Merlin

Adult male Prairie Merlin (F.c. richardsonii) with Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris) in its talons; taken near Pawnee National Grasslands, CO; Feb.

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Reproduction
8. Conservation Status
9. Other Names

A small falcon of northern forests and prairies, the Merlin is the least well-marked of the American falcons. It is becoming a regular breeder in urban areas.

Cool Facts

• The Merlin does not build a nest, but instead takes over old nests of other raptors or crows. It sometimes nests on top of domed magpie nests rather than in the nest cavity.

Description

• Size: 24-30 cm (9-12 in)
• Wingspan: 53-68 cm (21-27 in)
• Weight: 160-240 g (5.65-8.47 ounces)

Small hawk. Long, pointed wings. Long, banded tail. Faint mustache mark. Brown streaking on chest and belly. Back unmarked gray or brown.

Sex Differences

Sexes similar, but male smaller and gray on back, female brown.

Immature

Similar to adult female.

Similar Species

• American Kestrel is slightly smaller, has well defined face stripes, has light tail with dark tip or many thin bands, and has rufous on back.
• Prairie Falcon is much larger, has a more defined facial pattern, lacks bands on tail, and has dark in base of underside of wings.
• Sharp-shinned Hawk with shorter, more rounded wings.

Sound

Call a high "kee, kee, kee."

Range

Range Map

© 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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Summer Range

Breeds across Alaska and Canada, southward to very northern United States. Also across northern Eurasia.

Winter Range

Winters from southern Canada to northern South America. Also across Eurasia.

Habitat

Breeds in open country from open coniferous woodland to prairie, occasionally in adjacent suburbs. Winters in open woodland, grasslands, open cultivated fields, marshes, estuaries, and seacoasts.

Reproduction

Egg Description

Variable rusty brown with brownish or chestnut markings.

Clutch Size

Condition at Hatching

Helpless and covered in down.

Conservation Status

Expanding breeding range and may be increasing in numbers.

Other Names

Faucon émerillon (French)
Esmerejón (Spanish)
Pigeon Hawk (English)

Sources used to construct this page:

Sodhi, N. S., L. W. Oliphant, P. C. James, and I. G. Warkentin. 1993. Merlin (Falco columbarius). In The Birds of North America, No. 44 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists? Union.