THE FALCON. 



Merlin, or Stone Falcon. 



Jer Falcon. 



Luring the Falcon. 



The Jer Falcon, a corruption of Hlerofalco, Sacred Falcon, its 

 ancient name, is larger than the Peregrine. It is a native of Iceland. 

 It breeds on the rocks, and lays from three to five spotted eggs : 

 feeds upon birds, which, when it eyes them from its eyrie or its 

 course in the sky, it darts down upon like an arrow. In the days of 

 falconry, this bird was in high esteem, and used for the larger game, 

 such as cranes and herons. Its plumage is white, with dusky lines ; 

 the dark spots on the wings are large, the throat and long thigh 

 feathers pure white. 



The Merlin, or Stone Falcon, is among the least of the European species. The body above is of a bluish 

 grey color, with a longitudinal black spot on each feather; beneath, the throat is white, and the remainder 

 yellowish-white, with oblong dusky spots pointing downward; the tail feathers have an entire dark broad 

 band, tipt with white at the end ; the female plumage is tinged with brown, and the spots below are more 

 numerous. They nestle in trees or on the ground, and have five or six eggs, white, marked with greenish 

 at the one end. It flies low, but its motions are so quick as almost to elude the sight ; it was formerly 

 used for taking partridges, which it would kill by a single stroke on the neck. It is a migratory bird com- 

 mon to Europe and America. 



