BRITISH BIRDS. 



THE FEMALE MERLIN. 



THE bill is blue ; cere and irides dark brown ; 

 head rust colour, streaked with black ; back and 

 wings of a deepish brown, tinged with ash, streaked 

 down the shafts with black, and edged with rusty ; 

 quill feathers dark, tipped and margined on the 

 inner webs with reddish white ; breast and belly 

 yellowish white, with ferruginous streaks pointing 

 downwards ; the tail is long, and. marked with 

 alternate dusky and pale bars ; the wings when 

 closed, do not reach quite to the end of the tail : 

 legs yellow ; claws black. 



VOL. I. 



