FALCONIDS. Ut 
darker shade; legs yellow. The above description 
is taken from an adult bird in my own collection. 
“The young birds have the legs paler in colour; 
the cere and orbits almost white, sometimes inter- 
mixed with blue; head, neck and all the upper parts 
dusky, with rust-coloured and yellowish edges.” * 
The eggs of the Hobby, the Merlin and the 
Kestrel are so much alike that unless the bird is 
seen and recognized on the nest it is almost im- 
possible to tell by the eggs alone to which of the 
three species they belong. In buying eggs, there- 
fore, the purchaser is almost at the mercy of the 
seller, and will probably get three different varieties 
of Kestrel’s eggs, but will have to pay a higher price 
for those said to be Hobby’s or Merlin’s. 
Meruin, Falco salon. The Merlin is also a very 
uncommon bird in this part of the county. I only 
know of one having been killed near here, and that 
I saw shot in this parish when I was a boy: it is 
now in my collection, and in very good preserva- 
tion. The following description of the adult male is 
taken from it. In the wild part of the county to the 
westward, it is, I believe, more common, and it may 
be so also on the Mendips. 
The Merlin is considered to be a winter visitor 
to the southern counties of England, but certainly 
breeds in the more northern ones. 
* Meyer's British Birds, vol. i. p. 46. 
