80 THE BIRDS OF CUMBERLAND. 



fight on being molested. They are fed chiefly on 

 Wheatears and Meadow Pipits, and are sedulously 

 cared for by the parents, the male rearing the brood 

 if his mate should happen to be trapped. When 

 fledged, they love to perch like statues upon cornices 

 of rock ; but on a recent occasion we were led by 

 their cries to discover a brood of young Merlins, 

 which were perching in a clump of trees, at about 

 forty feet from the ground. As we stood beneath, 

 they rose, and, crossing the valley, settled in the 

 heather on the other side. 



In autumn, both adults and immature birds 

 descend from the fells to lower grounds, and may 

 often be seen on our salt marshes, where they feed 

 chiefly on Skylarks and on Dunlins. At such times 

 they haunt also the hedgerows, and often venture 

 near the outskirts of towns. During the winter 

 1883-4, we constantly observed a Merlin frequenting 

 the suburbs of Carlisle, apparently in quest of House 

 Sparrows. 



Genus TINNUNCULUS. 



T. Alaudarius. Kestrel. 



The Kestrel is a resident, breeding so numerously 

 that Mr. Hodgkinson once " counted twenty-seven 

 Kestrels flying in the air at once," near Barron 

 Wood ; but comparatively few winter with us. A 

 female Kestrel, assuming male plumage, is preserved 

 in the Taylor collection. 



On July 27, 1873, Mr. F. D. Power observed a 

 white Kestrel hunting on Dent Hill. 



