<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Merlin.jpg" style="width: 336px; height: 350px; " /></p>
<p>
	Name: Merlin -&nbsp;<em>Falco columbarius</em></p>
<p>
	Description: Small hawk. Long, pointed wings. Long, banded tail. Faint mustache mark. Brown streaking on chest and belly. Back unmarked gray or brown.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Height: 24-30 cm (9.4 - 13 in)</p>
<p>
	Wingspan:&nbsp;53-68 cm (20-29 in)</p>
<p>
	Weight: 165 g (males) and 230 g (females)&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Nesting Facts: Merlins do not build their own nests -- they take over old nests of other raptors or crows;&nbsp;Clutch size is 1-8 eggs; Eggs are variable rusty brown with brownish or chestnut markings</p>
<p>
	Habitat: Breeds in open country from open coniferous woodland to prairie, occasionally in adjacent suburbs. Winters in open woodland, grasslands, open cultivated fields, marshes, estuaries, and seacoasts.</p>
<p>
	<u>References</u></p>
<p>
	<i>The Cornell Lab of Ornithology: All About Birds.&nbsp;</i><a href="http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/merlin/lifehistory">http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/merlin/lifehistory</a>. Ithaca: New York. 2011.</p>
