THE MERLIN. 115 



Rook or squirrel. Site commanding wide outlook is preferred, so 

 that great majority of nests here are in hedgerow trees. Eggs.— 

 Normally 3, sometimes two. From Continent four have frequently 

 been reported, but few English records will bear investigation. 

 Generally pale in colour, often with yellowish tinge which becomes 

 more pronounced as incubation advances, usually covered with 

 minute reddish-brown spots ; occasionally with red blotches, but 

 in a series always lighter in colour than Kestrel's, larger and more 

 elongated, though individual eggs cannot be distinguished with 

 certainty. Size of 50 British eggs, 41.5 x 32.7. Max. : 45.5 X 

 31.8 and 44.1x35.7. Min. : 38.1x31.1 and 38.8 x 31. Breeding- 

 season. — Usually about second week in June, but sometimes not 

 till towards end of June. Incubation. — About four weeks, mainly 

 by female, though male apparently shares. Single brooded. 

 Fledging -period. — 30 days. (Lynes.) 



Food.— Mainly insects, though occasionally small birds are taken 

 and bats have been recorded on several occasions. Birds taken 

 include Twite, Linnet, Sparrow, Meadow-Pipit, Blue Tit, Song- 

 Thrush, Blackbird and not infrequently Swallows and Martins, 

 while Swifts have been captured on the wing. Insects include 

 many odonata (dragon-flies) and larger coleoptera, especially com- 

 mon dung-beetle, also orthoptera (large grasshoppers) and lepi- 

 doptera (Triphcena pronuba, Hepialus humuli, etc.). 



Distribution. — England. — Summer-resident (end April (early date 

 3.3.66) to Sept., occasionally Oct. and even Nov.). Breeds fairly 

 regularly in counties south of Thames and as far west as Devon (rare 

 migrant Cornwall) and in Oxon., Salop, Northants, and Gloucester ; 

 less regularly in counties on north side of Thames and in Cambs., 

 Suffolk, Norfolk, and Lines. ; only very occasionally in midlands and 

 exceptionally in Derby., Cheshire, and Yorks. Wales, Scotland, and 

 Ireland. — Rare vagrant. In Scotland once bred (Perth., 1887), and 

 has occurred as far north as Shetlands and Fair Isle, but chiefly in 

 south. In Ireland has occurred ten times, chiefly in south-east. 



Distribution. — Abroad. — Europe generally, eastwards to west 

 Asia, in winter in Africa and north-west India. Represented by 

 closely-allied races in north-west Africa and various parts of Asia. 



FALCO COLUMBARIUS 



248. Falco columbarius sesalon Tunstall*. — THE MERLIN. 



Falco ^salon Tunstall, Orn. Brit., p. 1 (1771 — France). 



Falco regulus Pallas, Hand-List Brit. B., 1912, p. 112. 



Falco a&salon Gmelin, Yarrell, 1, p. 74 ; F. cesalon Tunstall, Saunders, 



p. 351. 



* For reasons for accepting Tunstall's names, see Brit. B., ix, p. 5. 

 VOL. II. I 2 



