VOL. XV.] BREEDING-HABITS OF MERLIN. 223 



bracken helped very materially to camouflage it. To the 

 left was the hillside with its favourite boulders, while straight 

 in front one got a distant view of Simond's Seat across 

 Wharf edale. To the right and some fifty yards away 

 splashed and gurgled a little stream, Gill Beck, with a solitary 

 tree on its far bank in which, immediately below the tree, 

 a pair of Wrens was just rearing a second brood. 



The young Merlins had already grown appreciably, and I 

 was very disappointed at not being able to begin a continuous 

 watch right away, but circumstances made it impossible, 

 whilst the weather lent no encouragement. On the 23rd 

 my watch began in earnest, and I kept steadily at it till 

 the young could fly on August 5th. 



Determined to discover all I could of the habits of these 

 birds, I realized the importance of being on the spot first 

 thing in the morning and last thing at night, periods which 

 most bird-photographers (and also watchers) miss, and 

 which are usually the most interesting. The only way of 

 achieving this object was to spend the night here, which I 

 did to my great discomfort, several times. Twice I stayed 

 in the hide — two feet high, two feet broad and six feet long 

 (two of which were camera space). Once indeed I was 

 there for thirty-six hours on end without coming out and 

 without a chance of stretching my aching limbs. Sleep 

 was, of course, out of the question. At other times I lay 

 on a small commanding knoll to get an untrammelled and 

 more satisfactory view of the behaviour of the old birds. 



I have been unable to find a correct description of the 

 Merlin's notes in any of the published material. The alarm- 

 note is a fairly rapidly repeated " Kek-kek-kek," strongly 

 reminiscent of the very similar note of the Kestrel. The 

 alarm of the cock, of several pairs that have come under my 

 close observation, has been higher pitched than that of the 

 hen and readily distinguishable. The feeding -note of the 

 cock — a more rapidly repeated " Kek " than the alarm and 

 only sometimes uttered, when bringing food — is too similar 

 to be separately described, but is quite distinguishable in 

 the field. As a rule it is only repeated half a dozen times 

 at the most. That there is a distinction, notwithstanding 

 assertions to the contrary, is proved by the behaviour of 

 the hen, for when the cock alarms, she alarms too. When 

 the cock cries " food," she replies with her feeding-note. 

 Her note is at all events quite characteristic and can be 

 mistaken for nothing else, consisting as it does of a long- 

 drawn-out and frequently repeated " Eep-eep-eep," at 



