Birds. 521 



The Hobby is occasionally seen, but I cannot ascertain that it has 

 been known to breed in the island. An adult male was shot in the 

 land-slip, in October, 1841 ; and is now preserved as a specimen by 

 I my friend the Rev. J. F. Dawson. A pair was shot some years ago 

 in the heart of the island, but also in autumn ; these birds may, there- 

 fore, have been interrupted on their passage out of the country. 



The Merlin is seen occasionally during the winter ; but more fre- 

 quently in the autumn : and is not so common as I have known it in 

 t other parts of the country. 



The Kestril is very common ; more so than in any district with 

 which I am acquainted. Two or three pairs breed regularly in my 

 immediate neighbourhood : and nests abound along the whole line of 

 coast from the Culver-cliffs to the Needles. The coast they evidently 

 prefer, though found not unfrequently inland, but I think all come to 

 the cliffs upon the coast for the purpose of incubation. Mr. Waterton 

 has done much to rescue this elegant bird from the unmerited re- 

 proach it has lain under. Its principal food is unquestionably the 

 mouse, the slow-worm, the lizard, and various kinds of beetles. In 

 the autumn it feeds on the grasshopper, of which two or three species 

 are very numerous on our Downs at that season of the year. It is in 

 the winter and early spring, that the kestril becomes a bird- eater. It 

 will then destroy the blackbird and the thrush ; as I have too fre- 

 quently ascertained from the quantities of feathers about its immedi- 

 ate haunts : and I have lately found the remains of a skylark in the 

 craw of a male bird. To this I imagine it is driven from the scarcity 

 of insects : for during the summer and autumn, when if the birds were 

 preferred to insects, the young broods of the year would afford an 

 ample supply, I do not remember to have found the peculiar collec- 

 tion of feathers, forming sometimes a complete circle, which betray 

 the destructive propensities of this bird. Other hawks pluck their 

 prey ; but none do it so cleanly as the kestril. At the same time, 

 while I must confess to the young partridge having been found occa- 

 sionally in the nest, I am prepared to maintain that the benefits con- 

 ferred by the kestrel far outweigh the mischief he may do by such 

 depredations. 



The kestrel often becomes an amusing bird in a state of domestica- 

 tion. I have had two that were perfect wags, and both ultimately 

 proved tyrants. One, that had been remarkably docile, became the 

 terror of cat, dog and servants. It would make its way to the kitchen, 

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