THE BLACK MERLIN. 537 



caught on the wing, sometimes by a direct swoop, and at others bv the falcon 

 trick of turning lareast upwards. A thrilling illustration of this last named 

 habit came io my notice when half a dozen Tree Swallows were teasing one 

 of these JNIerlins as he was passing o\er a large marsh. This passage at arms 

 took place at a considerable height from the ground and formed a most vivid 

 picture. The Swallows careful!}- kept abme the Hawk so that lie could not 

 pounce upon them, and occasionally one, bolder than the rest, would dive 

 down and peck him on the back ; but the larger bird seemed to ]3av no atten- 

 tion whatever. Of a sudden — and it was almost as much of a surprise to me 

 as it must ha\'e been to the Swallow — the apparently listless Hawk met one of 

 these attacks by turning gracefully breast uppermost. He literallv turned a 

 half-somerset in midair, and so accurateh- was the mox'ement timed that the 

 over-ci>nfideiit Swallciw flew directly into the iiutstretched talons of his 

 eneniy. 



Occasionall}- grasshoppers and large dragon-flies are caught and eaten, 

 always when flying, and seemingl_\- more for sport than for the desire for 

 food. In this connection I may express my belief that they often take pleas- 

 ure in the chase when not intending to kill, for I ha\'e seen one repeatedly 

 dash thru a large flock of terrified Sandi)ipers without apparenth' attempting 

 to catch any of them. 



\Vlien not too hea\y the prey is taken to the topmost liml) of some large 

 tree, where the hawk always turns and faces in the direction from which he 

 came. This last curious trait is undoubtedly due to precaution, Ijut I ha\'e 

 alwa\"s lieen at a loss to know what it fears. Toward mankind it shows little 

 or no timidity, and I have repeatedly discharged my gun while one of these 

 hawks was hunting within thirty yards of me, without appearing to frighten 

 him in the least. 



The flight, like that of all the falcons, is direct and businesslike, and 

 consists of an almost continual flapping of the wings, very seldom sailing for 

 any distance, and ne\"er soaring about in circles, as is tlie habit witli all other 

 members of the liawk family, save the falcons. 



So far as known no positively identified eggs of the Black Alerlin have 

 ever been taken, and onl}- two nests have been reported to me, both of which 

 were in inaccessible cavities high up in decayed trees. One of these that I 

 personally visited in Jnne was placed in a lone cottonwood tree in the val!e\- of 

 the Puyallup Ri\-er, and contained young that were learning to fly. The 

 young paid no attention whatever to me, but the parents sat overhead looking 

 down at me and uttering plaintive wliimperings, altho seemingly pretty well 

 assured that I coukl not reach them. The note sounded not unlike the kik- 

 kik'kib call of the Flicker, only \'er_\' much more subdued, and is the onlv 

 sound I ha\-e ever known this bird to make at any time. 



J. H. Bowles. 



