40 BRITISH BIRDS. 



themselves, they undoubtedly migrate southwards, following in the wake 

 of the armies of migratory birds seeking their winter-quarters, and 

 which furnish them abundant food. But the old birds merely shift their 

 quarters from the moorlands at the approach of winter, and seek the lower 

 and more cultivated lands or the seashore, places where the smaller birds 

 abound, or where the various wading-birds spend the winter months. 

 Sometimes a pair of Merlins will take up their station for the winter in a 

 range of sea-cliffs, where they may from time to time be seen sitting 

 patiently on the rocks or amongst the stones of the beach, ready to dash 

 out and give chase to the first flock of " Stints " that may skim past. In 

 the autumn months the Merlin is one of the worst enemies of the 

 myriads of Thrushes and other small birds on their way southwards, taking 

 up his abode in the neighbourhood of their line of flight, and committing 

 sad havoc in the ranks of the terrified songsters. In fine, the Merlin's 

 habits are much those of the Peregrine over again. The same feats of 

 daring recorded of the larger Falcon may equally be related of the 

 "Falconet." He is indeed a bold .little fellow, seems afraid of nothing, 

 and wins the admiration of all who make his acquaintance in the field. 

 It is to be feared, however, that the incessant warfare carried on against 

 him by the game-preserver will eventually exterminate him from those 

 haunts to which he is so fondly attached, and of which he is one of the 

 finest ornaments. 



The general colour of the Merlin's upper plumage is slaty blue, rufous 

 on the nape, and with a dark shaft to every feather ; the lower plumage is 

 rufous, striped longitudinally with blackish brown; tail with a broad, 

 black, subterminal band, and traces of other bars on the inner webs ; beak 

 bluish, darker at the tip ; cere and legs yellow ; claws black ; irides dark 

 brown. There is much difference of opinion as to the colour of the 

 female's plumage. Such high authorities as Macgillivray, Naumann, and 

 Nilsson all agree in stating that the female bird is very differently 

 coloured from the male. On the other hand, Sharpe, in his first volume 

 of the ( Catalogue of Birds in the British Museum/ maintains that the 

 female is similar to the male, but a little larger. There can be no doubt 

 that females, probably very old birds, do sometimes assume the male 

 plumage ; for an example was obtained by Dr. Scully at Gilgit, in North- 

 west India. It was shot in December, carefully sexed by Dr. Scully 

 himself, and in colour resembles most closely the male bird. It is the 

 opinion of Mr. Gurney, than whom we have no better authority on raptorial 

 birds, and who has examined this interesting specimen, that the reason 

 why this advanced stage of plumage is not better known in Europe is 

 probably due to the fact that the Falcon is so rarely allowed to attain 

 the fully adult dress. Young birds are first covered with greyish-white 

 down. In first plumage they have the upper parts rufous-brown, spotted 



