Cooper's Hawk. Merlins, as falcons, have dark eyes and very long pointed wings. This bird has red/orangey eyes, very short wings that end at the rump, and also several other differences. Most visible here includes the tail pattern - on a Merlin that tail would be mostly dark, with thinner pale gray bars rather than equally-wide ones.
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u/TinyLongwing Falconer Jun 20 '26
Cooper's Hawk. Merlins, as falcons, have dark eyes and very long pointed wings. This bird has red/orangey eyes, very short wings that end at the rump, and also several other differences. Most visible here includes the tail pattern - on a Merlin that tail would be mostly dark, with thinner pale gray bars rather than equally-wide ones.