These photos were taken in the Marin Headlands. Merlins are small falcons but not as small as the very colorful American Kestrel . Usually they are seen as a gray streak, zipping by.
Merlins take prey by hitting it with open feet.
Merlins feed on small birds, insects and small mammals. Merlins are excellent flyers and frequently take prey by in a fast horizontal flight rather than from a stoop. Merlins nest in abandoned crow, magpie or hawk nests but may nest in cavities in trees, on a cliff or on the ground in treeless country. The mustache marks that most falcons have may be difficult to see in some birds. The tail is black with gray banding.