Trinidad: Merlin - Falco columbarius

Our group was treated to a good diversity of "raptors" during the trip mostly on Trinidad. Other than the Merlin here, we saw Turkey and Black Vultures, Osprey, Pearl Kite (!!!), Double-toothed Kite, Common Black Hawk, Great Black Hawk, Savanna Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Gray Hawk, Short-tailed Hawk, Zone-tailed Hawk, Yellow-headed Caracara, Peregrine Falcon and the Long-winged Harrier. Most of these species were seen in flight, so no photos from me, but this Merlin was on a snag along one of our drives, so we stopped to look.

We saw Merlins on several days, more often than I had expected. Have since learned that most of the eastern breeding Merlins are the nominate race Falco columbarius combarius, aka Boreal or "Taiga" Merlin. They are highly migratory, with the majority heading south of the U.S. border for the winter, many enjoying hunting grounds in the West Indies, and some going as far south as Peru! Same bird looking to the right:

This bird "looked" large, although apparent size is often misleading. Female Merlins are 25-30% larger than the males, and the absence of rufous on the flanks and legs is also consistent with a female, but I'll leave such judgements to GGRO folk and others. As you can see here, Merlins have weak mustache stripes compared to most falcons, and show prominent vertical spots on the underparts.