136 NATURE IN DOWNLAND 



the bold hawk that tore the captive birds out of the 

 coops. The kite, buzzard, harriers, as well as peregrine 

 falcon and sparrow-hawk, were common in those days. 

 Some of the old shepherds say that the stoats were a 

 great nuisance, and robbed them of a good many birds. 

 One old shepherd, who caught wheatears for many 

 years near Seaford, told me that the starlings gave him 

 most trouble. They would go poking into the coops and 

 get themselves caught. They were unsaleable, and so 

 he ate them. As soon as he took them out of the 

 traps he pulled their heads off. That, he informed me, 

 is the only proper thing to do. If you pull off their 

 heads they are good to eat, but if you leave their heads 

 on they are not good. 



I always leave my starlings' heads on, 

 Dudcney next tells us what he did at Westside 

 Farm, at Rottingdean, where he was afterwards en- 

 gaged. " The farm extending along the sea-coast, I 

 caught great numbers of wheatears during the season 

 for taking them, which lasted from the middle of July 

 to the end of August. The most I ever caught in one 

 day was thirteen dozen. We sold them to a poulterer 

 at Brighton, who took all we could catch at eighteen- 

 pence a dozen. From what I have heard from old 

 shepherds, it cannot be doubted that they were caught 

 in much greater numbers a century ago than of late. 

 I have heard them speak of an immense number 

 being taken in one day by a shepherd of East Dean, 

 near Beachy Head. I think they said he took nearly 



