THE MERLIN 273 



postpone that event until the end of that month 

 or even till early June. The average pair, how- 

 ever, have a full, fresh clutch of eggs between 

 May 17th and 24th. 



The chosen site, while it may face almost any 

 point of the compass, is preferably, and indeed 

 generally, on a slope frequently about half way 

 up it from the side of a steep mountain or hill 

 to the gentle gradient, bank or other petty 

 eminence of some otherwise level moor (I have, 

 however, seen occasional eyries on perfectly flat 

 ground), so as, of course, to command a good 

 look-out. 



Little concern is evinced over a couch for the 

 eggs. In fact, if we exclude the casual and 

 possibly accidental presence in the scrape or 

 hollow in the soil, grass or moss at the roots of 

 the heather (heather of medium height being the 

 rule, lofty or scrubby varieties the exceptions) of 

 a few wisps of cotton-grass, broken moss, heather- 

 twigs, or rootlets and generally the last two 

 no nest proper is ever made. Some ornithologists 

 the late Howard Saunders included consider 

 even the twigs and rootlets a rarity, others deny it 

 altogether. Yet it is in reality neither one thing 

 or the other. The scrape itself measures from 5 in. 

 to 6 in. across by from 1^ in. to 2J in. in depth. 



It is worthy of notice that most eyries are near 

 a moorland fence, wall, butts, or a track or open 

 space of some sort, and anyhow close to the edge 



