VOL. XV.] BIIKEDING-IIABITS OF MERLIN. 199 



to keep the sun's rays off her eggs, and fearing even the 

 heat of her own body. This was not the result of nervousness 

 at the camera, for at shghtly cooler times she would incubate 

 normally and she would, moreover, stand in similar manner 

 in the absence of the lens. At times she would rest with 

 one foot on an egg, the other on the ground. The cock 

 behaved in much the same way during the great heat. 



Merlin : Fig. 7. Collecting a stray egg. Note the wide open beak. 

 (Photogyaphed by W. Rowan.) 



Except to alleviate occasional itching the hen never 

 preened during incubation. This was kept as a pastime 

 for her spells on the boulders while the male was on duty. 

 At times she would sit motionless for minutes together with 

 gaze fixed here or there on the horizon, promptly to resume 

 her preening. Occasionally she would move from one 

 boulder to another. If there was any signal between the 

 birds at changing time, it escaped me. As far as I could 



