278 FIELD-STUDIES OF RARER BIRDS 



quek-ek-ek-ek-ek-ek-ek, or quik-ik-ik-ik-ik-ik-ik, 

 followed by an interval of a few seconds more or 

 less before its repetition. It slightly descends the 

 scale, and is pitched in a minor key. The male, 

 however, often introduces a thin, chirruping chic, 

 iterated several times, not too quickly, before the 

 normal note. The cry is usually only uttered at 

 the eyrie, or when the bird attacks another species, 

 such as a Crow, though sometimes a Merlin will 

 cry as it crosses a moor at a fair elevation and when 

 still half a mile perhaps from its home, probably 

 to apprise its sitting mate of its approach and 

 w r ell-being. 



If the male is on sentry-go by the nest as he 

 often is he will ever be the first to rise and circle, 

 sometimes while you are a good way off. Then, if 

 he hangs about and chatters, you know that the 

 nest must be yours eventually. It is merely a 

 question of time, no matter how close his mate 

 elects to sit. Sometimes, however, the sentinel is 

 absent, or when flushed it may go straight away 

 and not return. Sometimes, too, I have known 

 the " sitter " dash off and keep at a very respectful 

 distance, though all the same crying out. It may 

 even fly clean out of sight. This last contingency 

 is, however, an extremely remote one. 



To find a Merlin's nest in a known haunt is 

 generally not difficult, while it is a task which 

 becomes absolutely easy once you can get the 

 non-sitting bird a-wing and screaming. If the 



