Merlin

SCI Name:  Falco columbarius
Protonym:  Falco columbarius Syst.Nat.ed.10 p.90
Taxonomy:  Falconiformes / Falconidae / Falco
Taxonomy Code:  merlin
Type Locality:  America = South Carolina ex Catesby.
Author:  Linnaeus
Publish Year:  1758
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

FALCO
(Falconidae; † Eurasian Hobby F. subbuteo) Late L. falco, falconis  falcon  < L. flectere  to curve (alluding to the curved talons) (cf. Late Gr. φαλκων phalkōn, φαλκωνος phalkōnos  falcon). "41. FALCO.  Rostrum aduncum, basi cera instructum.  Caput pennis arcte tectum.  Lingua bifida.  ...  Aquilæ dictæ fuere Falcones majores, pedibus hirsutis.  ...  Falconaria avs ad aucupium & venatum instruendi Falcones transiit in Scientiam; inter auctores plurimos eminet d'Esparon Falconaria. Francs. 1617. quart." (Linnaeus 1758). This genus is the second diagnosed in avian nomenclature. "Falco Linné, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 88.  Type, by subsequent designation, Falco subbuteo Linné. (A. O. U. Committee, 1886.)" (Peters, 1931, I, 284); "Falco Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., 10th ed., 1, p. 88, 1758—type, by subs. desig. (Brit. Orn. Un-Comm., List of British Birds, p. 149, 1915),² Falco Subbuteo Linnaeus.   ...   ² The A. O. U. Committee (1886), though generally credited with designating the genotype, unfortunately failed to do so, but merely determined Falco subbuteo as type by employing the inadmissable method of elimination." (Hellmay & Conover, 1949, Cat. Birds Americas, Pt. I (4), p. 293); "Falco Linnaeus, 1758, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, p. 88. Type, by subsequent designation (G. R. Gray, 1840, List Gen. Birds, p. 3), "F. peregrinus L." = Falco peregrinus Tunstall." (Amadon in Peters, 1979, I, 2nd ed., p. 400); "FALCO Linnaeus, 1758  M - Falco subbuteo Linnaeus, 1758; type by subsequent designation (A.O.U., 1886, Check List, 2nd ed., p. 193)." (Dickinson and Remsen (eds.), H. & M. Complete Checklist, 4th ed., 2013, 1 (Non-passerines), p. 349).  Linnaeus's Falco comprised twenty-six species (F. Melanætus, F. Chrysaëtus, F. fulvus, F. canadensis, F. rusticolus, F. barbarus, F. cærulescens, F. Albicilla, F. Pygargus, F. Milvus, F. forficatus, F. gentilis, F. Subbuteo, F. Buteo, F. Tinnunculus, F. sufflator, F. cachinnans, F. sparverius, F. columbarius, F. Lanarius, F. Haliætus, F. Gyrfalco, F. apivorus, F. æruginosus, F. palumbarius, F. Nisus).
Synon. Aegypius, Aesalon, Archifalco, Asturaetus, Cataractes, Cenchris, Cerchneis, Chiquera, Confusiana, Cuvieria, Dendrofalco, Dissodectes, Dorcadothera, Erythropus, Eufalco, Euhierax, Falcolus, Falcula, Gennadas, Gennaia, Gyrfalco, Harpe, Hierax, Hierofalco, Hypotriorchis, Ieracidea, Lanarius, Lithofalco, Megacerchneis, Neofalco, Nesierax, Notofalco, Palifalco, Pannychistes, Planofalco, Plioaetus, Pnigohierax, Poecilornis, Pontotriorchis, Rhynchodon, Rhynchofalco, Tichornis, Tinnunculus, Tolmerus, Turumtia.

falco
Late L. falco, falconis  falcon  < L. flectere  to curve; the “Sekretär” of Gravenhorst 1817 (syn. Sagittarius serpentarius).

columbarius
L. columbarius  pertaining to doves  < columba  pigeon.
● "41. FALCO.  ...  columbarius.  19. F. cera lutea, corpore fusco subtus albido, cauda fusca fasciis linearibus quatuor albis.  Accipiter palumbarius. Catesb. car. I. p. 3. t. 3.  Habitat in America." (Linnaeus 1758) (Falco).

SUBSPECIES

Merlin (Eurasian)
SCI Name: Falco columbarius [aesalon Group]
FALCO
(Falconidae; † Eurasian Hobby F. subbuteo) Late L. falco, falconis  falcon  < L. flectere  to curve (alluding to the curved talons) (cf. Late Gr. φαλκων phalkōn, φαλκωνος phalkōnos  falcon). "41. FALCO.  Rostrum aduncum, basi cera instructum.  Caput pennis arcte tectum.  Lingua bifida.  ...  Aquilæ dictæ fuere Falcones majores, pedibus hirsutis.  ...  Falconaria avs ad aucupium & venatum instruendi Falcones transiit in Scientiam; inter auctores plurimos eminet d'Esparon Falconaria. Francs. 1617. quart." (Linnaeus 1758). This genus is the second diagnosed in avian nomenclature. "Falco Linné, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 88.  Type, by subsequent designation, Falco subbuteo Linné. (A. O. U. Committee, 1886.)" (Peters, 1931, I, 284); "Falco Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., 10th ed., 1, p. 88, 1758—type, by subs. desig. (Brit. Orn. Un-Comm., List of British Birds, p. 149, 1915),² Falco Subbuteo Linnaeus.   ...   ² The A. O. U. Committee (1886), though generally credited with designating the genotype, unfortunately failed to do so, but merely determined Falco subbuteo as type by employing the inadmissable method of elimination." (Hellmay & Conover, 1949, Cat. Birds Americas, Pt. I (4), p. 293); "Falco Linnaeus, 1758, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, p. 88. Type, by subsequent designation (G. R. Gray, 1840, List Gen. Birds, p. 3), "F. peregrinus L." = Falco peregrinus Tunstall." (Amadon in Peters, 1979, I, 2nd ed., p. 400); "FALCO Linnaeus, 1758  M - Falco subbuteo Linnaeus, 1758; type by subsequent designation (A.O.U., 1886, Check List, 2nd ed., p. 193)." (Dickinson and Remsen (eds.), H. & M. Complete Checklist, 4th ed., 2013, 1 (Non-passerines), p. 349).  Linnaeus's Falco comprised twenty-six species (F. Melanætus, F. Chrysaëtus, F. fulvus, F. canadensis, F. rusticolus, F. barbarus, F. cærulescens, F. Albicilla, F. Pygargus, F. Milvus, F. forficatus, F. gentilis, F. Subbuteo, F. Buteo, F. Tinnunculus, F. sufflator, F. cachinnans, F. sparverius, F. columbarius, F. Lanarius, F. Haliætus, F. Gyrfalco, F. apivorus, F. æruginosus, F. palumbarius, F. Nisus).
Synon. Aegypius, Aesalon, Archifalco, Asturaetus, Cataractes, Cenchris, Cerchneis, Chiquera, Confusiana, Cuvieria, Dendrofalco, Dissodectes, Dorcadothera, Erythropus, Eufalco, Euhierax, Falcolus, Falcula, Gennadas, Gennaia, Gyrfalco, Harpe, Hierax, Hierofalco, Hypotriorchis, Ieracidea, Lanarius, Lithofalco, Megacerchneis, Neofalco, Nesierax, Notofalco, Palifalco, Pannychistes, Planofalco, Plioaetus, Pnigohierax, Poecilornis, Pontotriorchis, Rhynchodon, Rhynchofalco, Tichornis, Tinnunculus, Tolmerus, Turumtia.

Merlin (Pallid)
SCI Name: Falco columbarius pallidus
pallidum / pallidus
L. pallidus  pallid, pale, wan, sallow  < pallere  to be pale.
● ex “Pale Thrush” of Latham 1783 (Turdus).

Merlin (Taiga)
SCI Name: Falco columbarius columbarius
columbarius
L. columbarius  pertaining to doves  < columba  pigeon.
● "41. FALCO.  ...  columbarius.  19. F. cera lutea, corpore fusco subtus albido, cauda fusca fasciis linearibus quatuor albis.  Accipiter palumbarius. Catesb. car. I. p. 3. t. 3.  Habitat in America." (Linnaeus 1758) (Falco).

Merlin (Prairie)
SCI Name: Falco columbarius richardsonii
richardsoni / richardsonii
● Sir John Richardson (1787-1865) Scottish surgeon-explorer, zoologist, botanist, geologist (subsp. Aegolius funereus, syn. Contopus sordidulus, subsp. Dendragapus obscurus, Eubucco, subsp. Falco columbarius, syn. Gavia adamsii, syn. Ixoreus naevius, syn. Rhodostethia rosea, syn. Sayornis phoebe, syn. Stercorarius parasiticus).
● William Blaine (or Blaney) Richardson, Sr. (1868-1927) US collector in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Colombia and Ecuador 1887-1927 (syn. Chlorospingus dwighti, syn. Corvus corax sinuatus, subsp. Cyphorhinus phaeocephalus, syn. Icterus graduacauda, subsp. Myiothlypis luteoviridis, syn. Saltator grandis plumbiceps, syn. Sporophila minuta parva, syn. Zenaida aurita zenaida).
● William Everett Richardson (1825-1902) US shipping manager, collector (Melanospiza).
● William Blaine Richardson, Jr. (1891-1972) US banker in Mexico, mammalogist, collector in New Guinea 1938-1939 (subsp. Zapornia tabuensis).

Merlin (Black)
SCI Name: Falco columbarius suckleyi
suckleyi
Dr George Suckley (1830-1869) US Army, surgeon-naturalist (syn. Cerorhinca monocerata, subsp. Falco columbarius, syn. Larus canus brachyrhynchus).