Merline is the smallest European falcons with 23-33 cm of total-length. The males clearly remain behind with 155-180 g substances behind the size of female Merline (188-210 g) and also are from those to the slate-dreads plumage the upper side to distinguish.
Occurrences Merline brood in open, only little with trees of passed terrains, preferably in bog-areas, tundras, dune-landscapes and mountain-regions; but also light forest-areas and the edge-zones of dense forests belong to the Brutareal. The spread-area of the approximately 10 races stretches over the north of Europe, Asia and North America. At the farthest south breeds Merline in the prairie-areas of Montana and North Dakota (USA) as well as. in the steppe-areas Südsibiriens and Kazakhstan. In the mountains Zentralasiens, Merline brood even even farther southern (as far as to the Tian Shan).
Eastern Merlinrassen become bigger than European birds; the biggest form is Falco columbarius lymani from central-Asia with maximum 24,2 cm (males) as well as. 26,3 cm (females) opposite wing-length maximum 21 cm as well as. 22,8 cm with European Merlinen (Falco columbarius aesalon).
Zugverhalten As migratory birds, Merline hike in the winter after west and Southern Europe, North-Africa and Near east as well as. until after Turkmenien, Kirghizia and Afghanistan. Merline like to spend the winter in Central Europe in the little Mars and on the islands of the north, and Baltic sea as well as on wide meadows, and farmland.
Way of life Here, they hunt small-birds mainly on the day, under it especially frequently finches buntings, throttles, Pieper and Schmätzer; also swallows, larks, starlings and Limikolen (Regenpfeiferartige) carry off Merline during the train and in the hibernation-area. Bigger birds only rarely are beaten. Usually, these few falcons catch its loot-animals in the air with what they befall from above in the rapid, steep nosedive ago or from a slower (60 km per hour), ground-approaches flight of the side or grabs from below. Only to the low part (at most 10 percent of its food), Merline catch also small-mammals (Lemminge, mice and shrews) and rarely only bigger insects. Than Ansitze to spotting from loot as well as as silence-attendants, they look for higher mounds, soils or low groves for itself.
Reproduction As broadly usually with falcons, Merline don't build any own eyries but don't set aside its 4-5 (more rarely 3-7) eggs in flat ground-hollows. Occasionally, they take over also last year's eyries of other gripping-birds as well as nests from crows, Kolkraben or ringlet-deaf persons without still changing however the existing tree-work somehow. Only occasionally, Merline insert its ground-nests with grass little from.
The brood-period usually begins in May; mainly the female broods (from the last egg at) 28-32 days, until that hatches bedunten young-falcons whitish. its second Dunenkleid is brownish-gray above and only below still whitish. During the brood and the first 10 days after slipping, in which intensively hudert the female the nestlings, the male bird creates the loot alone along and hands it over to its female at certain attendants within the eyrie-precinct.
The boys are befiedert almost completely with 18 days and abandoned to the age of 25-27 days the nest; Ground-nests often are given up already sooner. Young Merline stay together with its parents even further 6 weeks until they become completely independent. They attain the sexually mature approximately against end of the 1. Year of life. Possibly Merlinpaare remain away together also over several years, anyway certain nests frequently are used many times consecutively.
Crows, ravens and even bigger gripping-birds are attacked by Merlinen so severely in the vicinity of their nests that these nest-robbers normally do a big bow around the eyrie-surroundings of a Merlinpaares; even food-warehouses of the brooding falcons, in visibility of the nest aimed, is usually spared by crows. The highest known age of wild Merlinen amounts to 10 years.
Endangering Merline are on the red list of the endangered winter-guests with us.
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