Natural History of Ireland. 55 



milar occurrence in the Supplement to his " Ornithological Dictiona- 

 ry." About fifteen years ago, Captain Johnson of the 1st battalion 

 of the Rifle Brigade, then stationed in the county Limerick, invited 

 a large party, of which the fair sex as in the olden time formed a 

 portion, to a day's hawking, but on going to the mew it was found 

 that his peregrine falcon, having obtained her liberty, had killed and 

 devoured a merlin (Falco eesalon) her partner in captivity. The 

 misfortune on such an occasion was not only the loss of the merlin, 

 but was twofold, as the feasting on it prevented the falcon's service 

 in the chase for that day.* 



Hobby — Falco subbuteo, Linnaeus. — This bird is mentioned in the 

 MS. of the late Mr Templeton, as having twice occurred to him in 

 summer, in the mountains of Wicklow and Londonderry. It ap- 

 pears in Mr Stewart's published catalogue of the birds of Donegal, 

 as an occasional but very rare visitant ; this gentleman, however, in 

 a letter to me dated Feb. 3, 1837, expresses doubt about it. The 

 specimen alluded to in his catalogue is not preserved. I have never 

 been able to obtain sight of an Irish Falco subbuteo. 



Orange-legged Hobby — Falco rw/fyje^Bechstein. — To the fol- 

 lowing record of this species, communicated to the Zoological Society 

 of London, on June 9, 1835, when the subject of it was exhibited, I 

 have nothing further to add. 



" An immature specimen of this bird, shot in the county of Wick- 

 low, in the summer of 1832, forms part of the collection of T. W. 

 Warren, Esq. of Dublin."— Zool. Proc 1835, p. 78- 



Meklin — Falco cesalon, Gmelin. — The merlin is indigenous both 

 to the north and south of Ireland. For many years it has been known 

 to me as breeding in the mountains of the county of Londonderry, 

 whence I have in more than one summer seen nestlings, which were 

 brought toWilliam Sinclaire, Esq. These he in due time trained to the 

 pursuit of larks and snipes. The intelligent gamekeeper at Tolly- 

 more Park informs me, that these birds breed regularly in the moun- 

 tains of Mourne, (Down,) where in the summer of 1836, he had four 

 of their nests. At Claggan, (Antrim,) I have also been told by com- 



* As Pennant in treating of the Lanner remarks, " this species breeds in Ire- 

 land," and Bewick repeats the words without acknowledgment, it is perhaps re- 

 quisite to state, that the true Falco lanarius, Linn, has never to my knowledge 

 occurred in this country. The bird called Lanner by Pennant is now considered 

 to be the peregrine falcon at a certain age. 



