jESALON. 427 



with much broader brown shaft-stripes, these frequently occupying 

 more space than the white borders. 



Young birds of both sexes resemble the female, but are browner 

 with broader rufous edges to the feathers of the upper parts, with 

 the crown rufous (dark-shafted), and with the tail alternately 

 banded brown and white ; the quills too are barred almost across. 



Bill dark slaty grey, greenish at base of lower mandible ; cere, 

 legs, and feet yellow ; irides brown (Hume). 



Length of females about 12 ; tail 5-5 ; wing 8'75 ; tarsus 1*5 ; 

 mid-toe 1-3 ; bill from gape -8 : length of a male 11, wing 8. 



Distribution. The Palaearctic region. The Merlin is found in 

 the Western Himalayas, the Punjab and Siiid, but only, so far as is 

 known, in winter. It also visits Gilgit at the same season, and 

 probably breeds farther north. 



Habits, fyc. For courage and speed no Falcon ranks before the 

 Merlin, and, despite its small size, it was formerly a great favourite 

 with Falconers, both in Europe and in Asia. It lives chiefly on 

 small birds, and nests on the ground, laying 4 to 6 brick-red eggs 

 of the usual falcon type. 



1264. JEsalon chicquera. The Turumti or Bed-headed Merlin. 



Falco chicquera, Daud. Traite, ii, p. 121 (1800) ; Blyth, Cat. p. 14 ; 



Sharpe, Cat. B. M. i, p. 403 ; Davidson $ Wend. S. F. vii, p. 73 ; 



Ball, ibid. p. 197 ; Cripps, ibid. p. 242 ; Hume, Cat. no. 16 ; ScuUy, 



8.F. viii, p. 222; Legge, Birds Ceyl. p. 110; Vidal, S. F. ix, 



p. 29 ; Butler, ibid. p. 370 ; Hume 8f Inalis, ibid. p. 242 ; Reid, S. F. 



x, p. 4 ; Hume, ibid. p. 334 ; Taylor, ibid. p. 454 ; Barnes, Bird* 



Bom. p. 17 ; id. Jour. Bom. N. H. Soc. iii, p. 210 ; Hume, S. F. 



xi, p. 4 ; Oatcs in Hume's N. $E. 2nd ed. iii, p. 192. 

 Hypotriorchis chicquera, Gray, Gen. B. i, p. 20 ; Horsf. $ M. Cat. 



i, p. 23; Jerdon, B. I. i, p. 36; Stoliczka, J. A. S. B. xxxvii. 



pt. 2, p. 13; xli, pt. 2, p. 230; Butler, S. F. iii, p. 444; Godw.- 



Aust. J. A. S. B. xlv, pt. 2, p. 192. 

 Chicquera typus, Bp. Rev. Mag. Zool 1854, p. 535 ; Hume, S. F. i, 



p. 157 ; Gurney, Ibis, 1882, p. 161. 

 Turumtia chicquera, Blyth, Ibis, 1863, p. 9. 

 Lithofalco chicquera, Blyth, Ibis, 1866, p. 248 ; Hume, Rough Notes, 



p. 91 ; A. Anderson, P. Z. S. 1871, p. 681. 



Turumti, Turumtari $ , H. ; Chetwa 3 , Hindi ; Jellaganta, Jelgadda, 

 Tel. ; Jelkat, Yerkli. 



Coloration. Adult. Crown and nape with sides of neck, ear- 

 coverts, and a narrow cheek-stripe chestnut ; narrow forehead and 

 lores whitish ; a few bristly feathers round the eye black, especially 

 at the origin of the cheek-stripe ; upper parts from the neck ashy 

 grey; the scapulars, secondaries, and wing-coverts more or less 

 barred with brown ; a little chestnut along the anterior edge of the 

 wing primaries blackish brown, closely barred with white on the 

 inner' webs, except at the tips; tail grey with narrow black bars, 

 a very broad black band close to the end, and a white t 

 parts white, with a few short longitudinal blackish streaks on the 

 breast and bars on the flanks and abdomen. 



