MERLIN. 49 



his size, is this little bird, that a male Merlin, not weighing 

 more than six ounces, has been seen to strike and kill a 

 Partridge that was certainly more than twice his own weight ; 

 and so tenacious generally is he of his prey, that it is very 

 difficult to make him quit anything he has taken. The more 

 common food of this species is small birds. 



The Merlin was formerly, and is now occasionally, trained ; 

 and Sir John Sebright, in the pamphlet already quoted, says, 

 " He will take Blackbirds and Thrushes. He may be made 

 to wait on, that is, hover near, till the bird to be pursued is 

 started again ; and though a Merlin will sometimes kill a Par- 

 tridge, they are not strong enough to be effective in the field." 



The Merlin was formerly considered to be only a win- 

 ter visitor in this country ; but it is now very well as- 

 certained that this species breeds on the moors of some 

 northern counties. Mr. Selby has found the nest several 

 times in Northumberland ; and Dr. Heysham mentions three 

 instances that came to his knowledge of Merlins'" nests in 

 Cumberland, where, he says, this bird remains all the year. 

 Mr. Eyton tells me that it breeds on Cader Idris ; and Mr. 

 Dovaston sent a notice to his friend Mr. Bewick, " on the 

 authority of the gamekeeper at Wynstay Park, North Wales, 

 that he had often seen the nest of the Merlin, and that it 

 built and bred there in the summer of 1826." In the more 

 southern counties of Cornwall and Devonshire, the Merlin 

 is considered to be rare, and only seen in winter. On our 

 eastern coast it is killed, but not very often, in Kent, Essex, 

 and Norfolk. The specimens obtained are generally young 

 birds ; and these occur most frequently in autumn, or at the 

 beginning of winter. In Ireland, according to Mr. Thomp- 

 son, the Merlin is indigenous in several northern counties. 

 It breeds also in Scotland, in Orkney, and in Shetland ; and 

 is included by Muller and M. Nilsson among the birds of 



VOL. I. E 



