MERLIN. 



41 



with darker brown; tail-feathers brown^ barred with rufous-brown and 

 tipped with creamy white ; the underparts whitish, broadly striped with 

 dark brown, becoming almost pure white on the throat. 



The Merlin has several near allies. On the American continent it is 

 represented by a species divisible into three races, which Mr. Ridgeway 

 treats as only varieties of the European species — F. columbarius, F. richard- 

 soni, and F. suckleyi. These races breed in the northern portion of the 

 American continent, in the Atlantic region, the region of the plains, and 

 the region of the north-west coast respectively. They are all browner and 

 darker than our bird, and have the black spots on the tail developed into 

 transverse bars, which in F. suckleyi are almost confluent. In the Old 

 World there are two tropical forms of the Merlin, which, however, appear 

 to have become weU-defined species, F. chicquera inhabiting India, and 

 F. ruficollis Africa. They may at once be distinguished from the Merlin 

 by having the entire head and neck chestnut. They are, however, so nearly 

 allied to each other that by some ornithologists they are considered one 

 species ; the African race is said to be paler, and to have the bars on the 

 breast closer together. 



