AnAge entry for Falco columbarius
Classification (HAGRID: 00645)
- Taxonomy
-
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves (Taxon entry)
Order: Falconiformes
Family: Falconidae
Genus: Falco
- Species
- Falco columbarius
- Common name
- Merlin
Lifespan, ageing, and relevant traits
- Maximum longevity
- 12.7 years (wild)
- Source
- ref. 450
- Sample size
- Medium
- Data quality
- Acceptable
- Observations
In captivity these animals have been reported to live up to 16 years [0972], but this has not been verified.
Life history traits (averages)
- Female sexual maturity
- 365 days
- Male sexual maturity
- 365 days
- Incubation
- 30 days
- Clutch size
- 5 (oviparous)
- Clutches per year
- 1
- Weight at hatching
- 13 g
- Adult weight
- 195 g
- Postnatal growth rate
- 0.241 days-1 (from logistic function)
Metabolism
No information on metabolism is available.
References
- [0450] Fransson et al. (2010), EURING list of longevity records for European birds
- [0972] Wasser and Sherman (2010), Avian longevities and their interpretation under evolutionary theories of senescence
- [0729] Moller (2006), Sociality, age at first reproduction and senescence: comparative analyses of birds (PubMed)
- [0732] Starck and Ricklefs (1998), Avian growth rate data set
- [0444] John Terres (1980), The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds
- [0445] The Birds of North America Online
External Resources
- Integrated Taxonomic Information System
- ITIS 175613
- Animal Diversity Web
- ADW account
- Encyclopaedia of Life
- Search EOL
- NCBI Taxonomy
- Taxonomy ID 8953
- Entrez
- Search all databases
- Ageing Literature
- Search Google Scholar or Search PubMed
- Images
- Google Image search
- Internet
- Search Google