Bird
Merlin
Falco columbarius
A winter visitor to Louisiana, found in all 64 parishes and 6 habitats.
- Here
- Winter and on migration
- Nesting
- Not known to nest here
- Range
- All 64 parishes
- Habitats
- 6

At a glance
- Group
- Birds
- Here
- Winter and on migration
- Nesting
- Not known to nest here
- Range
- All 64 parishes
- Habitats
- 6
- Habitat models
- Winter
Where it lives
The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.
Habitats in Louisiana 6
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.
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.
Flat, sandy Coastal Plain pine woodlands, wetter than sandhills and denser than savannas.
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.
Other habitats in its models (61)
Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Louisiana. Those recorded in Louisiana first, the rest by region.
In Louisiana 1
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Catahoula Barrens Winter.
Elsewhere in the South (43)
- 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.
- 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.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Nepheline Syenite Glade Winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie 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 (13)
- 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 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 (Lake/River/Pond) Winter.
Seasons in Louisiana
- Migratory: does not nest here, in 30 of 64 parishes.
- Winter: does not nest here, in 39 of 64 parishes.
Also found in its main habitats
Its main habitats in Louisiana, 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.
Swamps
Birds 135
- Seaside SparrowAmmodramus maritimus
- Wilson's PloverCharadrius wilsonia
- Eurasian WigeonAnas penelope
- Louisiana WaterthrushSeiurus motacilla
- Northern ParulaParula americana
- Prothonotary WarblerProtonotaria citrea
- Rose-breasted GrosbeakPheucticus ludovicianus
- Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpres
- Acadian FlycatcherEmpidonax virescens
- AnhingaAnhinga anhinga
- DunlinCalidris alpina
- Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellus
Plants 237
- Black Highbush BlueberryVaccinium fuscatum
- Dahoon HollyIlex cassine
- May HawthornCrataegus aestivalis
- Dense-flower SmartweedPersicaria densiflora
- Carolina AshFraxinus caroliniana
- Water HickoryCarya aquatica
- Swamp TupeloNyssa biflora
- Bent SedgeCarex styloflexa
- Cypress-swamp SedgeCarex joorii
- Dark-green SedgeCarex venusta
- Fringed SedgeCarex crinita
- Ravenfoot SedgeCarex crus-corvi
Disturbed and introduced wetlands
Birds 179
- Black TernChlidonias niger
- Black-chinned HummingbirdArchilochus alexandri
- BobolinkDolichonyx oryzivorus
- Bronzed CowbirdMolothrus aeneus
- Black RailLaterallus jamaicensis
- Chestnut-sided WarblerDendroica pensylvanica
- DickcisselSpiza americana
- Magnolia WarblerDendroica magnolia
- Nelson's Sharp-tailed SparrowAmmodramus nelsoni
- Red-breasted NuthatchSitta canadensis
- Rufous HummingbirdSelasphorus rufus
- Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensis
Plants 20
- Slender FimbryFimbristylis autumnalis
- Purple SpikerushEleocharis atropurpurea
- Blue MistflowerConoclinium coelestinum
- BagpodGlottidium vesicarium
- Tropical FlatsedgeCyperus surinamensis
- Blunt Spike RushEleocharis obtusa
- False DaisyEclipta prostrata
- Bristly SedgeCarex comosa
- Shortbeak BeaksedgeRhynchospora nitens
- Southern Marsh YellowcressRorippa teres
- Sensitive FernOnoclea sensibilis
- Ditch FimbryFimbristylis schoenoides
Prairies and grasslands
Birds 69
- Grasshopper SparrowAmmodramus savannarum
- Scissor-tailed FlycatcherTyrannus forficatus
- Sprague's PipitAnthus spragueii
- DickcisselSpiza americana
- Horned LarkEremophila alpestris
- Western MeadowlarkSturnella neglecta
- Black-bellied PloverPluvialis squatarola
- Cackling GooseBranta hutchinsii
- House FinchCarpodacus mexicanus
- KilldeerCharadrius vociferus
- Lark SparrowChondestes grammacus
- Long-billed CurlewNumenius americanus
Plants 160
- Rydbergs Blazing StarLiatris hirsuta
- Rough Blazing-starLiatris aspera
- Manyflower Marsh-pennywortHydrocotyle umbellata
- Barrens Silky AsterSymphyotrichum pratense
- Twistleaf GoldenrodSolidago tortifolia
- Carolina ThistleCirsium carolinianum
- Lindheimer's BeeblossomGaura lindheimeri
- Pink Evening-primroseOenothera speciosa
- Showy Evening-primroseOenothera grandis
- White Prairie CloverDalea candida
- Prairie-tea CrotonCroton monanthogynus
- Gulf CrotonCroton punctatus
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)





























































