no THE NATURAL HISTORY 



doubt, should represent every seat and castle remarkable 

 for any great event, or celebrated for its paintings, etc. 

 Lord Breadalbane's seat and beautiful policy are too 

 curious and extraordinary to be omitted. 



The seat of the Earl of Eglintoun, near Glasgow, is 

 worthy of notice. The pine plantations of that nobleman 

 are very grand and extensive indeed. 



I am, etc. 



LETTER XLHI 



Dear Sir, 

 A pair of honey-buzzards, buteo apivorus, sive vespivoms 

 Rati, built them a large shallow nest, composed of twigs 

 and lined with dead beechen leaves, upon a tall slender 

 beech near the middle of Selborne-hanger, in the summer 

 of 1780. In the middle of the month of June a bold boy 

 climbed this tree, though standing on so steep and dizzy 

 a situation, and brought down an egg, the only one in the 

 nest, which had been sat on for some time, and con- 

 tained the embryo of a young bird. The egg was smaller, 

 and not so round as those of the common buzzard ; was 

 dotted at each end with small red spots, and surrounded 

 in the middle with a broad bloody zone. 



The hen-bird was shot, and answered exactly to Mr. 

 Ray's description of that species ; had a black cere, short 

 thick legs, and a long tail. When on the wing this 

 species may be easily distinguished from the common 

 buzzard by its hawk -like appearance, small head, wings 

 not so blunt, and longer tail This specimen contained 

 _in its craw some limbs of frogs, and many grey snails 

 without shells. The irides of the eyes of this bird were 

 of a beautiful bright yellow colour. 



About the tenth of July in the same summer a pair of 



