FALCONIDJE. 11 



darker shade ; legs yellow. The above description 

 is taken from an adult bird in my own collection. 

 " The young birds have the legs paler in colour ; 

 the cere and orbits almost white, sometimes inter- 

 mixed with blue ; head, neck and all the upper parts 

 dusky, with rust-coloured and yellowish edges."* 



The eggs of the Hobby, the Merlin and the 

 Kestrel are so much alike that unless the bird is 

 seen and recognized on the nest it is almost im- 

 possible to tell by the eggs alone to which of the 

 three species they belong. In buying eggs, there- 

 fore, the purchaser is almost at the mercy of the 

 seller, and will probably get three different varieties 

 of Kestrel's eggs, but will have to pay a higher price 

 for those said to be Hobby's or Merlin's. 



MERLIN, Falco cesalon. The Merlin is also a very 

 uncommon bird in this part of the county. I only 

 know of one having been killed near here, and that 

 I saw shot in this parish when I was a boy : it is 

 now in my collection, and in very good preserva- 

 tion. The following description of the adult male is 

 taken from it. In the wild part of the county to the 

 westward, it is, I believe, more common, and it may 

 be so also on the Mendips. 



The Merlin is considered to be a winter visitor 

 to the southern counties of England, but certainly 

 breeds in the more northern ones. 



* Meyer's British Birds, vol. i p. 46, 



