Adult male merlin

The merlin is Britain’s smallest bird of prey, as it is not much larger than a blackbird. The male merlin has a blue-grey back, and the females are brownish-grey to dark brown. This one is male.
Merlins feed on small birds. They chase their prey flying low to the ground. They nest on the ground, and can be found on heaths, and in reed beds and bogs.
Medieval noblewomen, such as Mary Queen of Scots, used merlins for sport to hunt skylarks. Falconers still work with merlins today, hunting quarry as small as sparrows or as large as doves.