Jitctumarg of gmmatrtr Mature. 421 



rusty red, spotted with black on the front, 

 and bordered on each side with five or six 

 white feathers, edged with black ; the upper 

 part of the back glossy black ; the lower, 

 the rump, and sides being marked with 

 transverse zigzag lines of brown and gray : 

 the feathers nearest to the wings are white ; 

 the greater coverts, some of the secondary 

 quills, and the scapulars, black and white : 

 the primary quills are black ; some tipped 

 with white, and others white on the upper 

 half and black to their points. The tail is 

 short, its colour brown : the legs and feet of 

 a deep orange-colour. It is remarked, how- 

 ever, that these birds, both male and female, 

 differ much in their plumage : some being 

 whiter, brighter, and more distinctly marked 

 than others. They are met with in great 

 flocks at Newfoundland, Hudson's Bay, &c. 



The HOOPED MEROAXSEK. (Meryus cu- 

 cuUatus.) This species is peculiar to Ame- 

 rica, and is usually found along the lakes 

 and fresh water rivers rather than near the 

 sea, ; tracing up creeks, and visiting mill- 

 ponds, diving perpetually for their food. 

 Like the Red- breasted, they are migratory, 

 the manners, food, and places of resort of 

 both being very much alike. On the sea- 

 coast this species is very commonly called 

 the hairy-head. It is eighteen inches in 

 length, and two feet in extent ; bill black- 

 ish red, narrow, thickly toothed, and fur- 

 nished with a projecting nail at the ex- 

 tremity ; the head is ornamented with a 

 large circular crest, which the bird has the 

 faculty of raising or depressing at pleasure ; 

 the fore part of this, as far as the eye, is 

 black, thence to the hind head white, and 

 elegantly tipped with black ; it is composed 



(MEUOUS cuouttA-rus.) 



of two separate rows of feathers, radiating 

 from each side of the head ; irides golden ; 

 eye very small ; neck black ; part of the 

 lesser wing-coverts very pale ash, under 

 which the greater wing-coverts and secon- 

 daries form four alternate bars of black and 

 white ; tertials long, black, and streaked 

 down the middle with white ; the black on 

 the back curves handsomely round in two 

 points on the breast, which, with the whole 

 lower parts, are pure white ; sides, under 

 the wings and flanks, reddish brown, beau- 



tifully crossed with parallel lines of black ; 

 tail pointed; legs and feet, flesh-coloured; 

 claws, large and stout. The female is rather 

 less than the male ; the crest is smaller ; 

 and the plumage in general is less decided 

 and handsome in its markings. Her nest is 

 composed of grass, lined with feathers from 

 the breast ; and she lays six white eggs. 



MERIONES. A genus of Mammalia, 

 belonging to the order Rodentia, distin- 

 guished from Gerbillus, to which they are 

 closely allied, by their hind feet being much 

 longer, the tail nearly naked, and the ex- 

 istence of a small tooth before the superior 

 molars. There are two species found in 



North America; one is the Meriones Cana- 

 dcnsi<i, well known to the inhabitants of 

 Canada for its extreme agility. It closes 

 itself up in its burrow, and passes the winter, 

 like many of its congeners, in a state of 

 lethargy. The Meriones Labradorius, figured 

 by Sir John Richardson in his ' Fauna Bo- 

 reali Americana,' is another interesting but 

 closely allied species. 



MERLIN. (Falco ceaafrwi.) The smallest 

 bird of the Falcon tribe, scarcely exceeding 

 a Blackbird in size ; but, though small, not 

 inferior in courage to any of its more power- 

 ful congeners. It flies low, and with great 



celerity. Small birds are its natural prey ; 

 and in the palmy days of falconry it was 

 used for taking quails and partridges, which 

 it would strike on the head, breast, or neck, 

 and kill with a single blow. The bill is of 



