310 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
Montagu’s Harrier was found in Surrey—now one of the most 
densely populated counties in the United Kingdom—and was 
seen by me on the 18th and 14th of that month. As the site of 
this nest was very similar and quite close to that chosen last 
year there is no need for me to write a full description of it. 
Fivery effort was made to protect this pair, and a “‘ watcher ” was 
put on duty by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. 
Unfortunately, although everything seemed to be progressing 
favourably, for some reason the eggs did not hatch. On July 
11th the female commenced to show signs of abandoning incuba- 
tion, and she remained away from the nest most of that day. — 
She was also absent throughout the following day, but was seen 
flying about in the vicinity of the nest. Previous to this the 
male had not been observed for some time. 
It has been suggested that the eggs failed on account of the 
heat and the want of rain for twenty days. This theory is 
hardly tenable when it is realized that Montagu’s Harrier is a 
more or less southern species, and breeds freely in Spain, while 
it also nests in North-west Africa, all of which countries are, 
of course, hotter and drier than any part of England. 
Notes by Inspector Burroughs.—From June 138th to July 12th 
the nest was carefully watched by Inspector Burroughs, and 
very interesting observations were made. The following is a — 
digest of his notes :— 
It appears that the duty of incubation fell entirely to the 
female. She did not seem to have any recognized feeding-time, 
but was seen to leave the nest at various hours during the day— 
it was once as late as four in the afternoon before she was 
observed to rise. If frightened or disturbed in any way she 
would fly off hurriedly, sometimes uttering a cry that sounded 
like ‘“‘chee-chee-chee.” On these occasions she would go right 
away, remaining absent for half an hour or so before returning, 
which she usually did very warily. Approaching within twenty 
or thirty yards of the nest she would alight on the ground and 
run the remainder of the distance through the heather. When, 
however, she left of her own accord her behaviour was quite 
different ; she would then rise gracefully, and, after circling over 
tbe ground for a short time, finally make away across the neigh- 
bouring hills. Sometimes a “chirping” cry would be emitted. 
