236 THE BOOK OF MIGRATORY BIRDS 



game enough to get on the track of birds far bigger than 

 herself and bring them to earth. 



Though frequently termed the "blue stone hawk," our 

 merlin is, of course, a true falcon, as indicated by her 

 pointed wings as long as her tail, the notch in the upper 

 mandible of her beak, tubercle in the middle of each 

 nostril, and dark brown eyes ; whereas amongst the charac- 

 teristics of hawks we shall find rounded wings shorter than 

 the tail, "festooned" beaks, and yellow eyes. 



For her size, the merlin has all the pluck of the pere- 

 grine, which species alone is flown to-day by the Old 

 English Hawking Club at black-headed gulls and rooks. 

 The great peregrine ascends to a considerable height above 

 her quarry, seizing an opportunity to swoop to the same 

 in full view of the mounted company below. The little 

 merlin chases her quarry often far afield, and at a great 

 rate, closely following every double, twist, and turn, but 

 never far from the ground. Whilst both peregrine and 

 merlin rely on superior wing-power and endurance in pur- 

 suit, the sparrow-hawk adopts manoeuvres; we shall see 

 her skimming over hill-top and hedge, beating bush and 

 shrubbery, and coming round rocks on the fugitive un- 

 aware. The kestrel will "windhover" almost stationary 

 awhile, then suddenly pounce down upon her quarry 

 generally a mouse on the ground. 



In my moorland rambles with George Jeddle, a York- 

 shire gamekeeper, the nesting merlin has been traced. 

 Like other watchers of grouse moors, Jeddle wants to see 

 the merlin exterminated, his young cheepers, which it 

 cannot let alone, being of more importance than the 

 welfare of the British Constitution. He "vows vengeance 

 against every one he sees and can hear tell of; he will 

 stoop to smash the eggs, kill the "baregollies," and trap 

 or shoot the adult birds. 



The only consolation a keeper can have is that a radius 

 of, perhaps, eight miles does not hold more than one 

 merlin's nest, though it cannot be denied that a pair of 

 birds, followed by their brood of four, will soon do a deal 



