THE BRAUNTON BUEROWS. XXXV 



to the west by Barnstaple Bay, to the east by Braunton 

 Marslij aud to the south by the river Taw. They abound in 

 rabbits^ which feed in the grassy plains between the sand-hills. 

 Some of these plains are dotted over by tall clumps of Juncus 

 acutus, and after heavy rains in the autumn and winter become 

 shallow lagoons frequented by Snipe and Wild-fowl. Not being 

 very accessible^ and being also well looked after by the lessee of 

 the rabbit-warren^ the Burrows oflPer a sanctuary to many birds, 

 and many rare stragglers doubtless visit them without being noted. 

 During the years in which we were acquainted with this interesting 

 country, the Crested Lark, Bichard's Pipit, the Cream-coloured 

 Courser, Temminck^s Stint, and the Little Crake were all observed 

 there ; while on the Braunton Marsh close adjoining a beautiful 

 adult Squacco Heron and two Pectoral Sandpipers were also 

 obtained, which are all in our collection. Many strange plants 

 are found on the Burrows, where we have come across herbalists 

 searching for them, and some j^ears ago the rare Spurge Hawk 

 Moth (Deilephila euphorbm) used to be plentiful, but is now 

 extinct, its larvae, it is supposed, having all been buried beneath 

 the shifting sands. Buzzards, locally known as Black Kites, 

 were once common on the Burrows, attracted by the young 

 rabbits; and Hen-Harriers and Peregrine Falcons were often to 

 be seen. Short-eared Owls in the autumn and winter are to be 

 found there and are sometimes numerous. We one day flushed 

 twenty or more from one small hillock which rose out of the 

 flooded ground like an island, the Owls, slowly sailing round us, 

 settling again among the rushes on neighbouring mounds. One 

 we nearly trod on rose from a freshly killed Peewit, whose head, 

 the part always first devoured by Owls and Hawks, had been torn 

 off and eaten. The Braunton Burrows are the only locality in 

 Devonshire where we have ever met with the Norfolk Plover, 

 sometimes seeing it there ^^hcn Snipe-shooting in the winter, and 

 one shot by Mr. G. Mathias, of Ilf racombe, is the only North Devon 

 specimen we have handled. In the winter large flocks of White- 

 fronted Ccese are seen flying over the Burrows, while in October 

 the sands near Saunton Down End arc sometimes black with 

 Wigcon. 



The only house within the confines of the Burrows is the tall 



