Northern Observations of Inland Birds 149 



were chattering and screaming in a dead ash tree near. 

 Suddenly the starUngs flew off in a pack after the manner 

 of their kind, at which the merUn stooped right into the 

 middle of them. I am perfectly sure that he could have 

 killed or wounded half a dozen of the bunch, but clearly 

 he was merely playing with them, and did no more than 

 to give the talkative birds a very bad fright. The starlings 

 were flying above the river, and it was amusing to note 

 how they dropped to within a few inches of the water, 

 and went sneaking off as fast as their wings could carry 

 them. Mr. Richard Clapham tells me that he has seen 

 a flight of pigeons pursue the same tactics when frightened 

 by a peregrine, dropping like stones to within a foot or 

 two of the heather, and never venturing to rise till well 

 out of the danger zone. This is a marvellous example 

 of the protective instinct of birds to whom the hawk in 

 the skies is an inherited foe, for the peregrine cannot 

 stoop unless there is a sufficient depth of open air beneath 

 his quarry. 



Authentic reports have reached me of (i) a merlin which 

 struck down and left a cuckoo ; (2) a merlin which was 

 shot carrying a swift in its talons ; (3) a brace of merlins 

 which were watched in pursuit of a curlew, which they 

 struck repeatedly, knocking clouds of fluff out of it, but 

 which eventually they abandoned as '* too big to sink." 

 Probably the curlew had annoyed them in some way — 

 possibly by making more noise than they thought seemly. 



Merlins are very devoted to their young and to each 

 other. When the hen bird is killed the tercel has been 

 known to shoulder from that day on all family responsi- 

 bilities, caring for the young to the best of his ability, 

 even incubating the eggs and safely bringing off the 

 brood. 



Before the young merlins can fly they leave the nest 

 and scramble about the shelves, often travelling a sur- 



