Bird

Merlin

Falco columbarius · Falconidae · Falconiformes

Best monthsApr · Sep–Octmost records

Records2,032,424in 83 countries

Most seen inUnited States1,031,453 records

Red ListLeast concernIUCN status

About

Merlin in brief

The merlin (Falco columbarius) is a bird of the Falconidae family — species of bird.

Across the 83 countries we cover it has 2,032,424 published records, most of them from the United States, Canada and Sweden. It is strongly seasonal: records peak in April, September and October and fall to their lowest in June and July.

Its global conservation status is least concern on the IUCN Red List.

Records by month

All countries combined · the strongest months highlighted

JFMAMJJASOND

Where & when

When to look in each country

United States1,031,453 records · best Oct, Sep

Canada530,293 records · best Sep, May

Sweden148,869 records · best Sep, Apr

Denmark80,679 records · best Apr, Sep

Norway50,432 records · best Sep, Apr

United Kingdom43,668 records · best Oct, Jan

France27,446 records · best Oct, Nov

Spain18,368 records · best Dec, Jan

Netherlands16,381 records · best Oct, Sep

Belgium13,866 records · best Oct, Sep

Finland12,580 records · best Sep, Apr

Iceland5,920 records · best Sep, Aug

Cuba5,049 records · best Nov, Feb

Estonia4,550 records · best Sep, Oct

Germany4,356 records · best Oct, Sep

Ireland3,724 records · best Oct, Nov

Italy3,633 records · best Jan, Dec

Russia3,548 records · best Sep, May

Bahamas3,335 records · best Oct, Jan

Portugal3,113 records · best Dec, Jan

Türkiye2,022 records · best Jan, Oct

Trinidad and Tobago1,931 records · best Dec, Jan

Israel1,757 records · best Nov, Dec

Dominican Republic1,481 records · best Jan, Feb

Greece1,288 records · best Dec, Jan

Poland1,250 records · best Oct, Sep

Azerbaijan961 records · best Nov, Oct

Jamaica911 records · best Mar, Jan

Ukraine898 records · best Jan, Feb

Japan879 records · best Jan, Feb

Bulgaria656 records · best Jan, Feb

Iran652 records · best Jan, Dec

Czechia627 records · best Oct, Dec

Georgia579 records · best Oct, Nov

South Korea559 records · best Jan, Dec

Hungary493 records · best Oct, Jan

Kazakhstan475 records · best May, Oct

Austria378 records · best Oct, Apr

Mongolia318 records · best Sep, Oct

Switzerland258 records · best Oct, Dec

Dominica205 records · best Mar, Feb

Lithuania199 records · best Oct, Sep

Romania190 records · best Dec, Nov

Kyrgyzstan182 records · best May, Jul

Croatia155 records · best Jan, Nov

Antigua and Barbuda143 records · best Nov, Mar

Serbia140 records · best Jan, Dec

Slovakia127 records · best Jan, Dec

Haiti119 records · best Dec, Jan

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines117 records · best Mar, Jan

Uzbekistan113 records · best Mar, Apr

Belarus112 records · best Jan, Dec

Latvia109 records · best Oct, Apr

Cyprus88 records · best Apr, Nov

Saint Lucia85 records · best Mar, Jan

Iraq82 records · best Mar, Nov

Grenada70 records · best Feb, Mar

Barbados65 records · best Mar, Jan

Egypt56 records · best Mar, Jan

Slovenia49 records · best Oct, Nov

Algeria49 records · best Jan, Dec

Kuwait41 records · best Jan, Dec

Saint Kitts and Nevis33 records · best Dec, Jan

Moldova32 records · best Feb, Jan

Albania27 records · best Oct, Jan

Armenia27 records · best Apr, Feb

Palestine27 records · best Nov, Jan

Jordan22 records · best Mar, Feb

Luxembourg21 records · best Sep, Oct

Malta17 records · best Oct, Apr

Afghanistan15 records · best Dec, Jan

Tunisia14 records · best Dec, Feb

Lebanon8 records · best Dec, Mar

Bosnia and Herzegovina7 records · best Feb, Sep

Montenegro7 records · best Oct, Nov

North Macedonia7 records · best Feb, Mar

Qatar7 records · best Nov, Apr

Syria7 records · best Feb, Mar

Tajikistan5 records · best Apr, Feb

Turkmenistan4 records · best Jan, Mar

Kosovo2 records · best Mar, Jan

Libya2 records · best Jan, Oct

Andorra1 records · best Jan, Feb

Map

Where it has been recorded

Density of published records; brighter cells have more records.

Relatives

More of the Falconidae family

All birds

American Kestrel

Falco sparverius

American Kestrel

Eurasian Kestrel

Falco tinnunculus

Eurasian Kestrel