>From a behavioral standpoint, I know that Merlins eat their prey,
at least sometimes, while perched on a treetop. I had the
opportunity to observe a Merlin doing just that one year while I
was doing a shorebird census near Eugene OR (quite a bit south of
Seattle!). The Merlin plucked the feathers off of what was
probably a sparrow, and ate it in very short order. My friend and
I were fascinated with how quickly this bird plucked and ate its
prey. The whole process took maybe 10-15 minutes. This bird was
gone from the top of the tree as soon as it finished its meal.

--
Barbara Combs obie '70
Eugene, OR
bcombs at ednet1.osl.or.gov