Merlin
Falco columbarius
Least Concern (IUCN Red List)Falcons and Caracaras
Photo: Proinsias Mac an Bheatha · Unsplash · Unsplash License (licence)
Call and song
Recording 1 · call
Recording 2
Recording 3
About the Merlin
Small and fierce falcon. Dark above and paler below, with streaking on the underparts; darkness of plumage varies geographically. Feeds mainly on birds captured in flight. Found in a variety of habitats from grasslands, open forests, and especially coastal areas with shorebirds. Flies powerfully on pointed wings with quick, continuous wingbeats.
Species account: eBird.org, fetched 2025-12-26 · How these pages are made
Where it has been recorded
Recorded in 141 of the 253 countries we have eBird lists for. Each opens that country's checklist.
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- Andorra
- Anguilla
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Armenia
- Aruba
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Belize
- Bermuda
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Cambodia
- Canada
- Caribbean Netherlands
- Cayman Islands
- China
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Cuba
- Curaçao
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- El Salvador
- Estonia
- Faroe Islands
- Finland
- France
- French Guiana
- Georgia
- Germany
- Gibraltar
- Greece
- Greenland
- Grenada
- Guadeloupe
- Guatemala
- Guernsey
- Guyana
- Haiti
- High Seas
- Honduras
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Iran
- Iraq
- Ireland
- Isle of Man
- Israel
- Italy
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Jersey
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kosovo
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Libya
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Martinique
- Mauritania
- Mexico
- Moldova
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Montserrat
- Morocco
- Myanmar
- Nepal
- Netherlands
- Nicaragua
- North Korea
- North Macedonia
- Norway
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palestinian Territory
- Panama
- Peru
- Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
- Puerto Rico
- Qatar
- Romania
- Russia
- Saint Barthélemy
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Martin (French part)
- Saint Pierre and Miquelon
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Saudi Arabia
- Serbia
- Sint Maarten
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Korea
- Spain
- Suriname
- Svalbard
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Syria
- Taiwan
- Tajikistan
- Thailand
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tunisia
- Türkiye
- Turkmenistan
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States
- United States Minor Outlying Islands
- Uzbekistan
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
- Virgin Islands (British)
- Virgin Islands (U.S.)
