140 THE BIRDS OF DETOX. 



easily trapped, and their nests, placed upon the ground, 

 are not difficidt to detect, and when discovered are gene- 

 rally destroyed. Foolish birds, often blundering up to the 

 gun, it was not likely they would long survive the new 

 condition of things brought in by percussion-guns, breech- 

 loaders, and stringent game-preserving. But for a long 

 time after persecution had banished them from all tlie 

 central and southern districts of the county, the wild hill- 

 region bordering on Exmoor, as well as the great Forest 

 itself, continued to afford a fastness to two of the species, 

 from whence, as Irora a reservoir, they were poured forth 

 in the autumn and winter to hunt over the salt-marshes 

 and Snipe-grounds of the lower coast-districts of Devon. 

 Mr. James Turner, of Staplegro\e, Taunton, who was for 

 some time Secretary to the Devon and Somerset Stag- 

 hounds, and was continually riding over the Forest, in- 

 formed us (in October 187G) that not a day passed when 

 he was on the moor without his seeing a Harrier or two, 

 and that, to his knowledge, the shepherds made a practice 

 of destroying every nest they found. He told us that he 

 believed he had identified Montagu's Harrier, as w-ell as 

 the Hen-Harrier, on the Forest. We have ourselves, 

 while fishing on the Barle in the summer time, seen a pair 

 of that species some short distance above Lanacre Bridge ; 

 and it may still be expected to be met with nesting occa- 

 sionally within the limits of the county. 



Marsll-Harrier. Circus ceruginosus (Linn.). 



[Moor-Buzzard.] 



A casual visitor, of very rare occurrence. 



Marsh-Harriers were not uncommon about the rabbit-warrens on Dart- 

 moor up to lb44, and committed great depredations among the vouiig rabbits 

 (E. Al., Trans. Tlym. Inst. iSoU, p. 207). Indeed, they seem to havo 

 been formerly more abundant than any of the other large Hawks (J. C, B., 

 Kat. Hist. S. Devon, 1630, p. 100). About August, Marsh-Harriers were 



