400 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



moors, and one which would be much commoner were it not so 

 remorselessly persecuted by gamekeepers, Mr. Crawford bears 

 witness to its courage and pertinacity in sticking to its prey even 

 when approached at very close quarters. He says : — 



" A Merlin on the ground ahead allowed me to come within a 

 few yards. When at length he rose he seemed to be attached to 

 an object much larger than himself, and much too heavy to carry 

 beyond a short distance. As often as I approached he retreated, 

 never succeeding in rising above a foot or lifting his burden free 

 from the ground. Under the impression that he was trapped, I 

 hurried forward. When he could no longer avoid me he made a 

 supreme effort, but, too eager to watch his direction, dropped into 

 the lake ; and not till he was in danger of being drowned would 

 he consent to loose his hold. When fished ashore the object 

 proved to be a large Mistle Thrush. He attempts bigger prey 

 than that; but what struck me was his determination not to 

 be driven away. I had heard that the bird was the maximum of 

 spirit in the minimum of size ; and here was an illustration. It 

 was that indomitable pluck, together with a tractable disposition, 

 that made this little falcon such an excellent hawker." 



Turning over the pages, we come upon the following remarks 

 anent Starfishes : — 



" To some scalps which I recently visited speedy destruction 

 was threatened by the Starfish, than which there are no greater 

 pests in the sea. On each rakeful there were twenty or thirty 

 overfed fellows, and as an evidence of their activity nine out of 

 ten of the shells were empty. Many of the raiders were at work. 

 The stomach was exserted so as to wrap the mussel round and 

 force it open, when its contents were sucked out, and the shell 

 dropped." 



This to some extent confirms the views of Dr. Schiemenz on 

 the subject of the damage caused by Starfishes to oyster-beds, as 

 noted (p. 389) in the present number. 



