THE BUZZARD.
(To THE EDITOR Or THE " SPECTATOR.") Sia,—May I be allowed to thank you for the interesting article on the Buzzard which appeared in your issue of May 15th.
But does not the writer of that article take an over-pessimistic view of the status of this bird in England before the war? If we except Devon, Cornwall, and the Lake District, it is too true that the Buzzard has been banished from all England, and is only a memory of the past, though it lingered on in Lincolnshire till about 1880, and I remember an Essex woodman telling me in 1817 that he minded well the Buzzard breeding in the woods he looked after not so many years ago. In the Wo-f the Buzzard seems to have found a safe place of refuge. It breeds at intervals all along the North Cornish coast. In the spring of 1911 a gentleman, who was probably the best authority on the birds of Exmoor, told me that in his opinion this species was on the increase there, and that he know of twelve nests in different parts of that moor ; while in that same spring in quite a different part of Devon during the course of a twenty-mile walk, I managed to locate no fewer than six pairs of Buzzards.
Given fair play, there is no reason why the Buzzard should not lend an extra charm to tho wilds of the West for many years te come. If any of your readers are interested in this fine species, may I suggest a purchase of The Bustards at Home, pub- lished by Witherby and Co., and illustrated by some charming
photographs.—I am, Sir, Fem., M. VAUGHAN, M.B.O.U. Marlborough.
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