$6 MERLIN. 
of its plumage to the stones on which it had fallen at the 
side of the stream—a novel appropriation of its name of 
Stone Falecon—that I the less wondered at having before 
almost given up searching for it, and gone away with the 
belief that it had not been killed, but only wounded, and 
had run into some cover, than at finding it when I did. It 
is considered rare in Cornwall, (one was shot there in 1849, 
November 9th., near Falmouth, and one near Penryn,) Devon- 
shire, Dorsetshire, Kent, one at Dodington, in 1840, Essex, 
and Norfolk. 
It breeds in Northumberland, Westmoreland, and Cumber- 
land. It is uncommonly met with in the neighbourhood of 
Swinhope, Lincolnshire. The Rev. Leonard Jenyns mentions 
one recorded by Graves, as having been killed in Cambridge- 
shire. In Aberdeenshire, and other parts of Scotland, and in 
the Orkney and Shetland Islands, it also breeds. In Ireland 
it is indigenous, both in the northern and southern parts, 
throughout the whole of the year, but would seem to be 
somewhat locally migratory. It breeds on the mountains of 
the counties of Londonderry, Tyrone, and Down, as also in 
those of Waterford, Cork, Tipperary, and Kerry. In Wales, 
it breeds on Cader Idris, and in other parts. 
The Merlin is partially migratory in this country, being 
for the most part a constant resident in Scotland and the 
northern parts of England, but appearing to be only a winter 
visitant in the south. It has however, on one occasion, been 
known to breed in the county of Suffolk, and probably may 
have been overlooked in more frequent instances of the same 
kind in those wilder districts, such as Dartmoor, which are 
suitable to it. 
From a habit it has of perching on stones, it has acquired 
the name of the Stone Falcon, and as such was formerly 
described as a distinct species. It must have a fondness for 
the practice, for it carries it out even on those rocks which 
are left partially prominent by the receding tide, when hawking, 
as it sometimes does, on the margin of the sea. 
It is a very courageous bird—wild and shy, and according 
to Temminck, is able to endure a high degree of cold, and 
is described by him as being commonly found within the 
limits of the arctic circle. It is easily tamed, though it 
never becomes very familiar, and was accordingly in former 
times employed in the chase. Except when the young are 
hatched, it is difficult, on account of its wariness, to be 
