1907-1908.] British Birds of Prey. 27 



young. I have never seen a merlin kill a bird larger than 

 a blackbird, but Major Morant says, " We once put up a 

 hen grouse in the month of February which was immediately 

 pursued by a merlin. On coming over a ridge which had 

 concealed the birds from our view, the merlin rose from the 

 heather ; and on going to the spot we picked up the grouse, 

 which died in our hands. The grouse weighed twenty-four 

 ounces. The skin was not broken, but she had a tremendous 

 bruise over the spine." It is difficult to reconcile this with 

 the assertion that hawks strike only with their talons. I 

 have found the nest of the merlin among heather on the 

 bank of a burn at Dalnaspidal, in the north of Perthshire. 

 It contained four eggs. It is said they sometimes build in 

 trees, but I have never found a nest in wood. 



The Barn Owl. 



The barn owl has been characterised as a " high church- 

 man," from its frequently breeding in the spires of churches. 

 It is not plentiful, and somehow or other never seems to 

 increase. There are a few in the neighbourhood of Edin- 

 burgh, and, as far as I am concerned, they are carefully 

 preserved. They breed regularly on the face of a disused 

 quarry at the side of the Tweed. I once watched a pair 

 carry thirteen mice into an old dovecot within an hour, and 

 cannot help regarding them as benefactors to our country. 

 It is stated that they also devour small birds and fish, but 

 as to this I cannot speak from experience. I never shot one 

 in my life, and consequently never had an opportunity of 

 dissecting one. In a recent visit to the island of Jura, I 

 was much interested in watching a pair of these birds one 

 evening before darkness had set in. How scientifically they 

 beat backwards and forwards, hunting the ground with all 

 the skill and sagacity of a pair of well-trained pointers and 

 setters ! I did not, however, see them stoop to lift anything. 



The Tawny Owl. 



As the result of many years' experience, and while frankly 

 admitting that the tawny owl destroys many mice, I affirm 



