The idea that Merlins take only House Sparrows and Starlings is somewhere between pure hogwash and wishful thinking. More on a par with "My outdoor cat doesn't harm birds" than reality. Perhaps the relationship to these two species comes from the fact that they are the only two bird species allowed as bait in trapping/banding studies.
In fact, Merlins will take any small passerine and appear to enjoy toying with their intended meal. What prey remains studies we've seen indicate a wide variety of passerines were consumed. Much of the flight characteristics observed of Merlins is oriented around their in flight maneuvers around prey. At Cape May Pt., we were constantly awed and amazed by the antics of these little Blue Jacks and their heftier, brown female counterparts. There's some wonderful footage taken at a Cape May blind in the early 80s that I hope makes it to YouTube one of these days. A Rock Dove or Mourning Dove would be very unusual prey for a Merlin and, unless ill, too heavy for a Merlin to move very far. J -- John and Sue Gregoire Field Ornithologists Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory 5373 Fitzgerald Road Burdett,NY 14818-9626 Website: http://www.empacc.net/~kestrelhaven/ "Conserve and Create Habitat" -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --