A recent discussion has come up about birds appearing unusually pointed-winged (first link below). The bird in question was a juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk that looks Merlin-like as it is headed away in the photo. This is defnitely the case with many raptors that are not associated with showing pointed wings, but often do in certain postures or angles. I have shown this in other posts (2nd link below) and in my books but just wanted to mention it since it is a common ID issue. Coincidentally, I just had a discussion on this very subject the other day at a hawkwatch as an adult male Sharp-shinned was mistaken for a Merlin by a very keen observer.

Take a look at the B&W silhouettes of Sharp-shinned Hawks (1st photo) that all appear pointed winged (and Merlin-like) either headed away or head-on. The 2nd photo shows birds in color for extra viewing, and the 3rd image is a collage of Merlins showing plumages (which is important for separating the 2 species when they appear similarly shaped). The Sharp-shinned in question has streaks that end at the belly and lack the broadness or heaviness of a Merlin streaking. Also, the underside is pure white, whereas Merlins in fall are buffy in tone. Merlins also almost always have some type of streaking on the undertail (bold or faint), whereas Sharp-shinned almost never does. The underwing linings of Merlin are checkered not streaked like Sharp-shinned and the banding to the secondaries and primaries is bolder and shows a more spotted look than the evenly banded look of Sharp-shinned. One last thing, Merlins show a broad white tail tip and obvious multiple tail bands that is not shown on the bird in question. I hope this helps because my only goal is to attempt to teach or share my view.


A comment on shape too...Sharp-shinned Hawks are stockier winged than Merlins in all postures and lack the long-handed look of Merlin.

http://www.whatbird.com/forum/index.php?/topic/108558-8-birds-of-prey-pics/

http://utahbirders.blogspot.com/2011/11/pointed-wings.html