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Hi Smithsax

I understand your point but I wouldn’t worry.

It seems to me the title (Milky) is a deliberate steer on the part of the setter. As previously discussed it leads you to one of its definitions in Chambers- gentle.

That is surely more than a coincidence.

I guess we will find out in a couple of weeks.

Indeed, and I agree gentle is probably what the setter intended. However both pallid and milky are defined in TDC as “weak” (definitions 2 and 5 respectively) so I think there is at least some ambiguity.

I have only sketchy knowledge of the theme, but for two reasons would discount pallid.
1) The pallid harrier is a hawk. Hawks are generally distinguished from falcons by methods of hunting and killing.
2) If you just said 'pallid' would anyone understand that you were discussing a bird ? Don't you need also to include 'harrier' ? But 'gentle' is a one word definition of a bird, which fits the right bird...

For reason 2) I should include 'pallid falcon' in the same bracket : don't you need to use both words ?

But Meursault, you must then apply the same reasoning to 'hermit' and 'hummingbird'.

I do ! If I look in TCD under 'hermit', there it is, "a kind of hummingbird". If I look under 'gentle', there is "a trained falcon". But when I look under 'pallid', there is nothing about any bird. If I look under 'crested' or 'spotted' I don't get any direct reference to birds either, it is only when I look at eg. 'crested tit' that I see reference to a bird...and furthermore, TCD doesn't seem to have reference to any pallid bird.