Merlin Bird
What Is A Merlin Bird?
Well, a Merlin bird is a pigeon hawk, and a pigeon hawk is a falcon, and a falcon is a carnivorous hunter. The Merlin bird measures approximately 12 inches in length from the tip of his beak to the end of his tail, and enjoys the heavily forested areas to the far northwest of the country. Northern Michigan is a common hangout for the Merlin bird, as are the deep northern territories of Canada, stopping just short of the arctic regions. The male of the species is adorned with slate blue to steel gray feathers on his top side, which are met by buff brown feathers on his underside. This brown area is studded with dark black bars across the underside of the tail. The pigeon hawk is also found in Europe, and has proven quite an astute study in the art of falconry.
The Merlin bird is considerably small on the scale of falcons, and dwarfs only a few other live hunting species of birds, such as the osprey. This type of falcon is also found in both Europe and Asia, bringing to call some very serious scientific questions about the possibility of such a wide spread range. All three of these continents are locked in by large bodies of water, the likes of which are not able to be crossed during a single flight. The questions about these three similar birds and the very distinct regions from whence they came have brought to mind the idea that they may be three separate subspecies of falcon.
The Merlin bird seems not to know his meager size as opposed to those prey birds with whom he shares the air. The European version of this bird is prone to communal gatherings, wherein many will roost together. This Merlin bird will even share roosting territories with other species such as the hen harrier. In North America, however, the Merlin bird is quite ferocious and doesn’t like to share anything. He is commonly seen attacking other birds of prey, and has even been so bold as to attack a mature adult bald eagle or two.
The Merlin bird in North America is game for hunting any locally flourishing bird, including pipits, rock pigeons, larks, house pigeons, and sand pipers. Watching a mated pair of these birds hunt can be an absolute thrill. Singly, the pigeon hawk will tail his prey as they try to out fly him. Out flying him rarely happens, however, as he is a tenacious prey bird with an abundance of energy and skill. When hunting in pairs, this team is as close to unbeatable as is possible, as one will flush the victim toward the other, who remains out of sight until the attack is eminent.