2 SOME CHANGES IN THE COUNTY ORNIS. 
of eggs and young by this bird, may have more to do with 
the disappearance of the chough than most of us imagine. 
The stock-dove, again, is another species on the increase ; 
for, whereas formerly we used only to see them in winter, 
and that in severe weather, when they were driven south in 
search of food, now they breed in tolerable numbers along 
the coast, and in the copses near the sea. 
In those districts where the magpie and jays have been 
kept down, the wood-pigeon has greatly increased in numbers, 
as the former birds stole the eggs. 
The lapwing has now become a common breeding species 
—and that within the last twenty-five years—and adapts 
itself to remarkably different nesting sites, choosing in- 
differently the sedgy borders of the leys, or the heath- 
covered niches on top of the cliffs. 
We may also attribute a slight increase to four or five 
species of wild duck, as in the supplement to the Birds of 
Devon, recently published by Messrs, D’Urban and Mathew, 
there is sufficient evidence given to warrant the statement 
that they breed in small numbers on Slapton Ley; but the 
increase is hardly appreciable, seeing the immense augmenta- 
tion they receive, during the fall months, from the Continent. 
Sportsmen will bear us out in saying the partridge has 
increased in number, due as much to the turning down of 
fresh blood on many estates as to any other cause, inducing, 
as it has done, a healthier and hardier stock. 
Although always numerous, perhaps the most remarkable 
increase is shown by the herring gull. Since the passing of 
the Wild Birds Preservation Act these birds have been un- 
molested, and now, instead of breeding in isolated colonies 
about the coast, from Bolt Head to the Tail, they spread 
almost without interruption along the face of the cliff, 
breeding in thousands. 
There is a tendency for many of the warblers and other 
migrants breeding in England to spread their range west- 
ward, of which the reed warbler may be taken as an 
example; but we may assert, without fear of contradiction, 
I think, that as the birds of prey have decreased, so have 
all small birds increased in numbers, with some notable 
exceptions. 
If amongst some species of birds there has been an in- 
crease, In very many more has there been a decrease, and 
one much more rapid and certain. Where now are our 
larger birds of prey—the peregrines, harriers, and buzzards ? 
All gone !—utterly destroyed by the game-preserver. 
