Merlin, Falco columbarius


Merlin
The fiercely glaring little falcon shown above is a male of a species known for its rapid straight low flight, usually in pursuit of its
chief prey, small birds. Merlins come in three groups, this one being "Prairie" (Sibley's label), the richardsonii subspecies, as shown by the lighter blue-gray of its upperparts and the broad light bands on the tail. The rest of the birds pictured on this page, are "Taiga" (columbarius), the subspecies regularly though uncommonly seen in winter in the San Francisco Bay Area. They are darker overall, and have narrower light-colored bands on the tail. The third Merlin subspecies, the "Pacific" or "Black" Merlin, subspecies suckleyi, are the darkest in coloration; they are mostly resident in British Columbia and northern Washington, and only occasionally appear in winter in our area.


Merlin
The bird shown above and below is a male, as shown by the (barely visible) gray of the crown and upperparts. Note the light bands on the tail, much narrower on this "Taiga" bird than on the "Prairie" above.


Merlin


Merlin
The"Taiga" Merlin shown above and below has brown upperparts, and so is a female.


Merlin


Merlin
The picture above, taken just before I bought my first digital SLR camera back in
November 2003,  was the best one I ever got using the digiscoping method. This Merlin
let me get quite close and posed for me in early morning light, and somehow the picture
came out sharp despite the fact that I was hand-holding a point-and-shoot camera to a
telescope eyepiece.



Merlin
Another female "Taiga."