NESTING-SERIES OP BRITISH BIRDS. 195 



No. 155. PEREGRINJE: falcon. (Falco peregrinus.) 



Though greatly persecuted ou account ot the havoc it commits 

 among game^ this species is still fairly abundant and generally dis- 

 tributed in suitable localities throughout the British Islands. It preys 

 chiefly on Grouse, PartridgeSj Pigeons, and Ducks, as well as on 

 Sea-fowl of various kinds. No nest is made ; either a slight hollow is 

 scratched in the soil on some overhung ledge of an inland rock or 

 sea-cliiF, or an old nest of some other bird, such as the Raven, Crow, 

 or Heron, is made use of. The eggs, which are from two to four iu 

 number, vary in colour from freckled orange-brown to rich brick-red. 

 As is the case with other birds-of-prey, the female is much larger than 

 the male, and the difference is conspicuous even in the young 

 birds exhibited in the Case. 



Ross-shire, June. 



Presented by Captain Savile G. Reid ^ W. R. Oyilvic-Grant, Esq. 



No. 156. KESTREL. (Cerchneis tinnuuculus.) 



This useful friend of the agriculturist is the commonest bird of prey 

 iu the British Islands, where it is often known as the Wind-hover, 

 from its habit of hovering or hanging almost motionless in the air, 

 against the wind, over one spot, while it searches the ground beneath 

 for prey. Its food consists chiefly of rodents, large beetles, and other 

 insects, but occasionally small or young birds are taken. The eggs, 

 which are reddish-brown and from four to six in number, are laid, as a 

 rule, in the old nest of a Crow or Magpie, etc., but cavities in hollow 

 trees, cliffs, and towers are also utilized. 



Sutherlandshire, May. 



Presented by Colonel L. H. Irhy S^ Captain S. G. Reid. 



No. 157. COMMON BUZZARD. (Buteo vulgaris.) 



Though still fairly numerous in many of the wilder parts of Scotland, 

 in the north-west of England and in Wales, this species is annually 

 decreasing in numbers, owing to the constant persecution to which it is 

 subjected. Its food consists chiefly of young rabbits and hares and 

 other small mammals, but reptiles, grasshoppers and other insects, as 

 well as small birds, are also eaten. The large nest of sticks and dead 

 heather is either built in a tree or placed on the ledge of a cliff', in the 

 neighbourhood of rabbit- burrows. Three or four greyish- white eggs. 



