Sorry about the quality of the pictures but yesterday on the Tyler arboretum bird walk we saw this raptor which at first looked like a merlin or sharp-shinned hawk to me, but when I came home and cropped the photos clearly it looked like a peregrine falcon. However everyone else that was there and some who only saw the pictures thinks it's a merlin. I say Peregrine What do you think?














sarah merion station, Pennsylvania zone 6B

Sarah,

Without a size reference to go by, it's kind of hard to be sure with your pictures (not criticizing the skill, I know it's hard to get good shots of a raptor high up in a tree!).

If the bird were close to the size of a crow, I would say it was almost certainly a Peregrine Falcon. If it were more the size of a robin or mockingbird, I would say it's a Merlin.

I'm leaning towards the former for two reasons, although I certainly could be wrong. In picture #3, there's a pretty good shot of the bird's "mustache", and while the lighting isn't good, it does appear to be rather distinct (good for Peregrine). And in the last picture, the wingtips appear to be as long as the tail (also good for Peregrine).

If you were certain on the size of the bird, that would certainly make a pretty solid case for Peregrine (which wouldn't be out of the question). This is one of those good ID problems that, over time, teaches us to be better birders - you learn which characteristics you need to see in the field in order to distinguish the two, and later, you don't even have to consult the field guides to know! Or at least, that's the theory; I'm not to that point yet!

Kevin Morgan
Baton Rouge, LA

Thanks Kevin. I did think it was a Merlin when I used my binoculars, but when I came home and cropped the pictures it reminded me of a Peregrine falcon.

sarah merion station, Pennsylvania zone 6B

Just going by GISS, I would say Merlin. It doesn't seem to be a large bird, either, and honestly, I would be shocked if a Peregrine stopped by Tyler. Not saying it's impossible, but a Merlin is much more likely given the location...

Jill

Benton, ME
Canon Digital Rebel XT
Canon EF70-300 F4-5.6 IS USM

Thanks Jill. I knew you would know!

sarah merion station, Pennsylvania zone 6B

I'm leaning towards Merlin. It sure would be helpful to know the size, since there's a noticeable difference between the two species. Also, I'll bet if you were thinking Merlin when you first saw it, that was probably a conscious or maybe subconscious reaction to the size and heft of it. If it had been a Peregrine, you'd have been thinking, wow, that's a big falcon!

Something about the proportions says Merlin to me. Merlins, I think, have a larger head compared with the body, and a rounder look to the head. If we knew the wing projection compared with the tail, that would be helpful, but I don't think any of the photos conclusively shows the wing length relative to the tail length. In that last photo, where you can see the wingtips, I think it is pretty much an optical illusion making that wing appear as long as it does. I think the tail is going back in one direction, and that wing that looks long is being viewed more in profile, giving the illusion of being as long as the tail. That's of course just an opinion, but one based on years of having to interpret photos as a field guide artist. I could be totally wrong, but that's how I'm reading that photo.

Also, if it were a Peregrine, I think the face would appear much more contrasting in pattern. Take a look at the area behind the "moustache" mark. Does it seem a bit darker than white to you? It does to me. If that's so, it would imply lots of streaking in that area, which is characteristic of a Merlin. A Peregrine would be straight white (or off-white, actually). Given the lighting, if it were a Peregrine, I think the "cheeks" would appear more gleaming white, and the "moustache" way darker. I'll admit that the photo does seem to show a strong "moustache" for a Merlin, but I think it would be far stronger if it were a Peregrine. I'm looking at the National Geographic Guide, and I think those illustrations show that malar mark to be way too subtle in the Merlin. Merlins really do have that mark, it's just not nearly as bold as the Peregrine.

Here's some illustrations. They're copyrighted by me and the publisher, so no one should use them or risk getting in serious trouble with Princeton U. Press.

I hope these help...(I've shown them to scale)

Thanks Kristin. Those are amazing drawings! I've never seen a merlin perched close up. I have seen them in flight. The size was hard to tell Much bigger than an american kestral smaller than a pileated woodpecker about the size of a sharp-shinned and or coopers.

It's a Merlin

sarah merion station, Pennsylvania zone 6B

Either one would be so cool for me to see! Aren't mysteries fun though!?


(Minnesota)