Monograph
New
By: Frank Rennie(Author), Ian Newton(Foreword By)
240 pages, colour photos, colour & b/w illustrations
![The Merlin]( "The Merlin")
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About this book
Contents
Customer reviews
Biography
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About this book
The Merlin Falco columbarius is Europe's smallest falcon, and its breeding presence is often regarded as a key indicator of a healthy natural environment. A highly adaptable species, it displays a variety of intriguing and contrasting behaviours across its extensive Northern Hemisphere range.
Frank Rennie has spent many years observing and researching the characteristics of this important raptor. His landmark volume brings together for the first time many important sources of information from Europe, Asia and North America to better explain the complex and adaptive nature of the Merlin, which makes it such a fascinating bird to observe.
The book provides in-depth coverage of the complex origins and behaviours of the Merlin, from its obscure fossil ancestors through to the contemporary challenges it faces from habitat destruction, environmental pollution and climate change. Close investigation of its hunting methods, habitat selection and breeding activities reveals some surprising regional differences that offer a new understanding of this critically important, elusive and quietly majestic indicator species.
Contents
Foreword by Ian Newton
Preface
Acknowledgements
1. An overview
2. Fossils, phylogeny and falcons
3. Descriptions, distribution and population dynamics
4. Merlin country
5. Food and feeding behaviour
6. Breeding biology
7. Movements and migration
8. Predators, parasites and pollutants
9. Merlins and human interactions
10. Habitat management and conservation
Appendices
A. Records of prey
B. Scientific names of species mentioned
Bibliography
Index
Customer Reviews (1)
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My favourite small falcon
By
Keith
28 Aug 2025
Written for Paperback
This small dashing falcon is with me in Hampshire in small numbers each winter, with perhaps 10-20 in the New Forest, and maybe a similar number along the coast and in a few inland locations. We know so little about them that these numbers are a pure guess. What is not in doubt is that, for me, any day when I see a Merlin is a good day. Often the sighting is brief as the bird zips past me, often in pursuit of a small passerine. My Merlins are with me from early autumn through to late winter with a clear arrival peak in October and November.
This book looks at all aspects of the Merlin’s year, with an equal balance of information from Europe and North America, where there is a similar movement south. The author, Frank Rennie, has watched Merlins in Scotland for many years and has gathered all that is known about the species from around 700 references.
Starting with an overview, he looks at the fossil history of falcons and then explains what is known about the distribution and population dynamics of the species and its various races. Much of the book is about the breeding season, which is when these shy birds can be studied. There is a section on movements and migration which interested me most, and then a look at the challenges to Merlins from predators, parasites and pollutants, their human interactions and also conservation.
Personally, I wanted to know more about wintering Merlins as that’s what we see, and although the book does not give details, the BTO website shows there have been only eight recoveries in Hampshire. Three were from Northumberland, two from Durham, plus singles from West Yorkshire, Scotland and Wales. What the book does tell us is that some UK Merlins (mainly males) remain close to the breeding areas all year. Further north, particularly in Scotland, there is a regular influx of Icelandic Merlins, while Scandinavian and Russian Merlins make longer migration journeys to overwinter in the regions of Southern Europe extending to the northwest coast of Africa. It is unlikely that I ever see these birds.
This book provides a lot of information in one place about a secretive bird and I enjoyed learning more about a bird that always brightens up a winter day.
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Biography
Frank Rennie was Professor of Sustainable Rural Development at the University of the Highlands and Islands, Scotland, and is a Research Associate at the UHI Environmental Research Institute. His research interests include human ecology and new approaches to online networking for the clear communication of higher education and science.
Monograph
New
By: Frank Rennie(Author), Ian Newton(Foreword By)
240 pages, colour photos, colour & b/w illustrations
"In this book, Frank Rennie has done a magnificent job of pulling together historical and new findings, and setting this out in an engaging and readable manner [...] no other publication on the species provides such a thorough and comprehensive review. This book will be a delight to raptor enthusiasts in particular, and also to any other birders keen to learn more about this enigmatic and delightful bird."
– Dr Ian Newton (taken from the Foreword)
"This is a special, rather magical book. Frank Rennie captures the spell of observing the Merlin perfectly. This impressively comprehensive monograph draws on first hand fieldwork in the Outer Hebrides and a global literature of more than 900 references. Beautifully illustrated, and lucidly written, this monograph is a significant addition to the canon of raptor classics."
– Professor Des Thompson, former Principal Adviser on Biodiversity with NatureScot
