THE BUZZARD.
[To THE EDITOR or THE " SPECTATOR. "1
Sia,—Mr. Vaughan, in his interesting letter published in the Spectator on May 29th, considers that I "take an over-pessi- mistic view of the status of this bird (buzzard) in England before the war." I should like to point out that the reappear- ance of the bird, and the gradual extension of its range in the West Country, covers a period reaching far back into the pre- war days. Neither, upon careful comparison, can I see wherein Mr. Vaughan's observations differs from mine. He also states that, given fair play, " there is no reason why the buzzard should not lend an extra charm to the wilds of the West for many years to come." My article was written partly in the ,hope of inducing game-preservers to give the bird that fair play, on which its continued existence, in the relatively restricted areas where it is still found in thee islands, admittedly depends. Otherwise there is too much reason to fear that the buzzard will yet go the way of the sadly miscalled common kite. The statements I made in my article, which you published on May 15th, summarize the results of my continuous observation of the buzzard in Devonshire for many years.—I
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