52 
FALCONlNiE. FALCO. 
has been killed in Ireland. It is said to be common in Eussia, 
Poland^ Austria, Tyrol, Switzerland, and the districts on the 
northern side of the Appenines. ; 
Eed-legged or Eed-footed Falcon. Orange-legged Hobby. ' 
Falco vespertinus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. 129. — Falco rufipes, 
Temm, Man. d^Ornith. i. 33. — Falco vespertinus, Orange- 
legged Falcon, MacGillivray, Brit. Birds, iii. 313. 
14. Falco ^salon. Merlin Falcon. 
The wings when closed about an inch and a half shorter | 
than the tail, the inner webs of the first and second quills { 
abruptly cut out toward the end. Male with the upper parts j 
deep greyish-blue, each feather with a black central line, the ! 
tail barred with black, the lower parts light reddish-yellow, i 
with oblong blackish-brown spots. Female with the upper | 
parts greyish -brown, the shaft-lines darker, the tail barred | 
with pale reddish, the lower parts yellowish-white, with large j 
longitudinal markings. Young with the upper parts brown, ; 
spotted with pale red, the lower reddish-white, marked as in , 
the female. I 
Male, 11, 26, 8^, ly^-, ly^? y^. Female, 12^, 29. , 
This, the smallest British species of the genus, is by no ^ 
means uncommon in many parts of Scotland, where it re- 
mains all the year. It is also not unfrequent in the north of 
England, but in the middle and southern districts of that j 
country occurs only in winter. It preys on small birds, such 
as larks, chaffinches, sandpipers, snipes, and plovers. Its 
nest, rudely constructed, is placed on the ground among 
heath. The eggs, three or four, are very similar to those of j 
the kestrel, being broadly elliptical, about 1 inch in length, 
ly^ in breadth, light red, or reddish- white, confusedly dotted, I 
spotted, or blotched with dull red. | 
Stone Falcon. Eock Hawk. Sparrow Hawk. ! 
Falco Litho-falco and ^salon. Lath. Ind. Ornith. i. 47.— j| 
Falco JEsalon, Temm. Man. d’Ornith. i. 27 ; iii. 13. — Falco j 
^salon, Merlin Falcon, MacGillivray, Brit. Birds, iii. 317. ■ 
15. Falco Tinnunculus. Kestrel. i 
The wings when closed about two inches shorter than the j 
tail. Male with the head, hind-neck, rump, and tail, light 
greyishffilue, the latter with a. broad subterminal black bar ; 
the back and wing-coverts pale red, with oblong or triangular 
dark spots ; the lower parts light yellowish-red, with longi-, 
tudinal linear and guttiform spots. Female with all the upper 
