184 The Zoologist— April, 1866. 



it was untenanted, but, not knowing that better luck was in store for 

 rae, I was delighted with even an empty one. Sitting down we watclied 

 the birds, in the hope of being guided in our search by tlieir movements, 

 but they came no nearer, merely uttering from time to time their wild 

 cry. How magnificent their flight ! as graceful as that of the eagles I 

 have watched with such pleasure in the mountains of Spain. 



It was clear they had a nest, and we were bound to find it if we 

 stopped there all day ; on several points we saw quite fresh dung, and 

 at last, on scaling a crag which projected from the main rock, I found 

 myself looking right into the nest in which a young bird was instantly 

 betrayed by his conspicuous while down. With a view-halloa that 

 awoke the echoes far and wide, I began scrambling wildly down ; at 

 the same instant my friend, who saw the direction, raced up from the 

 lower crag, each eager to be first, while old Isaac from his crag was 

 objurgating us for a couple of mad fools who would break our necks. 

 Hurrah ! one egg — an addled one, of course, for the nestling was quite 

 a fortnight old, but still a fairly marked specimen. The young bird 

 crouched down in the nest, seeming only au.\ious to make himself as 

 small as possible, but the old birds showed no further anxiety : the 

 nest was very small and utterly invisible from below — not a stick pro- 

 jected from the crag to reveal its site, quite a contrast to the former 

 one. 



We proceeded to the fells, but a search of several hours for dotterell 

 proved unsuccessful ; indeed we saw nothing but some golden plover 

 and a raven ; we also heard the note of the ring ouzel, here called 

 " crag starling." Calling at the buzzard's nest on our way back, we 

 picked up our bird and egg, and proceeded through the Lake district, 

 but I did not observe any other birds of interest. In two or three 

 places I was shown crags where the peregrine falcon had bred in years 

 gone by, and 1 was told of a female having been shot and the nest 

 harried a week previously. These noble birds have been shamefully 

 persecuted, and in spite of their strong local attachment they must 

 soon be driven from the Lakes, as the eagles have been within the last 

 fifty years. Although I kept a sharp look out for the pied flycatcher 

 I did not succeed in meeting with it, but I was informed that it is still 

 tolerably abundant in the woods of Lowther, which I could not spare 

 time to visit. 



A few hours took me to Newcastle, and, after a little needful slumber, 

 1 found myself soon after day-break at Beal, a small station near Holy 

 Island, on the Northumberland coast. My " guide, philosopher and- 



