35 
with a bird in his talons. When he cried, the hen bird came out of 
the precipice and joined him in the air, and took from the male the 
bird he was carrying. This must have been a pretty sight.” 
DO MWALCOISUBBULEO 0s). tin tk er, O Volks Plex Vill. 
Hossy. 
A summer bird in our islands, where it breeds in woods, either in the 
forsaken nest of a Crow or in one which it builds for itself. I have re- 
ceived Hobbies from other countries besides Britain and the continent 
of Europe, viz. India, China, and Africa, but not from America, where 
indeed, it is not found. This bird and some others of the same form 
- have been deemed sufficiently distinct from the other Falcons to con- 
stitute it the type of a separate genus; by those authors, therefore, 
who adopt minute divisions of genera, it is termed Hypotriorchis 
subbuteo, instead of Falco subbuteo. It is less bold and sanguinary 
than the Peregrine or the Merlin, feeds on insects to a considerable 
extent, particularly Chaffers, and consequently is somewhat crepus- 
cular in its habits, such large insects being principally obtainable as 
they flit round the tops of great trees after sunset. 
OSAP COMASALON Metstl reine) ollie? «isis 1 oy VOL: Lebel sxdex. 
MERLIN. 
This bird has also been removed by Professor Kaup from the genus 
Falco into that of salon, a division which, being a very natural one, 
the scientific ornithologist will not repudiate ; but in a work on our 
native birds these minute divisions are scarcely admissible, since the 
finding of so many of their old friends under new appellations could 
scarcely be otherwise than distasteful to my readers. In many in- 
stances where I have departed from the practice of the older natu- 
ralists, I have been not lightly censured for the innovation ; but the 
time will come when the generic appellation bestowed upon each 
distinct form will be more generally adopted. 
The Merlin of the British Islands is by no means the only repre- 
sentative of the genus salon; for there are several very distinct 
species in other countries, the names of which would be given were 
I writing a work on general ornithology instead of one on the birds 
of a limited area. 
The F. esalon is a resident species, and very generally dispersed 
over the three kingdoms. 
Genus ERYTHROPUS. 
At least two species of this elegant form are known. Of these, 
one, E. vespertinus, is a native of South and South-eastern Europe, 
but occasionally wanders into Britain; the other, EZ. amurensis, is 
found on the Amur, in Nepaul, and over the greater part of South- 
eastern Africa. In disposition these birds are less sanguinary than 
the true Falcons; and their food consists principally of insects and 
their larvee. 
p2 
