30 THE BLACK MERLIN, 
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No. 216. 
BLACK MERLIN. 
A. O, U. No. 3578. Falco columbarius suckleyi Ridgw. 
Synonyms.—Suck.ey'’s Meruin. BrLack Pickon Hawk. 
Description.—4 dults; Similar to F. columbarius but much darker. Adult male 
in high plumage: Above blackish slate, nearly black on hind-neck, definitely black 
on lesser wing-coverts; pileum and occiput finely streaked with dusky ; remaining 
upper plumage sharply streaked by black shafts of feathers; flight-feathers black 
on exposed surfaces, the white spotting plainly visible from below but much 
reduced in extent; tail black above on exposed portion, narrowly tipped with 
white, below crossed by three obsolescent white bars (appearing only on inner 
webs), the distal bar nearly two inches from tip to tail; below as in F. columbarius 
but streaks sharper, heavier, and nearly uniform sooty black; tawny wash of 
sides, thighs, and flanks heavier. Adult female, and male in more usual plumage: 
Above warm brownish black, the blue present as a gloss but much reduced in 
intensity, white streaks on sides of neck tending to invade nape; spotting of 
wings more extensive and often tawny-tinged ; tail crossed by four subterminal 
bars, of which two visible from above, white or tinged with tawny; underparts 
more heavily tinged with tawny and streaks a little more diffuse, heavier and 
tending to confluence on sides. Young: Changes as in F. columbarius but always 
darker. Size as in preceding. 
Recognition Marks.—Little hawk size; blackish or slaty above ; throat finely 
pencilled with black; underparts heavily streaked with black (or barred in 
young). 
Nesting.—Nest: in holes high in trees. Eggs: not yet taken—presumably 
much like those of preceding form. 
General Range.—Vacific coast district from northern California to Sitka, 
east at least along eastern slopes of Cascades and Blue Mountains in Oregon and 
Washington. 
Range in Washington.—Not common resident on West-side; probably in- 
tergrades with F colwmbarius in Cascade Mountains. 
Authorities.— ? Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv. IX. 1858, 9 & 10 (part). 
F. suckleyi, Allen, B. N. O. C. VI. 1881, 128. Rh. Kb. Ra. B. E. 
Specimens.—(U. of W.) Prov. E. 
BLACK MERLINS are fairly common thruout the country lying be- 
tween the Cascade Range and the Pacific Ocean. They are most numerous 
during migrations, but a few pairs remain with us during the summer for 
the sake of raising a family. 
During the fall and early spring they are most often to be met with in 
the open prairie country, and on the extensive tide flats that are to be found 
along Puget Sound. In such localities there is always an abundance of the 
smaller migratory birds, which seem to make up almost the entire sum and 
substance of their food supply. These, so far as T have seen, are invariably 
