This very pale Merlin was spotted in the Lake City neighborhood of North Seattle, atop a fir tree in the late afternoon of March 24th, 2008. It was wearing a band on its right leg. It is possibly a very washed out Boreal/Taiga subspecies (a common wintering subspecies), or it is perhaps the much less common Prairie (richardsonii) subspecies. I was able to see the tail when fanned, and it had contrasting, dark and light tail bands, with a darker band near the tip of the tail.

Click on image to enlarge.