BIRDS 



1 1 7. Golden Eagle. Aquila chrysagtus (Linn.). 

 Durnford in the Birds of Walney notes one 



occurrence of the golden eagle near Furness 

 Abbey in 1815. 



118. White-tailed Eagle. Haliaetus albkilla 



(Linn.). 



The present writer thinks that the white- 

 tailed eagle may still probably breed from time to 

 time somewhere on the heights of this or the 

 neighbouring counties, for several immature 

 specimens have been taken along the coast and 

 at other places. One killed at Blundellsands in 

 1895 was brought to him in the flesh on 

 3 December, and is now preserved in the Lord 

 Derby Museum in Liverpool. 



119. Goshawk. Astur palumbarius (Linn.). 



The goshawk has twice been recorded from 

 the county, in the years 1838 and 1863 respec- 

 tively. (Mitchell, Birds of Lancashire, ed. 2, 

 p. 127.) 



1 20. Sparrow-Hawk. Accipiter nisus (Linn.). 



A resident and still fairly abundant notwith- 

 standing the hostility of every gamekeeper 

 towards it. 



121. Kite. Milvus ictinus, Savigny. 



Locally, Gled. 



Formerly more frequently met with than now 

 in Lancashire as elsewhere, where it nested, 

 though rarely in the tall trees, among the Fells 

 and in a few other favourable places. It does 

 not appear to have been noted, however, during 

 the last quarter of a century. 



[Swallow-tailed Kite. Elano'idesfurcatus (Linn.). 



A specimen from the Macclesfield Museum 

 sold at Stevens' Auction Rooms in London in 

 June 1 86 1 was said to have been shot on the 

 Mersey in June 1843, but it may as well have 

 escaped from captivity as been wafted to our 

 shores by westerly winds. A very doubtful 

 record, which is not sufEcient to qualify for the 

 Lancashire register.] 



122. Honey-Buzzard. Pernis apivorus (Linn.). 

 An occasional summer visitor to Lancashire ; 



but it has not occurred for many years now. 

 Two female specimens, one shot (in Knowsley 

 Park by the Hon. E. G. Stanley) in October, 

 1818, and a second at Rainford in 1835, are 

 preserved in the Lord Derby Museum, Liver- 

 pool. 



[Greenland Falcon. Falco candicans (J, F. 

 Gmelin). 



An insufficiently authenticated record exists of 

 an adult specimen having been shot on a vessel 

 coming into the port of Liverpool in the middle 

 sixties. (Gregson, Proc. Hist. Soc. of Lancashire 

 and Cheshire, 1865-6).] 



123. Peregrine Falcon. 



stall. 



Falco peregrinus, Tun- 



A resident still in small numbers in the Fells, 

 where amid their wild isolation a few broods are 

 annually reared. One with a dunlin fast in its 

 talons was taken by a fisherman on the marsh 

 near Carnforth in 1900. It is not infrequently 

 seen in some districts in spring. 



124. Lanner Falcon. Falco feldeggii, Schl. 



A female was picked up newly shot on the 

 sea-shore near Carnforth, in April 1902, after fre- 

 quenting the district for some weeks. (Robinson, 

 Zoologist, 1904, p. 75.) No record is forthcoming 

 that the bird was an escape from confinement. 



125. Hobby. Falco subbuteo (Linn.). 



An occasional spring and autumn migrant, 

 now very rarely seen, though more frequent in 

 former times, and for the last twenty-five years 

 no occurrence has been recorded. A specimen 

 shot at Knowsley is preserved in the Lord Derby 

 Museum in Liverpool. 



126. Merlin. Falco asalon, T\in%t9}i\. 



A locally distributed resident nesting on the 

 hill sides and high moors and visiting the low- 

 lands but rarely, and usually chiefly in winter, 

 and these generally young birds. A very beau- 

 tiful partial albino, shot at Lower Darwen, near 

 Blackburn, in October, 1 891, is preserved in the 

 Lord Derby Museum, Liverpool. 



127. Red-footed Falcon. 

 Linn. 



Falco vespertinus. 



A rare straggler, observed in the county only 

 three times, all in the year 1843, one from 

 Heaton Park and two from Prestwich Clough — 

 the latter record, however, leaves much to be 

 desired in the way of authentication. 



128. Kestrel. Falco tinnunculus, Linn. 



Locally, Windhover. 



A common resident, the best known and the 

 oftenest seen of all our hawks, nesting in all 

 suitable plantations, and often formerly among 

 the coastal sandhills. It is still much persecuted 

 by gamekeepers, although now it derives some 

 indirect, rather than intentional, benefit (so far 

 as its persecutors are concerned) from the Bird 

 Protection Acts. 



129. Osprey. Pandion halia'e'tus (Linn.). 

 Locally, Fishing-hawk. 



A not infrequent spring and autumn visitor, 

 frequenting our inland meres. 



130. Cormorant. Phalacrocorax carbo (Linn.). 



Locally, Scarf. 



A resident ' common in these parts ' (according 

 to Leigh) in 1 700, but not nesting within our 



197 



