^50, 3IERLIN. Class IT. 



thirteen, on some fifteen, but in one bird I ex- 

 amined, were no more than eight bars. The 



_-. ' - - breast and belly are of a yellowish white, mark ^ 

 ed with oblong brown spots pointing downwards : 

 the legs yellow : the wings when closed reach 

 within an inch and a half of the end of the tail. 



Man^^ers. This and the preceding kind were often trained 

 for hawking : and this species, small as it is, was 

 inferior to none in point of spirit : it was used 

 for taking partridges, which it would kill by a 

 single stroke on the neck. The merlin flies low, 

 and is often seen along the sides of roads, skim- 

 ^K ming from one side of the hedges to the other^ 



in search of prey. • • - . . - . . 



It does not breed*^ in England, but migrates 

 here in October, about the time that the Hobby 

 disappears ; for the lark-catchers observe that 

 in September they take no merlins but abun- 

 dance of hobbies : but in the following month^ 

 merlins only. 



* Dr. Latham says It breeds occasionally in Cumberland, and 

 forms its nest on the ground like the ringtail. iNIr. Montagu 

 found three half grown merlins, in the middle of a high clump 

 of heath upon the moors in i\"orM?/?;z^e?7o?ic?. Ed. ; ; 



. " Beckstein states, that it builds in higli trees, and lajcs 

 five or six whitish eggs, marked with bro\\n spots. In Thu- 

 ringia it is rarely seen in the summer, but during the autumn 

 and winter, is plentiful in the forests and mountainous districts." 



