MERLIN. 37 



creatures that form his sustenance, we know full well that his ravages are 

 kept within reasonable limits. In addition to birds of various kinds, from 

 a Wren to a Partridge, the Merlin also feeds on the larger insects and 

 beetles, like all our small Falcons ; in proof of which witness the remains 

 of wing-cases &c. seen in the castings of this species ; but it is not known 

 that mammals of any description whatever are included in his fare. 



Like most birds of prey, the Merlin has certain favourite places whither 

 it conveys its captures to devour them at leisure. A large boulder of 

 rock or heath-grown mound often forms the Merlin's dining-table, to 

 which it regularly resorts; and the heaps of feathers, bones, and occasion- 

 ally the entrails which strew the j)lace inform the observant naturalist of 

 his presence. Merlins are eminently fond of sitting amongst the stones 

 and rocks which are so plentifulh' strewed in their favourite haunts, from 

 which peculiarity the bird has gained the provincial name of " Stone- 

 Falcon." Rarely indeed does it perch on trees, the ground or rocks being 

 almost invariably its resting-place. The Merlin's power of flight and 

 courageous spirit have very naturally caused it to rank as one of the 

 falconer's special favourites. Of all the smaller Hawks he is classed as the 

 best ; and even in our own days, when falconry exists almost as a tradi- 

 tion alone, the Merlin is trained to take small birds, such as Larks and 

 Snipes, the female bird, from her superior size and power, being success- 

 fully flown at much larger game, such as Plovers and Partridges. 



The Merlin's haunt in the breeding-season is indeed a wild and lonely 

 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 soli- 

 tudes — the Red Grouse, the j\Ioor-Pipit, the Ciirlew, and the Snipe. A 

 true bird of the mountain indeed it is ; and the observer must therefore 

 be prepared for a long tramp oner 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. Like most birds 

 of prey, the Merlin is a life-paired bird, and shows a strange affection for 

 certain haunts, and breeds regularly in one situation for years. Certain 

 localities are favoured as Merlins' breeding-places ; and although the birds 

 are repeatedly disturbed and shot, still the same grounds are tenanted. I 

 have known a patch of heather, some couple of hundred yards square, 

 containing a Merlin's nest for many years, whilst no other breeding- 

 place could be found nearer than eight or ten miles. There would be 

 nothing extraordinary in this if it could be proved that the same pair, or 

 their descendants, annually visited and occupied the same breeding-stations ; 

 they might easily be supposed to have obtained a vested right in the 

 estate, and to have defended it successfully against all comers, which is 

 undoubtedly the case when the birds are not molested. But on one of the 

 moors near Shefiield the gamekeepers used to shoot or trap one or both of 



