MERLIN. 
181 
138. Falco cBsalon, Merlin. 
A scarce winter visitor to the county ; has been known 
to remain to nest. Also occurs in the Isle of Wight. 
The bird is most frequently observed on the open 
downland of the northern part of the county, the heath- 
lands of the New Forest, and the flat parts of the coast. 
Wise ^ says : " In the winter this little hawk is sometimes 
seen hunting .... the snipe, although but few specimens 
find their way to the bird-stuffer. It lingers on, however, 
to the summer, but the opportunities then of watching its 
habits are more rare, as the foliage of the woods is so thick. 
In 1859 and 1861, Mr. Farren received two nests with 
three eggs, taken in old pollard hollies growing in the open 
heath, which in every way corresponded with those of the 
merlin, being considerably smaller than those of kestrels. 
Unfortunately, however, he could not procure the parent 
birds, and the fact of the merlin's nesting remained 
doubtful. In 1862 he was at last successful, and on 
May 22nd discovered a nest, placed in the hole of a yew, 
also containing, like the others, three eggs, from which the 
male bird was shot. ... As the instances of the breeding 
of the merlin, especially under these circumstances, will 
always be very rare, I may as vv'ell add my own personal 
observations. In the spring of 1861, I received three eggs 
taken not far from the Knightwood Oak, and said to have 
been found in the hole of a beech. As I am not in the 
habit of paying any attention to the mere stories which are 
so plentiful, I did not, therefore, examine them with any 
attention, and put them aside as merely kestrel's. After^ 
' " New Forest.*' 
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