merlin (Falco columbarius)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONFIRMATION STATUS: Confirmed.

 

IDENTIFICATION

• Length: 12 inches Wingspan: 23 inches

• Short, dark, hooked beak

• Small, long-tailed hawk

• Long, pointed wings, broad at the base

• Thin, pale black mustache mark

• Underwings checkered with black and white

• Juveniles and immature females like adult female

• Three distinct races occur in North America

Taiga merlin (Falco columbarius columbarius)

• Breeds in northern Canadian boreal forests from Newfoundland to           Alaska and winters in the southern United States; migrants occur fre-     quently along both coasts but are rare inland

• Flight feathers dark above

• Faint dark mustache mark

Adult male:

• Dark blue-gray back, paler than suckleyi but darker than richard-               sonii

• Dark tail has wide, complete, blue-gray bands

Adult female:

• Dark, brownish back

• Brown tail has narrow, complete buffy bands

Prairie merlin (Falco columbarius richardsonii)

• Breeder and resident in prairies of south-central Canada and the upper  Midwest of the United States with some moving south to New Mexico

• Large spots on flight feathers visible from above

• Lacks mustache mark

Adult male:

• Pale supercilium

• Pale brown cheeks

• Pale blue-gray back

• Blue gray tail with narrow black bands

Adult female:

• Pale supercilium

• Pale brown cheeks

• Pale brown back

• Complete white bands on brown tail

Black merlin (Falco columbarius suckleyi)

• Resident in upper Pacific Coast forests from British Colombia to            Alaska, occasionally straying to New Mexico in winter

• Very dark back, wings and head

• Dark mustache mark

• Flight feathers dark above

Adult male:

• Blue-gray cast seen in good light

• Black tail with incomplete blue-gray bands

Adult female:

• Dark tail with very faint tail bands

Similar species:

American kestrel is similar in size and shape, but has two mustache marks,
reddish-brown about head, narrower wings and lacks checkerboard pattern
of underwings. Peregrine is much larger with a much bolder mustache mark
and not so strongly checkered underwings. Prairie falcon has a bolder
mustache mark, white between the eye and the mustache mark and black
axillars.

 

LIFE HISTORY

Migration Status: Neotropical migrant
Breeding Habitat: WoodlandNest
Location: N/A
Nest Type: N/A
Clutch Size: 4-6
Length of Incubation: 28-32 days
Days to Fledge: 30-35
Number of Broods: 1
Diet: Almost exclusively birds; lesser quantities of small mammals, insects

 

SKY MEADOWS DISTRIBUTION/SEASONAL OCCURRENCE

 

Relative abundance and seasonal occurrence are indicated in red below.

 

Relative abundance
     C - Common: Likely to be present in good numbers in appropriate habitat and season.
     U - Uncommon: May be present in appropriate habitat and season, often in low
            numbers.
     O - Occassional: Found in appropriate habitat perhaps only a few times per season,
            sometimes low numbers.
     R - Rare: May not be recorded every year.
     Acc - Accidental: Recorded once or twice, may not be expected again for a long time.

 

Seasonal Occurrence
      Sp - Spring: March, April, May
      Su - Summer: June, July, August
      Fall: September, October, November R

      Winter: December, January, February

 

 

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