FALCONIDA, 351 
THE MERLIN. 
Fatco 4:saLon, Tunstall. 
The Merlin, the least of the indigenous British Falcons, has not 
been proved to breed on the moorlands of Cornwall, Devon, and other 
counties in the south of England, but from Pembrokeshire north- 
ward its nest has often been found in many parts of Wales. In and 
beyond Derbyshire the Merlin is distributed, in suitable localities, 
up to the Shetlands ; while in Ireland it is tolerably frequent in the 
mountainous districts, as well as in some of the great red bogs of 
the central plain (Ussher) In autumn it descends to the low 
grounds, bays and coasts, where Snipe, Dunlins and other waders, 
with small birds, generally afford abundant prey; while during the 
winter it is generally distributed throughout the British Islands, 
though the examples then obtained are chiefly immature. 
The Merlin is a resident in the Fzroes, but only a summer- 
visitor to Iceland ; an example has, however, been taken at sea not 
far from the coast of Greenland, and one actually at Cape Farewell 
