Merlin (Falco columbarius)  Male merlin amongst heather flowers
Loading more images and videos...  Merlin fact file  Merlin
description  GenusFalco (1)  An extremely fast, agile hunter
(4), the merlin (Falco columbarius) is a small, distinctive
species of falcon from the northern hemisphere (5). The adult
male and female’s plumage differs greatly in appearance, and the
female merlin is markedly larger than the male. Both sexes have
a yellowish-green eye-ring and cere, dark brown eyes and pale
orange to yellow legs (6).  The male merlin’s crown, back,
uppertail and upperwings are light greyish-blue and it has
contrasting black upper flight feathers. There is a black streak
running through the centre of the feathers on the upperparts,
and its light reddish-brown chest has large, dark brown speckles
(6) (7). Light grey shading surrounds the pale cheeks of the
male, and it has very faint moustache markings under each eye.
The throat is white (6). The merlin’s underwings appear dark
with uniform markings, and it h