Merlin 281 



nostril, and dark brown eyes, whereas amongst the 

 characteristics of hawks we shall find rounded wings 

 shorter than the tail, ' ' festooned " beaks, and yellow eyes. 



For her size, the merlin has all the pluck of the pere- 

 grine, which species alone is flown to-day by the Old 

 English Hawking Club at black-headed gulls and rooks. 

 The great peregrine ascends to a considerable height 

 above her quarry, seizing an opportunity to swoop to the 

 same in full view of the mounted company below. The 

 little merlin chases her quarry often far afield, and at a 

 great rate, closely following every double, twist, and turn, 

 but never far from the ground. Whilst both peregrine 

 and merlin rely on superior wing-power and endurance 

 in pursuit, the sparrow-hawk adopts manoeuvres ; we 

 shall see her skimming over hill-top and hedge, beating 

 bush and shrubbery, and coming round rocks on the 

 fugitive unaware. The kestrel will " windhover " almost 

 stationary awhile, then suddenly pounce down upon 

 her quarry — generally a mouse on the ground. 



In my moorland rambles with George Jeddle, a York- 

 shire gamekeeper, the nesting merlin has been traced. 

 Like other watchers of grouse moors, Jeddle wants to see 

 the merlin exterminated, his young cheepers, which it 

 cannot let alone, being of more importance than the 

 welfare of the British Constitution. He vows vengeance 

 against every one he sees and can hear tell of ; he will 

 stoop to smash the eggs, kill the ' ' baregollies," and trap 

 or shoot the adult birds. 



The only consolation a keeper can have is that a radius 

 of, perhaps, eight miles does not hold more than one 

 merlin's nest, though it cannot be denied that a pair of 

 birds, followed by their brood of four, will soon do a deal 

 of damage amongst grouse cheepers. Jeddle avows that 

 he has seen a pair of merlins working together and 

 quartering the ground like a brace of well-broken pointers. 

 This is credible enough in the light of well-ascertained 

 facts as to the bird's cunning and its audacity in attacking 

 partridges, lapwings, golden plover, snipe, and other birds 

 superior in size to itself. 



Jeddle informs me that the merlin has been known to 



