VOL. XV.] BREEDING-HABITS OF MERLIN. 253 



the Merlins. Nor did my own movements, for I had to turn 

 once or twice during my long eerie vigil to avoid cramp. 



" Sunday, July 28th. — Daybreak was disappointing. 

 Just after four the sky over Simond's Seat and Barden Fell 

 grew brighter, and soon the grey light of a cloudy dawn 

 was creeping westwards, and revealed the moor shrouded 

 in mist, blocking out the fells. At 4.15 the first ' Quack, 

 quack — — go-back, go-back, go-back ' of an old cock Grouse 

 resounded from a mound to the left, and inside ten minutes 

 the whole moor was reverberating with the becking of the 

 Grouse. With the babbling of Gill Beck were mingled 

 snatches of a Wren's song. Suddenly there came the rapid 

 ' Kek ' of the little cock Merlin as he flew over the tent, 

 answered at once by the ' Eep ' of the hen as she rose from 

 the boulder on which she had settled last night. On the 

 instant the young were awake, and responsive, but soon 

 began preening. The ' Eeping ' continued for something 

 like half an hour with the occasional ' Keking ' of the cock. 

 Then silence. At six the same thing w^as repeated, though 

 the ' Eeping ' did not last so long. At 7.30 again came the 

 rapid ' Kek ' of the male, followed by the ' Eep ' of the 

 hen once or twice before she came down to the young with 

 their first feed for the day, the plucked back end of a Pipit." 



On the 5th of August my vigil ceased. The keeper in 

 charge of this area had asked me several times when the 

 young would be flying. I said honestly enough that they 

 should be flying by the middle of the month. I hoped that 

 by then they would be strong enough to escape the gun, 

 though I did not explain this. But the man was sceptical, 

 and on the 5th, early in the morning, thinking that I was 

 stretching a point, I suppose, went out with his gun and 

 finding two of the little Merlins far from home and flying 

 well enough to escape his dog, shot them. The other two 

 — little Runtie was one — he caught and tethered in the nest for 

 my benefit . Shortly afterwards I turned up and for the last 

 time saw the faithful little Tiercel bring food to the Falcon. 



No amount of pleading, no offers of bribery and cor- 

 ruption, could save the lives of the remaining two. It was 

 claimed that they would not be strong enough on the 

 wing by the 12th to get out of the way of the Grouse drive, 

 which they would spoil by scaring the Grouse ! However, 

 Birch promised me that if I took the young away, the old 

 birds should go scot free. And that is how my little friends, 

 a week or two later, found themselves at liberty on the 

 wild Carnarvon moors far from the home over which their 

 parents were probably still lamenting them. 



