Birds. 9667 



that perhaps the merlin is found here: we could obtain no proofs, 

 however, to that effect. I inquired from the same keeper whether 

 hawks were numerous, and whether they were suffered to remain and 

 breed in the cliffs every year : his answer was that, on the contrary, 

 not only are their eggs taken whenever a nest is discovered, but the 

 old birds are trapped and shot upon every opportunity, and that upon 

 one occasion, when a regular battue had been planned, and one keeper 

 proceeded along the foot of the cliffs in a boat, while the other walked 

 along the summit, no less than seventeen hawks were shot in the 

 course of one day ! After such unmeasured slaughter, it appeared 

 surprising to us that any hawks remained to be seen. 



Hen Harrier. — The fishermen described to us a bird which cor- 

 responds with the hen harrier, and they assert that it is now and then 

 seen hawking along the tops of the cliffs. Dr. Pulteney, in his 

 ' Catalogue of the Birds of Dorsetshire,' says, " This bird is common 

 on the downs of Dorset, breeding among the furze. They breed every 

 year on Gunville Down," We were not so fortunate, however, as to 

 discover a nest. 



Owls. — The owl can scarcely be included in a list of cliff-birds, but 

 since two members of the genus Strix are found in the neighbourhood, 

 it deserves a passing notice. The barn owl is the commonest species 

 in the district we explored. The tawny owl is occasionally seen in the 

 neighbouring woods, and haunts the tops of the cliffs in the evening, 

 where there are plenty of young rabbits to be found. During the first 

 week in May the keeper at Lulworth Castle shot a pair of tawny owls, 

 but, having no use for them, left them, unfortunately, in the woods to 

 decay. A fisherman at Lulworth took two young birds of this species 

 from a hollow tree in the neighbourhood, and caught one of the parent 

 birds on the nest. He kept them in confinement for two or three days, 

 but as the old bird refused to eat he humanely let her fly. 



Wheaiear and Stonechat. — As might be expected, both these birds 

 are numerous on the downs which face the sea, and which are studded 

 here and there with patches of furze. The former bird breeds in the 

 rabbit-burrows which extend along the lop of the cliffs; but unless 

 the bird is seen to enter or leave the hole it is a difficult matter to find 

 the nest. Dr. Pulteney, in his 'List of the Birds of Dorsetshire,' 

 speaking of this bird, says, " Some stay the winter." In the Isle of 

 Portland they are taken in great numbers, as many as thirty dozen 

 having been taken in one day : " They usually appear in the first foggy 

 weather of March, and leave the island when the gray crow appears in 

 October." - 



