Falco sparverius HOW TO IDENTIFY: * Length: 8.5 inches Wingspan: 21 inches * Short, dark, hooked beak * Small, long-tailed hawk * Long, narrow, pointed wings * Gray crown * White cheeks * Two black mustache marks * Black spot at rear of crown on both sides * Seen from below, flight feathers are pale with dark barring * Juveniles and immature females like adult female Adult male: * Rust patch on crown * Rust nape, breast, back and tail * Rust tail has a broad black subterminal band and a narrow white terminal band * Pale belly * Blue-gray wing coverts * Dark flight feathers with pale subterminal spots creating a "string of pearls" * Black spots on scapulars, wing coverts and flanks Adult female: * Pale buff breast streaked with brown * Rust-brown nape, back and wing coverts * Back and wing coverts barred heavily with black * Rust-brown tail with numerous dark bars of even width and a narrow white terminal band Immature male: * Barred rust-brown back barred heavily with black * Streaked breast Similar species: Sharp-shinned Hawk is of similar size, but has rounded wings and much different patterning. Merlin is larger with broader-based wings, lacks rust tones to back and wing coverts, has a single mustache mark and strongly checkered underwings. Full_View |
Falco columbarius HOW TO IDENTIFY: * Length: 12 inches Wingspan: 23 inches * Short, dark, hooked beak * Small, long-tailed hawk * Long, pointed wings, broad at the base * Thin, pale black mustache mark * Underwings checkered with black and white * Juveniles and immature females like adult female * Three distinct races occur in North America Taiga Merlin (F. c. columbarius) * Breeds in northern Canadian boreal forests from Newfoundland to Alaska and winters in the southern United States; migrants occur frequently along both coasts but are rare inland * Flight feathers dark above * Faint dark mustache mark Adult male: * Dark blue-gray back, paler than suckleyi but darker than richardsoni * Dark tail has wide, complete, blue-gray bands Adult female * Dark, brownish back * Brown tail has narrow, complete buffy bands Prairie Merlin (F. c. richardsonii) * Breeder and resident in prairies of south-central Canada and the upper Midwest of the United States with some moving south to New Mexico * Large spots on flight feathers visible from above * Lacks mustache mark Adult male: * Pale supercilium * Pale brown cheeks * Pale blue-gray back * Blue gray tail with narrow black bands Adult female: * Pale supercilium * Pale brown cheeks * Pale brown back * Complete white bands on brown tail Black Merlin (F.c.suckleyi) * Resident in upper Pacific Coast forests from British Colombia to Alaska, occasionally straying to New Mexico in winter * Very dark back, wings and head * Dark mustache mark * Flight feathers dark above Adult male: * Blue-gray cast seen in good light * Black tail with incomplete blue-gray bands Adult female: * Dark tail with very faint tail bands Similar species: American Kestrel is similar in size and shape, but has two mustache marks, reddish-brown about head, narrower wings and lacks checkerboard pattern of underwings. Peregrine is much larger with a much bolder mustache mark and not so strongly checkered underwings. Prairie Falcon has a bolder mustache mark, white between the eye and the mustache mark and black axillars. Full_View |
Falco peregrinus HOW TO IDENTIFY: * Length: 15 inches Wingspan: 40 inches * Large falcon * Long, pointed wings extend to tail tip at rest * Short, dark, hooked beak Adult: * Black cap and moustache * Pale throat and breast * Barred belly * Gray upperparts * Underwings barred black and white * Long, thin tail with gray and white bands * Arctic race is paler; Northwest race is darker Immature: * Dark brown cap and moustache * Dark brown upperparts * Streaked underparts * Some races have paler heads Similar species: The long, pointed wings and long tail mark this bird as being a falcon. It is most likely to be confused with other falcons. Merlin is much smaller, has a less-distinct mustache mark, and a more strongly barred tail. Prairie Falcon has a black underwing patch and lacks the strong moustache mark. Gyrfalcon is larger with broader wings and tail and lacks the bold moustache mark. When perched, other falcons' wings do not reach the end of the tail as they do in the Peregrine. Full_View |
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