﻿70 
  

  

  BIRDS. 
  

  

  to 
  be 
  seen, 
  and 
  I 
  am 
  almost 
  sure 
  it 
  nests, 
  as 
  I 
  have 
  noticed 
  

   young 
  birds. 
  I 
  have 
  the 
  skin 
  of 
  a 
  hen 
  Merlin 
  which 
  was 
  shot 
  

   about 
  200 
  yards 
  from 
  our 
  house, 
  attempting 
  to 
  carry 
  off 
  a 
  half- 
  

   grown 
  Pheasant.' 
  

  

  Brown 
  notes 
  the 
  Merlin 
  as 
  1 
  rare 
  ' 
  near 
  Forres. 
  

  

  Edward 
  mentions 
  the 
  Knock, 
  the 
  Bin 
  (Huntly 
  or 
  Cullen 
  ?), 
  

   Auchindoun, 
  and 
  Ben 
  Einnes 
  as 
  breeding 
  localities 
  in 
  his 
  time, 
  

   but 
  it 
  is 
  marked 
  ' 
  rare 
  ' 
  by 
  Smith. 
  It 
  still 
  holds 
  its 
  own 
  on 
  the 
  

   wilder 
  grouse-muirs 
  of 
  the 
  interior, 
  and 
  is 
  a 
  frequenter 
  of 
  the 
  

   Carn 
  districts 
  of 
  Spey 
  and 
  Findhorn, 
  but 
  not 
  in 
  such 
  numbers 
  as 
  

   formerly. 
  It 
  still 
  exists 
  sparingly 
  as 
  a 
  breeding 
  species 
  on 
  the 
  

   high 
  lands 
  inland 
  from 
  Troup 
  Head 
  and 
  the 
  North 
  Aberdeen- 
  

   shire 
  cliffs. 
  It 
  is 
  rare 
  now 
  in 
  the 
  district 
  around 
  Forres, 
  except 
  

   when 
  mgrating 
  along 
  the 
  coast 
  in 
  autumn 
  or 
  winter. 
  It 
  is 
  still 
  not 
  

   uncommon 
  in 
  the 
  Carn 
  districts 
  of 
  the 
  Ladder 
  Hills 
  of 
  Glenlivet, 
  

   as 
  we 
  are 
  assured 
  by 
  both 
  Hinxman 
  and 
  Mr. 
  Petrie, 
  gamekeeper 
  

   there 
  ; 
  and 
  it 
  breeds 
  also 
  up 
  near 
  Loch 
  Builg. 
  

  

  In 
  1893 
  Hinxman 
  discovered 
  the 
  eggs 
  of 
  the 
  Merlin 
  in 
  an 
  

   old 
  Crow's 
  nest, 
  in 
  a 
  tree 
  above 
  Inchrory 
  in 
  Glen 
  Avon— 
  a 
  situa- 
  

   tion 
  somewhat 
  unusual 
  in 
  Great 
  Britain, 
  though 
  not 
  uncommon 
  

   in 
  Lapland 
  and 
  Northern 
  Europe. 
  At 
  least 
  two 
  pairs 
  were 
  

   nesting 
  that 
  year 
  within 
  a 
  short 
  distance 
  of 
  Inchrory, 
  one 
  of 
  them 
  

   in 
  long 
  heather. 
  

  

  Falco 
  tinnunculus, 
  L. 
  Kestrel. 
  

  

  A 
  breeding 
  species, 
  decidedly 
  rarer 
  in 
  winter 
  in 
  most 
  districts, 
  

   and 
  entirely 
  absent 
  at 
  that 
  time 
  from 
  the 
  higher 
  grounds. 
  Dr. 
  

   Gordon 
  and 
  T. 
  Macpherson 
  Grant 
  agreed 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  common 
  at 
  

   all 
  seasons 
  of 
  the 
  year 
  in 
  the 
  cultivated 
  districts 
  of 
  Morayshire. 
  

   It 
  is 
  often 
  seen 
  about 
  rocks 
  and 
  precipitous 
  cliffs, 
  where 
  it 
  builds, 
  

   as 
  for 
  instance 
  at 
  Covesea, 
  etc. 
  (Dr. 
  Gordon, 
  Zoologist, 
  1847). 
  

  

  Although 
  still 
  not 
  uncommon, 
  the 
  Kestrel 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  getting 
  

   much 
  scarcer 
  than 
  formerly, 
  and 
  this 
  is 
  remarked 
  by 
  all 
  with 
  whom 
  

   we 
  have 
  spoken 
  on 
  the 
  subject 
  ; 
  indeed, 
  the 
  bird 
  will 
  soon 
  be 
  quite 
  

   rare 
  in 
  the 
  lower-lying 
  parts 
  of 
  Moray 
  if 
  the 
  present 
  rate 
  of 
  

   decrease 
  continues. 
  

  

  The 
  Kestrel 
  is 
  quite 
  common, 
  and 
  even 
  abundant, 
  in 
  the 
  glens 
  

   and 
  ' 
  glacs 
  ' 
  1 
  of 
  the 
  Carn 
  district, 
  and 
  not 
  so 
  universally 
  tormented 
  

   1 
  Narrow 
  ravines. 
  

  

  