BRITISH BIRDS. 127 



179. Faleo subbuteo, Linn. HOBBY. 



Hab. Palaearctic region. In winter moving southward. 



Male ; above dark slate ; throat and sides of neck 

 white, with a black stripe on each side running from the 

 gape ; below yellowish-white, boldly streaked with black ; 

 thighs and under tail-coverts chestnut ; bill lead-colour ; 

 iris brown ; cere and tarsi yellow ; claws black. Length 

 12*00. Female: plumage similar. Length 13*50. Young: 

 feathers above brown, with buff margins ; thighs and 

 lower tail-coverts merely tinged with rust-colour. 



A regular but scarce summer visitor, arrives in May 

 leaving by October ; has bred at intervals in all our 

 southern and eastern counties, but rarely straggles to 

 Scotland ; has occurred eight times in Ireland. Eggs 

 seem to be almost invariably laid in the deserted nests 

 of Crows, etc., built in trees in wooded districts ; they 

 are similar to but often yellower in ground tint than 

 those of Kestrel; size 1*58 by 1*25. Nestlings are 

 clothed with whitish down, the back, however, being 

 dark grey, while nestling Kestrels are covered with 

 purely white down. 



180. Faleo sesalon, Tunstall. MERLIN. 



Hab. Northern Palaearctic region. In winter partially 

 migratory. 



Male : feathers above bluish-slate with narrow black 

 shaft-streaks, excepting the neck which is reddish-brown ; 

 tail tipped with white and with a broad sub-terminal band 

 of black ; upper throat whitish ; rest of under parts pale 

 reddish-brown with dusky-streaks ; iris brown ; cere and 

 tarsi yellow ; claws black. Length 10*25. Female: above 

 deep brown, the tail with several buffi sh bars ; under parts 

 whitish with brown streaks. Length I2 f oo. 



