Bird
Merlin
Falco columbarius
Passes through Arkansas on migration. Found in all 75 counties, across 5 habitats.
- Here
- On migration
- Nesting
- Not known to nest here
- Range
- All 75 counties
- Habitats
- 5

At a glance
- Group
- Birds
- Here
- On migration
- Nesting
- Not known to nest here
- Range
- All 75 counties
- Habitats
- 5
- Habitat models
- Winter
Where it lives
The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.
Habitats in Arkansas 5
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Disturbed and introduced wetlands
Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.
Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.
Other habitats in its models (64)
Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Arkansas. Those recorded in Arkansas first, the rest by region.
In Arkansas 1
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Nepheline Syenite Glade Winter.
Elsewhere in the South (44)
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Large Natural Lakeshore Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Wooded Swamp Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Sea Island Beach Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Beach Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Dune and Maritime Grassland Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Xeric River Dune Winter.
- Central and Upper Texas Coast Dune and Coastal Grassland Winter.
- Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Winter.
- Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet Prairie Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp Winter.
- Florida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Winter.
- Florida Big Bend Salt-Brackish Tidal Marsh Winter.
- Florida Dry Prairie Winter.
- Florida Panhandle Beach Vegetation Winter.
- Florida Peninsula Inland Scrub Winter.
- Floridian Highlands Freshwater Marsh Winter.
- Mississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Winter.
- South Florida Cypress Dome Winter.
- South Florida Everglades Sawgrass Marsh Winter.
- South Florida Mangrove Swamp Winter.
- South Florida Pine Rockland Winter.
- South Florida Shell Hash Beach Winter.
- South Florida Wet Marl Prairie Winter.
- South Texas Lomas Winter.
- Southeast Florida Beach Winter.
- Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Winter.
- Southern Blackland Tallgrass Prairie Winter.
- Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Winter.
- Southern Rocky Mountain Pinyon-Juniper Woodland Winter.
- Southwest Florida Beach Winter.
- Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Winter.
- Southwest Florida Dune and Coastal Grassland Winter.
- Texas Coastal Bend Beach Winter.
- Texas Saline Coastal Prairie Winter.
- Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Catahoula Barrens Winter.
Northeast (3)
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Sandy Beach Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Salt Marsh Winter.
West (1)
- North American Arid West Emergent Marsh Winter.
Land cover and other classes (15)
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore Winter.
- Developed, Low Intensity Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous Modifier Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Winter.
- Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier Winter.
- Recently Chained Pinyon-Juniper Areas Winter.
- South Texas Dune and Coastal Grassland Winter.
- South Texas Sand Sheet Grassland Winter.
- Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Slough Winter.
- Unconsolidated Shore Winter.
- Unconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune) Winter.
- Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Winter.
Seasons in Arkansas
- Migratory: does not nest here, in all 75 counties.
Also found in its main habitats
Its main habitats in Arkansas, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.
Disturbed and introduced wetlands
Birds 102
- Nelson's Sharp-tailed SparrowAmmodramus nelsoni
- Northern WaterthrushSeiurus noveboracensis
- Black TernChlidonias niger
- Black-necked StiltHimantopus mexicanus
- Caspian TernHydroprogne caspia
- Common LoonGavia immer
- Common TernSterna hirundo
- Forster's TernSterna forsteri
- Pied-billed GrebePodilymbus podiceps
- Red-breasted MerganserMergus serrator
- Western SandpiperCalidris mauri
- Sandhill CraneGrus canadensis
Plants 17
- Slender FimbryFimbristylis autumnalis
- Blue MistflowerConoclinium coelestinum
- BagpodGlottidium vesicarium
- Oklahoma SedgeCarex oklahomensis
- False DaisyEclipta prostrata
- Blunt Spike RushEleocharis obtusa
- Bristly SedgeCarex comosa
- Heart Leaf WillowSalix eriocephala
- Southern Marsh YellowcressRorippa teres
- Sensitive FernOnoclea sensibilis
- White WillowSalix alba
- Zigzag JointvetchAeschynomene rudis
Prairies and grasslands
Birds 40
- Grasshopper SparrowAmmodramus savannarum
- KilldeerCharadrius vociferus
- Scissor-tailed FlycatcherTyrannus forficatus
- Smith's LongspurCalcarius pictus
- Sprague's PipitAnthus spragueii
- Upland SandpiperBartramia longicauda
- BobolinkDolichonyx oryzivorus
- DickcisselSpiza americana
- Le Conte's SparrowAmmodramus leconteii
- Long-eared OwlAsio otus
- Painted BuntingPasserina ciris
- Horned LarkEremophila alpestris
Plants 187
- Susquehanna CherryPrunus pumila var. susquehanae
- Twistleaf GoldenrodSolidago tortifolia
- Missouri IronweedVernonia missurica
- Rydbergs Blazing StarLiatris hirsuta
- Rough Blazing-starLiatris aspera
- Manyflower Marsh-pennywortHydrocotyle umbellata
- Oklahoma Grass PinkCalopogon oklahomensis
- Purple SandgrassTriplasis purpurea
- Bushy GoldentopEuthamia leptocephala
- Sawtooth SunflowerHelianthus grosseserratus
- Barrens Silky AsterSymphyotrichum pratense
- New England AsterSymphyotrichum novae-angliae
Swamps
Birds 62
- Blue-winged TealAnas discors
- DunlinCalidris alpina
- Little Blue HeronEgretta caerulea
- RedheadAythya americana
- King RailRallus elegans
- Lapland LongspurCalcarius lapponicus
- Lesser ScaupAythya affinis
- Marsh WrenCistothorus palustris
- Northern ParulaParula americana
- Purple GallinulePorphyrio martinica
- White IbisEudocimus albus
- American PipitAnthus rubescens
Plants 223
- Black Highbush BlueberryVaccinium fuscatum
- Smallflower BlueberryVaccinium virgatum
- InkberryIlex glabra
- Hoary AzaleaRhododendron canescens
- Small-flower ThoroughwortEupatorium semiserratum
- Carolina AshFraxinus caroliniana
- Dense-flower SmartweedPersicaria densiflora
- Swamp TupeloNyssa biflora
- Water HickoryCarya aquatica
- Bent SedgeCarex styloflexa
- Cypress-swamp SedgeCarex joorii
- Fringed SedgeCarex crinita
Sources
- USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models (2001)
- USGS GAP winter habitat model for Merlin
- USGS Gap Analysis Project range maps (2001), modeled by watershed; migratory gives no dates
- NatureServe Explorer (CC BY 4.0), habitat names
- US Census TIGER/Line counties
- Names follow the USGS Gap Analysis Project (2001)
































































