﻿134 
  

  

  THE 
  VERTEBRATE 
  FAUNA 
  OF 
  "DEE." 
  

  

  shire. 
  Both 
  were 
  preserved 
  by 
  Mr. 
  M'Leay, 
  Inverness, 
  in 
  

   whose 
  hands 
  I 
  saw 
  them. 
  On 
  May 
  7th, 
  1897, 
  a 
  fine 
  specimen 
  

   was 
  shot 
  at 
  Crimonmogate. 
  Its 
  stomach 
  was 
  filled 
  with 
  

   shrew 
  mice. 
  

  

  Falco 
  tinnunculus, 
  Linn. 
  Kestrel. 
  Windhover. 
  

  

  Notwithstanding 
  the 
  persecution 
  to 
  which 
  this 
  species, 
  in 
  

   common 
  with 
  the 
  other 
  members 
  of 
  the 
  Falconidae, 
  is 
  sub- 
  

   jected, 
  it 
  is 
  the 
  most 
  common 
  and 
  abundant 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  Hawk 
  

   tribe, 
  and 
  is 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  the 
  most 
  useful. 
  It 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  

   the 
  farmer's 
  best 
  friends, 
  for 
  its 
  food 
  consists, 
  in 
  a 
  very 
  large 
  

   measure, 
  of 
  mice, 
  supplemented 
  by 
  beetles 
  and 
  moths. 
  It 
  is 
  

   pretty 
  evenly 
  distributed 
  over 
  the 
  whole 
  district 
  ; 
  but 
  it 
  is, 
  

   perhaps, 
  most 
  abundant, 
  at 
  least 
  at 
  the 
  breeding 
  season, 
  along 
  

   the 
  rock-bound 
  coast 
  of 
  Kincardineshire. 
  There 
  it 
  selects 
  

   some 
  of 
  the 
  many 
  projections 
  in 
  the 
  face 
  of 
  the 
  perpendicular 
  

   cliffs, 
  upon 
  which 
  it 
  constructs 
  its 
  rude 
  nest, 
  and 
  brings 
  forth 
  

   its 
  young 
  in 
  comparative 
  security. 
  While 
  thus 
  occupied, 
  it 
  is 
  

   interesting 
  to 
  watch, 
  especially 
  at 
  early 
  dawn, 
  the 
  movements 
  

   of 
  the 
  male 
  as 
  he 
  drops 
  noiselessly 
  from 
  the 
  jutting 
  rock 
  and 
  

   betakes 
  himself 
  to 
  the 
  adjoining 
  fields, 
  and 
  to 
  see 
  him 
  there 
  

   hovering 
  on 
  almost 
  motionless 
  wings 
  diligently 
  searching 
  the 
  

   ground 
  and 
  suddenly 
  swooping 
  down 
  on 
  some 
  hapless 
  mouse, 
  

   which 
  is 
  straightway 
  conveyed 
  to 
  where 
  the 
  female 
  sits. 
  It 
  

   is 
  also 
  interesting 
  and 
  instructive 
  to 
  see 
  how 
  frequently 
  he 
  

   returns 
  to 
  the 
  nest, 
  laden 
  with 
  spoil 
  suited 
  to 
  the 
  tender 
  

   young. 
  

  

  Were 
  those 
  actions 
  studied 
  as 
  they 
  ought 
  to 
  be 
  by 
  the 
  

   persecutors 
  of 
  this 
  beautiful 
  bird, 
  it 
  is 
  surely 
  not 
  too 
  much 
  to 
  

   expect 
  that 
  they 
  would 
  see 
  the 
  grievous 
  mistake 
  of 
  their 
  

   doings, 
  and 
  henceforth 
  grant 
  the 
  Kestrel 
  quiet 
  and 
  protection 
  

   to 
  carry 
  out 
  its 
  beneficent 
  purpose 
  in 
  the 
  arrangement 
  of 
  

   nature. 
  

  

  Falco 
  cenchris, 
  Naum. 
  Lesser 
  Kestrel. 
  

  

  A 
  female 
  specimen 
  of 
  this 
  pretty 
  little 
  Falcon 
  was 
  shot 
  on 
  

   the 
  estate 
  of 
  Boyndlie, 
  parish 
  of 
  Crimond, 
  by 
  the 
  Rev. 
  Elton 
  

   Lee, 
  on 
  October 
  25th, 
  1897. 
  Its 
  stomach 
  contained 
  beetles, 
  

   grubs, 
  and 
  insects' 
  eggs. 
  This, 
  to 
  my 
  knowledge, 
  is 
  the 
  first 
  

   instance 
  of 
  the 
  bird 
  having 
  been 
  obtained 
  in 
  Scotland. 
  

  

  