MERLIN. 319 



red ; irides purplish red. The head and part of the neck black, glossed 

 with green ; on the back of the head the feathers are long, forming a 

 sort of pendant crest ; the rest of the neck and under part of the body- 

 white ; breast ferruginous, mixed with black and white ; upper part of 

 the back glossy black ; rump marked with brown and cinereous trans- 

 verse streaks ; the scapulars and wing coverts are some black and 

 some white ; quills dusky ; tail brown ; legs orange ; claws black. 



*The trachea of the male has an enlargement about the middle, con- 

 sisting of bony plates, of the same texture as the rest of it : at the 

 lower part is a large labyrinthic bony cavity, of an irregular heart 

 shape, with two openings on one side, and one on the other, all of 

 which are covered with fine membranes ; and from the bottom of this 

 the two branchi spring and enter the lungs.* 



Mr. Pennant says, this species breeds in the isle of Ely, on the 

 shores amongst the loose stones. They sometimes appear in the south 

 of England in winter, but more frequently in the north ; and are said to 

 breed in Scotland in some of the lochs. They are found in the Rus- 

 sian dominions, about the great rivers of Siberia. 



They are also said to breed on the shores of Greenland, and are observed 

 at Hudson's Bay in large flocks, breeding there as well as at Newfound- 

 land, chiefly on the islands. The nest, which is built on the margin of 

 lakes and rivers, is said to be made with dry grass, lined with down ; the 

 eggs are generally eight in number, of a bluish white; sometimes as 

 many as thirteen in a nest, about the size of those of a duck. The 

 young may be distinguished from the adult, by the black band on the 

 wing spot. 



MERGUS (Linnaeus) — * Merganser, a genus thus characterised. 

 Bill of middle size, or long, straight, slender, conical, elongated, and 

 almost cylindrical, base broad ; point of the upper mandible much 

 curved, with a hooked rail ; margins of both the mandibles toothed 

 like a saw, the teeth directed backwards ; nostrils at the sides, towards 

 the middle of the bill, elliptical, longitudinal, pierced from part to part ; 

 legs short, retracted towards the abdomen ; three toes before wholly 

 webbed ; the hind toe free, jointed upon the shank, carrying a rudi- 

 ment ; wings of mean length, the first quill as long as the second, or 

 a little shorter.* 



MERLE.— A name for the Blackbird. 



MERLIN {Falco JEsalon, Temminck.) 



MALE. 



* Falco iEsalon, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 1. p. 27. — Vigors, Zool. Jour. 1. p. 339. — 

 Faucon Emerillon, Temm. Man. d'Orn.— Falco Litho-Falco, Lath. Ind. Orn. 

 1. 47. 1. 115.— Gmel. Syst. l.p. 278.— Briss. 1 . p. 349. 8.— Rati, Syn. p. 14.8 — 



