14^ 



C RN 1 1 H O LO G I C AL l>j OTE S . 



lure, to which should be tied some fresh raw meat. When you 

 are close to him stoop down and offer the lure to him, at the same 

 time gently withdrawing the bird from him which he has caught, and 

 which will do for his meal next day. At this time Merlins are very 

 apt to what is termed 'carry.' That is, having caught their prey 

 they naturally want to eat it there and then, and when you go 

 up with the lure they fly off with their bird twenty or thirty yards, and 

 repeat this again and again. This is a very bad fault in a Merlin, and 

 one which you should do your very utmost to overcome. 



In addition to birds of all kinds, dead or alive, MerUns are very 

 fond of mice. They should occasionally have feathers mixed with 

 their meat ; but cotton wool or gun tow will do just as well. In 

 warm weather they should have a bathe two or three times a week at 

 least. I take mine out into the garden and give them a flower-pot 

 saucer to wash and dabble about in. They generally commence by 

 taking two or three sips of water and then walk in and splash about 

 until they are thoroughly drenched. Merlins are generally considered 

 not to be so good at 'waiting on' as Kestrels, but my 'Nell' will 

 sometimes fly to great distances and yet always come back obedient 

 to the whistle and lure. In the summer time they can be flown 

 every other evening or morning if convenient : just now I have mine 

 out three times a week. Of the beauty of these birds and the grace- 

 fulness of their flight, especially when coming down to the lure, I 

 could say a great deal ; but I have already trespassed too far, and 

 others may not be so interested in these bright-eyed pets as I 

 am. I must, however, in concluding say how greatly I have been 

 indebted to my kind friend Mr. Robert Duncan, naturalist, of this 

 town, for his valuable assistance and advice in all matters relating to 

 Hawking with Merlins. _ _ 



ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES. 



The Twite near Thome Waste. — I found the Twite or Mountain 

 Linnet nesting on the bank of a drain in the parish of Eastoft, Yorkshire, in 

 1875. As the crow flies, the place could not be more than a mile from Thorne 

 Waste. I watched the birds through a telescope for three or four days, and became 

 morally certain of their identity, though at that time I had never seen living 

 specimens. I chronicled their nesting in Hardwicke's Science Gossip, xi. 141. 

 The very same summer, Mr. Simpson, bird-stuffer of York, sold my brother a 

 specimen — male or female I cannot this moment say — which he averred to have 

 been shot on the Waste, and sent to him in the flesh. — Adrian Peacock, 

 Barkingside, Ilford, Essex, November 28th, 1884. 



The Robin in Salt Creeks.— Every moment that I h«ave had to spare 

 this autumn has been given to working at the salt marshes on the Solway. On 

 three separate occasions, and on three different marshes, I have been surprised to 

 meet with a solitary Robin [Eritliacus rtibecula) flying up a creek in the middle 

 of the marsh, and apparently perfectly at home in his surroundings, though on 

 each occasion a strong wind was blowing from the west. In Skye, I have met with 

 robins in very wild situations ; but a salt creek seems the last place to meet with 

 this species. — H. A. Macpherson, 3, St. James' Road, Carlisle, Decembe r 20th, 

 1884- Naturalist, 



