![]() ![]() ![]() I say that with much affection for them and with thousands of kestrel kills to prove these are not necessarily damning differences. Kestrels are thin-winged, flat-chested, under-powered and lack acceleration compared to merlins. A low-altitude, clipping flight at feeding birds provides kestrels plenty opportunity to kill brief chases at flushed singles can follow these sneak attacks, but that’s about as far as most kestrels will pursue. They can, but it’s a tactic they rarely have to use. This is not to say that under some circumstances they can not catch small birds in direct pursuit. Although both species’ target quarries and captive husbandry overlap, their hunting styles and natural history sit at opposite ends of a spectrum.Īmerican kestrels hunt by ambush. From the falconer’s perspective, there are several important differences between American kestrels and merlins. A small, pale falcon flashing through a flock of cowbirds at a distance could be either of three species.īut serious birders, banders and experienced falconers should all be able to “tell a hawk from a handsaw” and a kestrel from a merlin with a quick glassing of binoculars. The constant wind and cold of the high plains mold local kestrels into hard flyers, and they hunt birds frequently. Some wintering kestrels are larger than jacks and almost as pale as prairie merlins. Kestrels are brightly-hued and merlins less so, but otherwise both are “small, buoyant falcons, easy to confuse.”Īnd sometimes this is true: In the Texas panhandle, for example, where wintering American kestrels and merlins of two subspecies (plus prairie falcons) all share the same sky, it can take a careful look to tell one from another. The Merlin Falcon, a beautiful, fast and deadly predator.By Matt Mullenix, (C) 2003, Baton Rouge, LAĪccording to some bird guides, there is little difference between a merlin and a kestrel beyond color. ![]() It was a dark dreary foggy day but she took off in a blast of snow so fast that I almost missed her completely. high-resĬhristmas Day 2017, another Merlin Falcon posed for me. high-resĪnd we're off! The Merlin Falcon is an extremely fast flyer, it keeps flapping most of the time and seldom glides in flight. The Merlin used its claws to help pull the hairball out and is now giving it a quick look, and then drops it. The bird is not able to digest larger bones, so it throws up a pellet regularly, just like owls do. Well, not an actual hairball but something similar. In this photo, the Merlin Falcon pauses its exercises to throw up a hairball. This Merlin Falcon continues stretching, here we have the tail fan as well as the extended wing. This one was in the middle of it's stretching exercises, it's fanning its tail here. However there are a few nests in town, but they are very rare. so we mostly see them in Fort Edward as they pass thru. Merlin Falcons are migratory, they summer in Canada where they breed, and they winter in Florida. They will also take mice, lizards and other small critters. they are extremely fast and maneuverable predators. They specialize in hunting small birds and large insects such as dragonflies, which it catches on the wing. The Merlin Falcon is a beautiful but fierce predator. ![]()
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