Merlin
Falco columbarius Linnaeus, 1758
The merlin (Falco columbarius) is a bird of prey in the family Falconidae, subfamily Falconinae, and order Falconiformes. It is a small bird with an adult body mass from 162 to 212 g and a wingspan from 50 to 70 cm.
Quick facts about the merlin
The merlin is a migratory, aerial carnivore of woodland habitat, with a geographic range of 26,330,000 km². It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 162 g – 212 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 50 cm – 70 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 12.5 years – 16 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- woodlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 30 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4 – 4.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 months – 17.9 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Aerialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the merlin?
Photos of the merlin
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the merlin live?
Not recorded
What is the merlin?
The merlin (Falco columbarius) is a small species of falcon from the Northern Hemisphere, with numerous subspecies throughout North America and Eurasia. A bird of prey, the merlin breeds in the northern Holarctic; some migrate to subtropical and northern tropical regions in winter. Males typically have wingspans of 53–58 centimetres (21–23 in), with females being slightly larger. They are swift fliers and skilled hunters, which specialize in preying on small birds in the size range of sparrows to doves and medium-sized shorebirds. In recent decades, merlin populations in North America have been significantly increasing, with some merlins becoming so well adapted to city life that they forgo migration; in Europe, populations increased up to about 2000, but have been steady subsequently. The merlin has for centuries been well regarded as a falconry bird.
From the Wikipedia article “Merlin (bird)” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Merlin_%28bird%29&oldid=1384364114), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the merlin sound like?
Is the merlin endangered?
The merlin is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the merlin classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderFalconiformes
- familyFalconidae
- genusFalco
- SpeciesFalco columbarius Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Falco colombarius, Falco lapidarius, Falco lithofalco, Falco smitellus, Falco temerarius, Hierax caesius
Other names and names in other languages (110)
- Bullet hawkEnglish
- Le Petit CaporalEnglish
- Little blue CorporalEnglish
- Pigeon falconEnglish
- Pigeon hawkEnglish
- يؤيؤArabic
- الشاهين الصغيرArabic
- حمامة هوكArabic
- EsmerellónAragonese
- ZaparinAsturian
- zaperínAsturian
- DerbnikAzerbaijani
- Ördəktutan qızılquşAzerbaijani
- sərçəçalanAzerbaijani
- ДзербнікBelarusian
- Сокал-дрымлюкBelarusian
- Малък соколBulgarian
- Ar falc'hun moanBreton
- esmerlaCatalan
- ᏌᎾᏩCherokee
- Кӑвакарчӑн кӑйкӑрChuvash
- dřemlík tundrovýCzech
- cudyll bachWelsh
- Cudyllod BachWelsh
- dværgfalkDanish
- ΝανογέρακοGreek
- ΝανοφάλκονοGreek
- KolombfalkoEsperanto
- kolombofalkoEsperanto
- EsmerejónSpanish
- Falcón migratorioSpanish
- Halcón esmerejónSpanish
- HalconcitoSpanish
- väikepistrikEstonian
- Belatz txikiBasque
- ترم تای معمولیPersian
- ampuhaukkaFinnish
- SmyrilFaroese
- Faucon émerillonFrench
- Faucon des pigeonsFrench
- Gligligcf
- Gli-gli moutayngcr
- MeimealScottish Gaelic
- meirliúnScottish Gaelic
- mèirnealScottish Gaelic
- mèirnealanScottish Gaelic
- seabhag-ghorm an fhraoichScottish Gaelic
- seabhagan-gòrma an fhraoichScottish Gaelic
- EsmerillónGalician
- Falcón paxareiroGalician
- Shawk vegManx
- Grigri MònHaitian Creole
- בז גמדHebrew
- בז גמדיHebrew
- kis sólyomHungarian
- ԱղավնաբազեArmenian
- SmyrillIcelandic
- smeriglioItalian
- コチョウゲンボウJapanese
- ალალიGeorgian
- КъаргъэKabardian
- ЖағалтайKazakh
- ТұрымтайKazakh
- 쇠황조롱이Korean
- startsakalisLithuanian
- paprastasis startsakalisLithuanian
- purva piekūnsLatvian
- мал соколMacedonian
- Seqer ta' DenbuMaltese
- Хайргууна шонхорMongolian
- smellekenDutch
- dvergfalkNorwegian
- Bibiigiwizens (Piipiigiisens)Ojibwa
- Falki ShouruPapiamento
- Kinikini GrandiPapiamento
- drzemlikPolish
- esmerilhãoPortuguese
- Falcun merlinRomansh
- şoim de iarnăRomanian
- Șoim de iarnăRomanian
- sşoim de iarnăRomanian
- кобецRussian
- дербникRussian
- дербничекRussian
- дербушокRussian
- дермлигRussian
- дробникRussian
- мышатникRussian
- соколокRussian
- ХардааччыYakut
- CizašfálliNorthern Sami
- CizášfálliNorthern Sami
- deaggafálliNorthern Sami
- rievssathabátNorthern Sami
- sokol kobecSlovak
- mali sokolSlovenian
- skifteri i vogëlAlbanian
- мали сокоSerbian
- Mali sokoSerbian
- Mali soko - Мали сокоSerbian
- Mali soko / Мали сокоSerbian
- stenfalkSwedish
- เหยี่ยวเมอร์ลินThai
- boz doganTurkish
- boz doğanTurkish
- Бора хокпештээр шаңгырTuvinian
- Підсоколик малийUkrainian
- TurumtoyUzbek
- Cắt lưng xámVietnamese
- 灰背隼Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the merlin
Other species in the same genus Falco.
Peregrine falcon
Falco peregrinus
Common kestrel
Falco tinnunculus
Eurasian hobby
Falco subbuteo
Gyrfalcon
Falco rusticolus
Red-footed falcon
Falco vespertinus
Lesser kestrel
Falco naumanni
CompareMerlin vs Peregrine falconMerlin vs Common kestrelMerlin vs Eurasian hobbyMerlin vs Gyrfalcon
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is a merlin?
The merlin is a bird of prey in the family Falconidae and genus Falco.
How big is a merlin?
The merlin is a small bird with an adult body mass from 162 to 212 g and a wingspan from 50 to 70 cm.
What does a merlin eat?
The merlin is a carnivore.
Is the merlin endangered?
No. The merlin is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a merlin live?
The merlin has a lifespan of 12.5 years, with values up to 16 years reported.
How many eggs does a merlin lay?
The merlin has a clutch size of 4.5 eggs and one clutch per year, with an incubation period of 30 days.
Who named the merlin?
The merlin was named Falco columbarius by Linnaeus, 1758.
What are other names for the merlin?
Other English names for the merlin are Pigeon hawk, Bullet hawk, Pigeon falcon, Le Petit Caporal and Little blue Corporal.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Merlin (Falco columbarius). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/merlin
“Merlin (Falco columbarius).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/merlin.
@misc{merlin_2026,
title = {Merlin (Falco columbarius)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/merlin},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}