A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE I should imagine is rather an unusual occur- rence in the owl family. 104. Little Owl. Athene noctua (Scopoli). This is a species which should I think, so far as this county is concerned, be classed under the heading ' introduced.' The first re- corded specimen in Hertfordshire was obtained near Ashwell in May, 1877. This example passed through the hands of the late William Norman of Royston. Some years after that I believe the Hon. W. Rothschild turned out a lot of these birds at Tring, where some of them still nest. In 1897 a pair, which reared two young ones, nested on one of Mr. T. Fowell Buxton's farms at Easneye near Ware, the nest being in a hollow tree, and in the following year they nested again on this farm but in the loft of a barn. I am sorry to say that the birds on the last occasion were dis- turbed and deserted their eggs, one of which was presented by Mr. Buxton to the County Museum at St. Albans. In addition to the above records I am informed by Mr. Sainsbury Verey that in 1898 a little owl was shot in the early part of the year at Bull's Land near Rickmansworth, while later in the same year another was obtained at West Hyde in the same district. The head keeper at Moor Park also told me that in that year he saw a small owl, about the size of a blackbird, there on several occasions. This bird probably belonged to the species now under consideration. From the above facts it would seem probable that the little owl is likely to become a permanent resident in Hertfordshire. 105. Hen-Harrier. Circus cyaneus (Linn.). The first record I have of this species is in 1845, when a pair were shot in the parish of Sandon ; these birds passed into the possession of the late Mr. Henry Fordham. On October 28th, 1883, and on one or two occasions about that date, Mr. M. R. Pryor saw a bird, which he is confident was of this species, at Weston Manor near Stevenage. A hen- harrier, which is now in the possession of Sir V. H. Crewe, of Calke Abbey, Derbyshire, was obtained many years ago at Tring, while a female was shot there in December, 1884. On November 7th, 1897, Mrs. Brightwen's bailiff saw at Elstree reservoir a bird which he stated belonged to this species ; it remained in the neighbourhood for some days. 1 06. Montagu's Harrier. Circus cineraceus (Montagu). This hawk has only been recorded in Hertfordshire on one occasion, Captain Young having obtained one at Hexton near Hitchin in 1875. 107. Buzzard. Buteo vu/garis, Leach. This fine species is, I am sorry to say, only an occasional visitor to the county, although in former times it was probably a fairly com- mon resident. Nowadays it usually comes to an untimely end. At Munden House there is a buzzard in the collection of the Hon. A. Holland-Hibbert, which was shot there be- tween 1840 and 1850. This may have been a representative of the buzzards which were no doubt at one time to be found in Bricket Wood. In 1877 a bird of this species was obtained at Russell Farm near Watford, while in 1879 one was shot in Hatfield Park. In February, 1881, Mr. H. Cox procured an example at Harpenden, and in the following October a buzzard was seen near Royston, which, on being fired at, dropped a rabbit it was carrying. On the 1 5th of the same month one was shot at Royston while in pursuit of a pigeon ; this specimen measured 39^ inches across the wings and 19^ inches in length. In the county museum there is a bird which was caught in a hedgehog trap at Cowheath Wood near Hoddesdon, and which was presented to the museum by Mr. F. M. Campbell. In September or October, 1897, a buzzard was shot at Barrington, while in the latter month one was seen flying over Earl's Wood, Barkway, where also on October 7th, 1898, and October I4th, 1899, and again in the early part of October, 1900, this species was observed. 1 08. Rough-legged Buzzard. Buteo lagopus (Gmelin). This bird was first recorded in Hertford- shire in 1880, when one, which frequented a high hill with a large tree on the top during the greater part of October and part of Novem- ber, was shot at Bennington on the ninth of the latter month. This bird measured 4 feet 7^ inches across the wings and i foot 9 inches in length. A second specimen was shot on October 30th, 1883, within a few yards of where the other was killed. On January 3rd, 1 88 1, Mr. T. F. Buxton, while out shooting on the Rye Meads near Ware, put up a bird of this species from the ground where it had apparently been feeding, as the remains of some bird were found near. A rough-legged buzzard, which was eventually exhibited by the late Lord Ebury at a meet- ing of the Herts Natural History Society in February, 1892, was trapped early in that month at Bishop's Wood near Rickmansworth, while in the following autumn a male and female were shot at Tring, and a third was taken alive, the latter living for some time in the Hon. Walter Rothschild's aviary. 206
