American Kestrel
male
(detail)
Don Eckelberry
Eagles,
Hawks and
Falcons of the World
(1968)
by Brown and Amadon
McGraw-Hill, New York.
The facial pattern
of this 10 inch bird is striking, highlighted by
two well-defined stripes, and black eyespot on the
nape. Males have gray-blue wings and rufous cap,
back and tail.
Females have barred
rufous upper parts, a brown back, wings, and tail
with black bars. Juveniles are more barred above
and streaked below.
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Merlin
male
(detail)
Don Eckelberry
Eagles,
Hawks and Falcons of the World (1968)
by Brown and Amadon
McGraw-Hill, New York.
The facial pattern
of this 12 inch bird is less striking than that of
the American Kestrel; the mustache is poorly
defined. The underside striations appear as
stripes, and the dark tail has light bars. Males
have slate blue-gray back and wings. Females and
juveniles are like males but dark brown
above.
Stanford Note. In
winter, a male is often found atop a redwood on
Amherst Avenue just off Stanford Avenue. So
reliable is its annual return, that Kendric Smith
has produced a web page documenting its
stay:
www.stanford.edu/~kendric/birds/
Merlie.html
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