Merlin (Falco columbarius)

It might be the smallest bird of prey in Europe, but the Merlin is a fearless hunter. It tends to catch its prey, usually small birds of up to 50g in weight, by approaching it low to the ground and making a final burst at speed to surprise its victim, often making an acrobatic twist of body and talons to clutch on to its target at the last moment. Such single-minded pursuit can make it unheedful of danger to itself; some Merlins perish in the act of chasing, by hitting obstacles outside their tunnel vision.

By Peter Swaine – Merlin, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=104352090

It can also be a very persistent hunter. Its chief prey items, larks, pipits and small waders, are not easy to catch, being highly agile in the air. But when a Merlin locks into a quarry it really locks; the two birds, hunter and prey, may twist and turn for minutes on end, the Merlin following every move of its intended victim’s escape-flight, occasionally breaking off to fly upwards to gain momentum before diving again. Again and again it will give chase, until one or the other bird becomes exhausted and the encounter ends.

This small falcon is a bird of the north, occupying a variety of habitats from true tundra and mountaintops to moorland and dunes; also, in winter, farmland and wetlands. One might say that almost any rough ground with an open aspect will do, although it is particularly drawn to rolling country and, for its breeding site it often selects the head of a valley, where sitting or attending birds can survey their surroundings. The eggs are laid on the ground amidst vegetation, especially heather, or alternatively, in the old nest of a crow on the branches of an isolated tree.

From ‘Birds: A Complete Guide to All British and European Species’, by Dominic Couzens. Published by Collins and reproduced with permission.