472 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
Wells on the 16th. This enabled me to particularly notice the 
relative proportions in the sexes when placed side by side. 
Male. Female. 
Weight. - ; ‘ . 26 ozs. 40 ozs. avoird. 
Total length (bill and tailincluded) 17 inches 20 inches 
Full expanse of wings ; me TO Os ss AG 
Wing from carpal joint. ee? Ws 143 ,, 
Bill along ridge of upper mandible 14 ,, 1 ale 
Tail from tip to root . : ot IGE 8 5 
Tibia ; ‘ : : PPCaEAR, 4 ss 
Tarsus ; : : Ss aie Qa QoL, 
The plumage of each was as nearly alike as possible. In the 
dissection of both I detected the presence of parasites, a cireum- 
stance I have invariably noticed in this species. 
On December 17th last a local birdcatcher brought me a 
mature male Merlin, in good plumage, which he had caught in his 
nets at Cossey, near this city, during the afternoon, it having 
dashed in after his call-bird. This bird weighed five and a 
quarter ounces avoirdupois. Prof. Newton, in his edition of 
‘Yarrell’s British Birds,’ gives the weight of the adult male as 
six ounces; Montagu says five ounces; the latter authority, 
in my opinion, being more correct. 
On May 25th I found a nestling of the Long-Eared Owl 
sitting on the end of a fallen spruce. It had apparently just 
left the nest. Two days after I made a careful search in 
the same spot, and found a second young one sitting very quiet 
and close on a top branch of a tall fir, but could see no signs of 
the nest or old birds. I found a dead chaffinch without head or 
tail at the foot of a tree close at hand, freshly killed, and dropped 
by one of the old birds. The young had their stomachs quite 
full. In one I found the remains of a Thrush, and in the other 
the remains of a Bank Vole, and as many as three adult 
Chaffiinches. Onthe 28th, the following day, I made another long 
and careful search for the nest and rest of the young without 
success; they had all evidently left the nest and shifted to another 
part of the wood. I have repeatedly noticed how quiet young Hawks 
and Owls are when being supplied with food by the parents. 
The Little Owl, Noctua passerina, from its singular habits 
and grotesque actions, has for some years been a favourite with 
