BIRDS 179 



Johnson recollects that, when a young man, he himself met with 

 the Marsh Harrier on several occasions in the same district. It 

 is possible that a bird of this species, killed at Netherby some 

 years prior to 1880, and preserved in the collection at Edenhall, 

 was the last of the Marsh Harriers that had so long frequented 

 the wild moors of our borders. That the species lingered 

 longer among the wastes of Westmorland is far from improbable. 

 Mr. Hindson, who must have been a contemporary of the Marsh 

 Harrier, does not include this species in the Kirkby-Lonsdale 

 list. Dr. Gough himself only alludes to it in his list of 1861 as 

 1 Rare. Hay Fell.' Mr. Hutchinson believes that at one time 

 the Marsh Harrier bred regularly on Hay Fell. 



HEN HARRIER 



Circus cyaneus (L. ). 



The wild moors around Tebay must always have been well 

 adapted to this Harrier. Here accordingly we first have infor- 

 mation of its destruction. The Accompts of the Churchwardens 

 of Orton given at Easter 1645 include two entries of Harriers: 

 'Ihm to John Wilson for ringtails' heads, £00, 00s. 06d. Ihm 

 to Edward Thornboro for ringtails' heads, £00, 00s. 04d.' 

 Richardson of Ulles water tells us that even a century ago this 

 Harrier was only too well known in poultry yards by this name 

 of Ring-Tail. His contemporary, Dr. Heysham, devoted nearly 

 three columns to the Hen Harrier, and his account of the birds 

 which nested at Newtown, near Carlisle, is infinitely the finest 

 piece of writing that his pen has bequeathed to us. After dis- 

 cussing the question as to the disputed identity of the Hen 

 Harrier and the ' Ringtail/ he goes on to say : ' In the year 

 1783, I had at the same time, and within 500 yards of each 

 other, three nests of the ringtail and henharrier, upon 

 Newtown-common, about a mile and a half from Carlisle, in 

 some very young plantations of the late Mr. Davison: — the 

 first had seven eggs, the second had six eggs, and the third had 

 four young ones when I found them. A ringtail was upon 

 each nest ; but the henharriers did not appear. I visited them 



