164 BRITISH BIRDS' NESTS. 



MERLIN. 



Description of Parent Birds. Length about ten 

 inches. Beak short, much curved, and bluish-horn 

 colour. Bare skin round the base of the beak yellow. 

 Irides dark brown. Crown bluish-grey, marked with 

 black streaks along the shafts of the feathers. 

 Cheeks and upper part of neck rusty brown, marked 

 with blackish streaks ; back, scapulars, wing- coverts, 

 and rump bluish-grey, each feather having the shaft 

 black ; wing primaries black. Tail-quills, like the 

 back, barred with a darker hue, and tipped with 

 white. Chin and throat nearly white ; breast, belly, 

 sides, and thighs rusty red, streaked with dusky 

 brown ; vent and under tail-coverts pale rust-colour. 

 Legs and toes yellow ; claws black. 



The female is about two inches longer than the 

 male. The whole of her upper-parts are dark liver- 

 brown, the feathers tipped with rusty red and having 

 dusky shafts. Tail-quills, like the back, barred with 

 light yellowish -brown. Under-parts pale brownish- 

 white, with broad, dusky brown streaks. 



Situation and Locality. On the ground, amongst 

 deep heather and ling, or scattered rocks ; on open 

 moors, heaths, and rough sheep-pastures. It is 

 said to be occasionally found in trees and on cliffs, 

 but I have never seen one in either situation. In 

 the wild moorland parts of the North of England, 

 Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. Our illustration is 

 from a photograph taken on the hills between 

 Westmoreland and Yorkshire. The nest was in deep 

 heather on a sloping hillside, commanding every 

 aspect of approach. It was evidently a favourite site, 

 for the gentleman who showed it to us in 1894 

 said that a brood had been reared at the same 



