Ned Brinkley always said they were called Pigeon Hawks because of the similar way they flapped their wings.
Linda Orkin On Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 2:18 PM, <con...@ithaca.edu> wrote: > HI Folks, > > I'm not an expert, but I watched a Merlin grab a Tree Swallow after a > chase of ~200 m(at Jamaica Bay out over the open water) and have seen it > catch and eat what was probably a House Finch (certainly not a pigeon) and > found remains of what was probably a House Sparrow at a nest in Ithaca. > > I wonder if the Merlin was formerly called a Pigeon Hawk, not > because of its preferred prey, but because of their similarity in size. > > John Confer > > -- > > 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/ > > -- > -- 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/ --
