📸 PhotoPhoto: Just a Prairie Boy from Calgary, AB, Canada · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Merlin
Falco columbarius (Merlin · コチョウゲンボウ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its average weight of 195 g is about the weight of three chicken eggs, and its body length of 33 cm is slightly longer than the long side of an A4 sheet of paper (about 30 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 It occasionally preys on agricultural insect pests such as grasshoppers and crickets (ADW "Economic Importance for Humans: Positive").
- 💡 It is used in falconry for hunting small game and is often released back into the wild after a season of training (ADW).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The Merlin is a small falcon that breeds in the northern parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. In Korea, it arrives nationwide in winter as an uncommon winter visitor.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its body length is 25–33 cm and its wingspan is 60–68 cm. The male has a gray back and a broad black band at the tip of the tail, while the female has a brown back and a pale brown belly with reddish-brown streaks.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It mainly preys on small birds such as larks, sparrows, and Bramblings, with birds making up about 80% of its diet along with small amounts of mammals and insects. Rather than building its own nest, it lays 3–6 eggs in empty crow nests, tree cavities, or cliff crevices.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
In the National List of Species of Korea, it is listed as an uncommon winter visitor that arrives nationwide.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2021) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22696453/154505853
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • doi.org — avilist.v2026
- • iucnredlist.org — 154505853
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000001574 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000001574
- • wikidata.org — Q131918
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Merlin prey fencepost Cochrane cropped.jpg
- • animaldiversity.org — Falco columbarius
- • species.nibr.go.kr — mainHome.do
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Andy Wilson · CC0 1.0
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.