

THE BOOK OF MIGRATORY BIRDS 237 



of damage amongst grouse cheepers. Jeddle avows that 

 he has seen a pair of merlins working together and 

 quartering the ground like a brace of well-broken pointers. 

 This is credible enough in the light of well-ascertained 

 facts as to the bird's cunning and its audacity in attacking 

 partridges, lapwings, golden plover, snipe, and other birds 

 superior in size to itself. 



Jeddle informs me that the merlin has been known to 

 resort to the mean practice of taking a grouse cheeper 

 unawares on the ground, and this is certainly an instance 

 of a noble character degraded. On the other hand, I have 

 seen the merlin single out a starling from a flock in the 

 autumn and follow it probably for miles, the starling 

 proving an equal match as regards speed of flight. 



Striding over the leagues of heather one day with 

 Jeddle, we observed a merlin rise from a rock, scout a 

 good area of ground from above, and return to its post. 

 From this same area presently rose a young grouse as we 

 attempted to get within gunshot of the merlin. We saw 

 the latter bird's wings raised and neck outstretched. 

 Gaining, in my mind, some redemption of its character, 

 the predatory creature gave her intended quarry what 

 looked like a good sporting start, and then made hot 

 pursuit, which lasted for fully a mile in a straight line. 

 While Jeddle uttered maledictions enough for two men the 

 merlin overtook the grouse on the moorland plateau within 

 sight. It was struck down, and the merlin picked up her 

 prize and flew away with it. Wading through tfie scratchy 

 heather "birns," we traced them both to the bare top of 

 an ancient British tumulus or burial ground, whose sides 

 were covered with scrubby ling. Half an hour after the 

 kill we found that the poor grouse had been torn to pieces 

 and devoured on this elevated little table, around it being 

 strewn many recent feathers, bones, entrails, &c. Here 

 I traced remains of meadow-pipits and twites, as well as 

 what appeared to be ejectmentia of the fluffy wings of 

 egrpar moths and elytra of beetles, as well as of 

 cockchafers. 



