THE DESTRUCTION OF BIRDS OF PREY . 51 
yards of her, then flew screaming away. The nest was very 
large, measuring over four feet in diameter and consisted of 
sticks with branches of fir, juniper, and heather twined closely 
together. The bottom was scantily lined with sphagnum, 
rushes, some brown-seaweed and a few feathets, upon which 
lay the two eggs, one of them quite unstained and probably 
newly laid. Beside the nest were a large quantity of fish debris, 
some bird claws and the bones of a hare or rabbit; 
A few minutes after the departure of the female, she returned 
with her mate, and both continued circling round at some dis- 
tance till I descended. Once the female approached courageous- 
ly and unpleasantly near, but made no attempt to attack me, 
though I had been assured in the morning before starting that if 
I went near the nest I should certainly be hurled ovet the cliff 
by a well-directed blow from her wings ! The male was a 
splendid bird and must have been of considerable age, as his 
head and neck were almost white. 
Near Loch Lomond in Argyleshire, a curious structure of 
interwoven sticks and branches in the heart of a tree has been 
pointed out to me as a deserted eyrie of this bird. 
More interesting than the White-tailed Eagle, on account of 
its amazing dexterity and grace of movement, is the Osprey. 
Unfortunately, however, it is one of the rarest of our British 
birds. Only on one occasion in the south of the Sound of Sleat, 
have I been able to watch it at a distance through a glass, now 
hovering with motionless wings, now sailing slowly round, or 
rushing through the air with vigorous beats of its long, powerful 
wings, suddenly checking itself in its impetuous flight, and 
darting downwards with the velocity of an arrow to clutch with 
its strangely adapted claws some unfortunate fish that its 
piercing eye has detected in the waters beneath. 
Probably one of the best known birds amongst our feathered 
nobility, and notwithstanding the extraordinary persecution to 
which it has been subjected, still one of the most abundant, is 
the beautiful Peregrine Falcon. The marvellous rapidity of its 
flight, the grace of its movements and the magnificent swoop 
with which it darts upon its prey, have for centuries been cele- 
brated in song and story. Moreover, it is one of the most 
daring of birds, and by its superior agility and swiftness gives 
battle successfully to the White-tailed Eagle. Its headquarters 
are in the Isle of Skye, but it is tolerably abundant in Mull, 
Inra, Islay, Colonsay and even Arran. 
Another graceful bird, almost rivalling the Peregrine in speed, 
but widely differing from it in the tenacity with which it hunts 
down its prey, is the Merlin, or Falconet. This bird may be 
found throughout the whole of Western Scotland. With less 
tenacity in the chase, but still more incredible rapidity in seizing 
stationary prey is the Sparrow Hawk, seemingly confined in 
Western Scotland to Lewis and the North of Harris. 
The common Kestril is tolerably abundant over all the 
