1950 



THE DIURNAL BIRDS OF PREY 



respondent of the Times observes that ' ' on the bleak hills of Wales, round the 

 Peak, and in the wildest Midland heights, further north on the barren moors and 

 bold bluffs of Yorkshire, over the rugged and romantic ranges of Scotland, on the 

 short turf of the downs, in the mountain heather, by the slaty and granite boulders 

 of upheaved rocks, the merlin has its home. Even in the desolate regions it affects, 

 no member of the pariah family is free from attack; yet, like the other small falcons, 



MERWNS. 

 (Two-fifths natural size.) 



it holds its own against the destroying band, and manages to live on and do 

 its appointed work against all odds." In Britain the merlin usually nests on the 

 ground, generally on the open moors; but in Lapland and other parts of the conti- 

 nent it commonly takes possession of the deserted nest of some other member of the 

 family, while in other cases it lays on a shelf of rock. When on the ground, 

 scarcely any nest is made. The eggs, which vary from four to six in number, are 



