Merlin (bird) this phenomenon is due to the fluctuations of supplementary food stocks discussed above. Merlin (bird) The merlin ("Falco columbarius") is a small species of falcon from the Northern Hemisphere, with numerous subspecies throughout North America and Eurasia. A bird of prey once known colloquially as a pigeon hawk in North America, the merlin breeds in the northern Holarctic; some migrate to subtropical and northern tropical regions in winter. Males typically have wingspans of , with females being slightly larger. They are swift fliers and skilled hunters who specialize in preying on small birds in the size range of sparrows to
Henderson archaic pigeon Henderson archaic pigeon The Henderson archaic pigeon ("Bountyphaps obsoleta"), or Henderson Island archaic pigeon, is an extinct bird in the Columbidae, or pigeon family. It was described in 2008 as a new genus and species from subfossil remains found on Henderson Island in the Pitcairn Group of south-eastern Polynesia. The genus was named for both the ship HMS "Bounty" with which, following the famous mutiny, Europeans first discovered the Pitcairn Islands, and for the former bounty the bird provided as food; with the Greek "phaps" (wild pigeon). The specific epithet comes from the Latin adjective for "extinct" or "forgotten about".