of ruthless persecution. There are many 

 blanks in the records, but it is surprising that where the 





Fig- 45- Osprey or Fish Hawk practically exterminated in Scotland, f nat. size. 



Ospreys were actively protected by the proprietor, and 

 where secrecy was a first aim of the harrier, so many of the 

 records which have survived should reveal the latter's nefari- 

 ous deeds. In each of the successive years 1848, 1849, 1850, 

 1851 and 1852, the eggs were taken, and in the latter year 

 the nest was twice harried. Is it any wonder that in the 

 following year the Ospreys forsook for the time being their 

 old site in the Loch? 



Wherever the birds sought harbourage, whether they 



