Birds › Falcons and Caracaras
Merlin
Falco columbarius
28 photos
Study shows up to four per card, from different observers, so you learn the species rather than one picture. Heart the good ones and swap any you do not like.
Photos you add are credited to you, and you keep the copyright.
Easily confused with
Cooper's HawkAstur cooperii
Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
American KestrelFalco sparverius
Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
Eurasian KestrelFalco tinnunculus
Red-shouldered HawkButeo lineatus
Broad-winged HawkButeo platypterus
Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
Study checks a spoken answer against these, and tells you which one you named.
Where it is recorded
| United States | 1,899,601 |
|---|---|
| California | 119,246 |
| Washington | 68,880 |
| Massachusetts | 60,959 |
| Texas | 60,526 |
| Virginia | 48,413 |
| Wisconsin | 45,175 |
| Maryland | 41,977 |
| Nunavut | 33,719 |
| Oregon | 32,621 |
Counts show where people looked, not only where it lives.
Traits
Behavioral
- CarnivoreEats other animals or animal-derived prey as a major part of its diet.Inferred from its group
Group and habits
- PredatorDescends from an animal lineage whose members commonly hunt other animals.Inferred from its group
- Tree nestingListed by a harvested source as nesting in trees.BIRDBASE avian traits database
- Rock nestingListed by a harvested source as nesting on rocks or cliffs.BIRDBASE avian traits database
- Ground nestingListed by a harvested source as nesting on the ground.BIRDBASE avian traits database
- Vertebrate eaterListed by a harvested source as primarily eating vertebrates.BIRDBASE avian traits database
- Cavity nestingListed by a harvested source as nesting in cavities.BIRDBASE avian traits database
- Scrape nestingListed by a harvested source as nesting in scrapes.BIRDBASE avian traits database
- Brood-parasite hostListed by a harvested source as a host of brood parasites.BIRDBASE avian traits database
Classification
| Kingdom | Animals · Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Chordates · Chordata |
| Class | Birds · Aves |
| Order | Falcons and Caracaras · Falconiformes |
| Family | Falcons and Caracaras · Falconidae |
| Genus | Typical Falcons · Falco |
Study it in a deck
- Birds of Bogota Capital District, Colombia
- Birds of British Columbia, Canada
- Birds of Canton, Ohio, United States
- Birds of Centre Wellington, Ontario, Canada
- Birds of Gallatin County, Montana, United States
- Birds of Ontario
- Birds of Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
- Birds of Pennsylvania (Alkas)
Or build your own from the species near you.
Sources
- Names, taxonomy and observation counts: www.inaturalist.org
- Photos and recordings: the creator and source are on each one.
- Traits: BIRDBASE avian traits database (CC BY 4.0)
- How much to rely on each source
Remember the name next time.
Practise Merlin with real photos from different observers. Say the name out loud, and it comes back just before you would forget it.