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Merlin

Falco columbariusOrder: FALCONIFORMESFamily: Falcons (Falconidae)

Merlin Portrait
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General

Merlin: Small falcon with blue-gray upperparts and white to pale brown underparts with heavy, darker streaks. Throat, eye-ring, and line above eye are white. Bill is dark gray and cere (above bill) is yellow. Tail is brown or black barred and white-tipped. Feet are yellow. Pacific race is dark gray, nearly black. Prairie race is paler gray. Taiga race is intermediate. Female and juvenile of all races are duller.

Range and Habitat

Merlin: Breeds from Alaska east through Mackenzie to Newfoundland and south to Wyoming, Montana, and northeastern Maine. Spends winters mainly in the southern U.S. north along the west coast up to British Columbia and on the east coast to southern New England. Preferred habitats include coniferous forests.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"ki-ki-kee", "kek-kek-kek", "klee-klee-klee"

Interesting Facts

  • In Europe, Merlins will roost communally in winter, often with Hen Harriers. In North America, this is rare, and it is well known for fiercely attacking any birds of prey that it encounters.
  • In medieval Europe, they were popular in falconry.
  • In North America it is sometimes called "pigeon hawk", though being a falcon it is not very closely related to true hawks.
  • A group of merlins has many collective nouns, including a "brace", "leash", and "illusion" of merlins.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Merlin
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Falco columbarius
Length11 - 13 Inches
Wingspan24.5 Inches

Merlin

Merlin: Small falcon with blue-gray upperparts, white to pale brown underparts with dark streaks. Throat, eye-ring, line above eye are white. Dark gray bill, cere is yellow. Tail is brown or black barred with white tips. Pacific race is dark gray. Prairie race is light gray. Taiga race is a mixture.

● Song: "ki-ki-kee", "kek-kek-kek", "klee-klee-klee"

● Foraging & Feeding: Merlin: Preys mainly on small birds such as larks, swallows, finches, and occasionally ptarmigan; also eats small mammals, lizards, snakes, and insects, especially dragonflies.

● Breeding & nesting: Merlin: Two to seven white eggs sometimes marked with red brown are laid in a tree cavity without nesting materials added; occasionally uses a rocky ledge or abandoned crow nest. Incubation ranges from 28 to 32 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Merlin: American Kestrel has two moustache stripes, red-brown head, narrower wings, and lacks the checkerboard pattern of underwings. Peregrine Falcon is much larger with bolder moustache stripe and less checkered underwings. Prairie Falcon has a bolder moustache stripe, white between eye and moustache stripe, and black axillars.

Flight Pattern

Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Merlin Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Merlin: Breeds from Alaska east through Mackenzie to Newfoundland and south to Wyoming, Montana, and northeastern Maine. Spends winters mainly in the southern U.S. north along the west coast up to British Columbia and on the east coast to southern New England. Preferred habitats include coniferous forests.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
Population
MigrationMigratory
Weight5.7 Ounces