8 BRITISH BIRDS’ EGGS. 
MERLIN. 
Fauco msaLon, T'unst. 
Pl. IIl., fig. 2. 
Geogr. distr —Europe generally, wintering in N. Africa; in Asia 
as far east as China; breeds in N. Siberia: in Great Britain it is said 
to have bred in Hampshire, Essex, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Pem- 
brokeshire, Derbyshire, N. Wales, and regularly in the north of 
Scotland and Ireland. 
Food.—Small birds, mice, and shrews. 
Nest.—Usually a mere depression in the ground, into which the 
surrounding grass and heather has been scratched as a lining; rarely 
(in trees) formed “ of sticks thickly lined with wool.” * 
Position of nest.—Amongst tall ling upon heathy moors; or in 
forest trees. 
Number of eggs.—4-6; usually 5. 
Time of nidification.—V. 
In Belgium this bird’s favourite food appears to be 
Quails and Partridges; and the hen bird is said to pounce 
upon them in England, but I have had no opportunity of 
testing the point: one thing, however, is certain, its habit 
of skirting hedges in search of prey is much more likely to 
provide it with warblers and finches than with partridges ; 
though, when skimming low over the open ground, it is 
quite as likely to obtain the latter. 
The Merlin breeds regularly in all the northern counties 
of Great Britain from Yorkshire to the Shetland Isles, but 
the nest is only occasionally found in the southern counties : 
Mr. Seebohm says :—‘ The Merlin’s haunt in the breeding- 
season is indeed a wild and lovely one, amongst the remotest 
parts of the moors, where the silence is rarely broken, save 
by the notes of those few birds who share its favourite 
solitudes—the Red Grouse, the Moor Pipit, the Curlew, and 
the Snipe. A true bird of the mountain indeed it is; and 
the observer must therefore be prepared for a long tramp 
over the heather, and doubtless a wetting from the mists 
which so frequently enwrap its breeding-grounds, if he 
wishes for a sight of its beautiful eggs and scanty nest.” 
(Hist. Brit. Birds, vol. i. p. 87). 
* Hewitson. 
