Measurements
Both Sexes
- Length
- 9.4–11.8 in
24–30 cm - Wingspan
- 20.9–26.8 in
53–68 cm - Weight
- 5.6–8.5 oz
160–240 g
Other Names
- Pigeon Hawk
- Faucon émerillon (French)
- Esmerejón (Spanish)
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.
Habitat
Open Woodland
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.
Food
Birds
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 1–8 eggs
- Egg Description
- Variable rusty brown with brownish or chestnut markings.
- Condition at Hatching
- Helpless and covered in down.
Nest Placement
Tree
Behavior
Aerial Forager
Conservation
Least Concern
Expanding breeding range and may be increasing in numbers.
Credits
- 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.