RARER BIRDS OF THE MOOR. 
299 
in winter ; I have noticed them arriving in vast 
quantities in December yearly on the high grounds 
bordering Bigbury Bay. It lias been found also 
that the Golden Plover , Grey Plover , and Dunlin 
breed there, and there is great reason to suppose 
that very many other similar birds do likewise. 
The Coot , Water Hen , and Water Rail are well 
known to breed not only in the marshes of Dart¬ 
moor, but also plentifully in very many swampy 
woods, and other secluded watery spots not far from 
Plymouth, dispersing from these retreats as soon 
as the cold sets in. The Black Grouse is sparingly 
dispersed over the moors, and in winter roams with 
its progeny over the woods and cultivated parts of 
the country, being occasionally shot and brought 
to market in the severer months. 
Besides the above named birds there are others 
recorded to have been observed sparingly on or in 
the vicinity of the Moor. The Honey Buzzard , 
Sea or Cinereous Eagle , Golden Eagle , Goshawk , 
Kite , Little Owl , Short-eared Owl , Nutcracker , 
Greater spotted Woodpecker , Lesser spotted Wood¬ 
pecker , Roze Ouzel , Wryneck , Cross-hill , Hawfinch , 
Hoopoe , Snow Bunting , Turtle Dove , Quail, Little 
Bustard , Great Snipe , Barker , Spotted Rail , and 
Little Rail are some deserving notice. But it is to 
the deep and unfrequented woods before named as 
bordering the Moor that we are principally indebted 
for these rarities, and it cannot be altogether sur¬ 
prising that these spots so secluded and so generally 
calculated to be the abodes of the feathered tribes 
should contain within them objects so precious to 
the naturalist. They who have read Vaillant’s 
“ Travels in Africa,” will I think agree with me in 
the remark, that the transition from these woods to 
the contiguous sterile tracts of the Moor, where 
even in summer little else can be seen save the 
Curlew flying from the summit of one tor to another 
Mm2 
