Natural History of Ireland. 173 



from the base ; the preventive just mentioned against accidents being 

 in this case Hkewise resorted to. When the least apprehension of 

 danger was manifested, we endeavoured to dissuade him altogether 

 from the attempt, but his father, an old gray-haired man, insisted, 

 though gain was never thought of, that he should not turn craven, 

 and was so froward in leaning over the cliff to direct his son's move- 

 ments, that we verily feared his own life would become a sacrifice, 

 but all expostulation was in vain. By this method three young birds 

 were taken, a fourth escaping by flight. The climber said the nest 

 was composed of the strong stems of heather and roots of grasses, 

 and lined with the fur of hares and ral)bits, and that it would have 

 held several more than the four birds it contained. The legs of rab- 

 bits and hares were lying about it. 



"When at Macgilligan, in the county Londonderry, in July 1833, 

 I saw a buzzard, which appeared to be the Buteo vulgaris, soaring 

 about the basaltic precipices, and flying from one pinnacle of rock to 

 another, its young being all the while very vociferous, and one of 

 them loudly heard above the others, calling similarly to the male bird 

 brought from Donegal last year, satisfied me respecting its species. 

 The continual and loud cry of the latter bird, as we drove from Dun- 

 fanaghy to the city of Londonderry, proved ludicrously annoying to 

 us, by giving evidence of the contents of our baskets to all persons we 

 met, (it was a holiday,) and thus drawing their attention towards us. 

 The other two buzzards and the eagles remained generally quiet. 

 These three buzzards, but especially the male, became very familiar. 

 When let off in the morning, his favourite perch was upon some stacks 

 of grain, where he remained patiently watching for mice, which he has 

 been seen to catch, but was not always successful, sometimes dashing 

 his talons into the straw, and bringing them out empty. He prefer- 

 red mice to rats, though very expert at killing both. He was quite 

 a pet bird. One of his favourite tricks was to fly on his master's 

 feet and untie his shoe-strings. But he was likewise very bold ; and, 

 taking a dislike to a certain individual, flew at him whenever he ap- 

 peared, and endeavoured to strike him about the head. Against these 

 attacks a walking-stick generally served as a defence ; but the buzzard 

 once carae upon him unawares, and inflicted a severe blow on the 

 back of his head. This bird occasionally astonished strangers, by 

 smartly striking them on the hat, so as to send it over their ears. 



At the range of inland rocks called Salagh Braes, and at another 

 similar locaUty in Antrim, the buzzard nestles, as it is likewise pre- 

 sumed to do at the promontory of Fairhead, in the same county, a 

 pair of these birds having been seen there in June last by my friend 



