. Britain's birds and their nests . usual t3^e. THE MERLIN (Faico aesalon). As already remarked, the Falcons give their name tothe whole family, which includes all our native Birds-of-Prey; but of the Falcons in the strict sense we have onlyfour to deal with. The third is this species, which issimilar to the Kestrel, but considerably smaller. Thewings are shorter and the flight more dashing. The preyconsists of small birds which are easily caught on thewing; even a Swallow is pmsued with swiftness equal toits own, and followed turn for turn. As regards bothagriculture and game-preserving it ma
. Britain's birds and their nests . usual t3^e. THE MERLIN (Faico aesalon). As already remarked, the Falcons give their name tothe whole family, which includes all our native Birds-of-Prey; but of the Falcons in the strict sense we have onlyfour to deal with. The third is this species, which issimilar to the Kestrel, but considerably smaller. Thewings are shorter and the flight more dashing. The preyconsists of small birds which are easily caught on thewing; even a Swallow is pmsued with swiftness equal toits own, and followed turn for turn. As regards bothagriculture and game-preserving it may be considered aspractically non-injurious. It nests in very small numbersover much of Ireland and throughout Great Britain fromWales and the northern Midlands to Shetland. In winterit also occms in the southern English counties. At thatseason it often frequents estuaries and similar haunts,preying on Dunlins, and the like. Its nest is usually ahollow in the moorland heather; the four to aix eggsare deep brownish red in colour. i. Plate 55 SPARROW-HAWK—^r^z>//6v- iiisus. Length, 13 in. ; wing, 7-75 in. [AcciPlTRES : Falconidce.]V 174 BRITAIN^S BIRDS AND THEIR NESTS. 175 THE HOBBY (Faico subbuteo). The Hobby is also much the same size as the Kestrel,but differs in many respects. The wings, for one thing,are very long, and the flight is correspondingly species is chiefly an uncommon summer visitor,nesting sparingly in a few of the southern counties ofEngland. It has been recorded as nesting occasionallyin the north, and once in Perthshire. It lays in theold nests of other tree-nesting species, and is a very latebreeder. The three to five eggs are commonly closelymottled, with reddish brown on a yellowish ground. THE SPARROW-HAWK (Accipiter nisus). Plate 55. Still of course belonging to the Falcon family, butmore narrowly grouped as a Hawk (in the strictestsense), is the Sparrow-Hawk, which is almost as familiarand widespread as the Kestrel. Equally abundant in som
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectbirdsne, bookyear1910
