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Difference between revisions of "Northern Harrier" - BirdForum Opus

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'''Alternative name: Hen Harrier'''
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[[Image:HARRIER MALE 2540.jpg|thumb|400px|right|Male<br />Photo &copy; by {{user|blubird|blubird}}<br />Las Gallinas, San Rafael, [[California]], 18 December 2008]]
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[[Image:Hen_Harrier_Male.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Male<br />Photo by {{user|RJSBRITS|RJSBRITS}}<br/> [[Netherlands]]]]
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'''Alternative name: Marsh Hawk'''
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;[[:Category:Circus|Circus]] cyaneus
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 +
;[[:Category:Circus|Circus]] hudsonius
 
==Identification==
 
==Identification==
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L. 17-24 in<br/>
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[[Image:37277879410 e1e66d90d7 o.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Juvenile<br />Photo &copy; by {{user|Kadawe|Kadawe}}<br />Newbury [[Massachusetts]], 6 October 2017]]
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W. 3 1/2-4 1/2 ft<br />
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A medium-sized raptor, 43-58 cm (17¾-21¾ in) long and 97-122 cm wingspan; males smaller (350 g), females larger (530 g)<br />
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Weight 12-18 oz<br />
 
 
'''Male'''
 
'''Male'''
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Grey head and upper parts with black primaries and white rump<br />
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*Grey head and upper parts
 +
*Six outer primaries black
 +
*White rump
 +
*Back and wing (except for outer primaries) grey, mottled darker
 +
*Underparts pale grayish-white, with scattered orange-brown streaks on breast and flanks<br />
 
'''Female'''
 
'''Female'''
−
Quite a bit larger than the male. Brown above and brownish-white below. Very noticeable white rump<br />
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*Quite a bit larger than the male
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'''In flight''' will show five obvious primaries (fingers) unless in moult.
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*Brown upperparts
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[[Image:Northern_Harrier.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Female<br />Notice the five primaries visible on the far wing<br />Photo by {{user|alibenn|alibenn}}Lashi Lake, Yunnan, [[China]], December 2005]]
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*Brownish-white underparts, streaked and mottled darker
 +
*Very noticeable white rump<br />
 +
'''Juvenile'''
 +
*Similar to adult female but less streaked below and distinctly orange-toned<br />
 +
'''In flight'''  
 +
*Shows five obvious 'fingered' ([[Dictionary_D-F#E|emarginated]]) primaries unless in moult.
 
====Similar species====
 
====Similar species====
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See [[Montagu's Harrier]] and [[Pallid Harrier]] which both show four noticeable primaries in flight. Also see [[:Category:Circus|other harriers]] depending on where the observation is done; in Europe, [[Western Marsh-Harrier]] is heavier with broader wings.  
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[[Image:Northern Harrier male Anahuac.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Adult male<br />Photo &copy; by {{user|Stanley+Jones|Stanley Jones}}<br />[[Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge]], Chambers County, [[Texas]], [[USA]], 1 February 2018]]
 +
None within its normal range. See [[Hen Harrier]] for distinction from that species in Europe where Northern Harrier is a rare vagrant. Southernmost wintering birds in the far north of [[South America]] need to be distinguished from [[Cinereous Harrier]]; that differs in males with more heavily orange-brown streaked underparts.
 
==Distribution==
 
==Distribution==
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Widespread in the Northern Hemisphere.
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Widespread in the [[North America]], breeding over most of [[Alaska]] except the far north and [[Canada]] south of the tree-line. Also breeds over much of the western and northern contiguous 48 states of the [[USA]] except for the south and south-east USA. Southernmost breeding limit is northern [[Baja California]]. Winters from southern Canada and throughout the USA, and from [[Mexico]] to [[Panama]], rarely the [[Caribbean]], [[Colombia]] and [[Venezuela]]. It has also occurred as a vagrant in the [[Azores]], the [[Faroes]] and in [[Britain]].
  
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In '''[[North America]] breeds''' over most of [[Alaska]] except the far north and [[Canada]] south of the tree-line. Also breeds over much of the western and northern [[USA]] but absent from the south and south-east. Southernmost breeding limit is northern [[Baja California]].
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==Taxonomy==
−
 
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This is a [[Dictionary_M-S#M|monotypic]] species<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup><sup>[[#References|[2]]]</sup>.
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'''Winters''' from southern Canada and throughout the USA, and from [[Mexico]] to [[Panama]], rarely the [[Caribbean]], [[Colombia]] and [[Venezuela]].
 
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[[Image:October - Harrier female in flight edited MG 3668.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Subspecies ''hudsonius''<br />Photo by {{user|rdavis|rdavis}}<br />Orono Bog, Maine, [[USA]], May 2009]]
 
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In '''[[Europe]]''' main '''breeding''' range is from central [[Sweden]], [[Finland]] and the [[Baltic States]], south to the Black Sea and east to the Urals. However, also breeds patchily in [[Ireland]] and northern [[Britain]], in north and central [[France]] and northern [[Spain]], with smaller populations in the [[Netherlands]], [[Denmark]] and central [[Norway]], [[Germany]], [[Poland]] and the [[Czech Republic]]. Recently bred for the first time for many years in [[Italy]]. A summer visitor to [[Scandinavia]] and [[Russia]] but resident or partly so in remainder of range.
 
−
 
 
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Widespread in '''winter''' from [[British Isles]], [[France]] and [[Spain]] east to the Black and Caspian Seas. Small numbers winter in [[Morocco]] and [[Egypt]] and can be seen on the major migration routes but relatively few cross the Mediterranean. Recorded in some numbers at [[Falsterbo]], peaking in early-mid October.
 
  
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A '''vagrant''' north to [[Iceland]] and the [[Faroes]] and to several Middle Eastern countries.
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Formerly treated as a subspecies of [[Hen Harrier]] in older versions of Clements and IOC, and still so by Howard & Moore<sup>[[#References|[7]]]</sup>, but now split into two separate species in view of the distinct morphological and ecological differences between the two, and the discovery that Northern Harrier is genetically closer to the South American [[Cinereous Harrier]] than it is to Hen Harrier<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup><sup>[[#References|[2]]]</sup><sup>[[#References|[3]]]</sup><sup>[[#References|[4]]]</sup><sup>[[#References|[5]]]</sup>.
  
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'''[[Asia|Asian]]''' range extends from the Urals to the Pacific coast '''breeding''' in the [[Russia|Russian]] Far East, on Kamchatka and Sakhalin, and northern and eastern [[China]].
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==Conservation==
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Northern Harrier populations are secure.
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'''Winters''' in [[Japan]], [[China]] south of the Yangtze, in South-East Asia and [[India]]. A rare straggler to [[Taiwan]].
 
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==Taxonomy==
 
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====Subspecies<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup>====
 
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*''C. c. cyaneus '' (Eurasian):
 
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:*Widespread [[Eurasia]]
 
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*''C. c. hudsonius'': (American)
 
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:*Widespread [[North America]]; winters to northern [[South America]]
 
  
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The North American race ''hudsonius'' formerly known as the Marsh Hawk has rufous-spotted flanks and thighs in male and darker upperparts and more orange underparts in female. This race has occurred as a '''vagrant'' to the [[Azores]] and the [[Faroes]] and possibly also in [[Britain]].<br />
 
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Gill and Donsker<sup>[[#References|[2]]]</sup> split the species, naming ''cyaneus'' Hen Harrier and ''hudsonius'' Northern Harrier.
 
 
==Habitat==
 
==Habitat==
 +
[[Image:Northern Harrier11.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Adult female<br />Photo &copy; by {{user|Kibet|Kibet}}<br />Oakland, [[California]], [[USA]], 27 November 2016]]
 
Breeds in marshes, grasslands and heathlands, sometimes in mountains, often in cultivated areas.  
 
Breeds in marshes, grasslands and heathlands, sometimes in mountains, often in cultivated areas.  
 +
 
==Behaviour==
 
==Behaviour==
 
====Flight====
 
====Flight====
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Harriers hunt using a low, slow flight over the ground, with their wings held in a shallow "V", then plunge onto their prey.   
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Like all harriers, hunts using a low, slow flight over the ground, with their wings held in a shallow "V", then plunge onto their prey.   
 +
 
 
====Diet====
 
====Diet====
 
Includes small mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, and carrion.  
 
Includes small mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, and carrion.  
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They take 2 - 3 years to mature, but may attempt breeding in their first year.
 
They take 2 - 3 years to mature, but may attempt breeding in their first year.
 +
 
====Vocalisation====
 
====Vocalisation====
 
'''Call''': ''kek, kek, kek''
 
'''Call''': ''kek, kek, kek''
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<flashmp3>Circus cyaneus (song).mp3</flashmp3><br />
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''[[Media:Circus cyaneus (song).mp3|Listen in an external program]]''
 
 
==References==
 
==References==
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#{{Ref-Clements6thAug11}}#{{Ref-GillDonsker11V2.10}}#Collins Field Guide 5th Edition
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#{{Ref-Clements6thAug19}}#{{Ref-GillDonskerRasmussen20V10.1}}#Simmons, R. E. (2000). ''Harriers of the World''. OUP, Oxford, UK.
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#The Peregrine Fund
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#Ferguson-Lees, J., & Christie, D. A. (2001). ''Raptors  of the World''. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, New York.
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#Collins Pocket Guide to British Birds 1966
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#Dobson, A. D. M., & Clarke, M. L. (2011). Inconsistency in the taxonomy of Hen and Northern Harriers: causes and consequences. ''British Birds'' 104: 192-201.
 +
#{{Ref-Collins5th93}}#Dickinson, E. C., & Remsen, J. V., eds. (2013). The Howard and Moore complete checklist of the birds of the world. 4th edition vol. 1. Aves Press, Eastbourne, UK.
 +
#Global Raptor Information Network. 2020. Species account: Northern Harrier ''Circus hudsonius''. Downloaded from http://www.globalraptors.org on 8 May. 2020
 +
#[http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=3171993 Birdforum thread] discussing the taxonomy of harriers.
 +
#Smith, K. G., S. R. Wittenberg, R. B. Macwhirter, and K. L. Bildstein (2020). Northern Harrier (''Circus hudsonius''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (P. G. Rodewald, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.norhar2.01
 +
#Cornell Lab of Ornithology. 2019. All About Birds. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. https://www.allaboutbirds.org Accessed on 8 May 2020
 
{{ref}}
 
{{ref}}
 +
 
==External Links==
 
==External Links==
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{{GSearch|Circus+cyaneus}}
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{{GSearch|Circus+hudsonius }}
 +
{{GS-checked}}
 
<br />
 
<br />
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{{Video|Northern_Harrier}}
 
 
<br />
 
<br />
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This link searches for videos titled Hen Harrier
 
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{{Video|Hen_Harrier}}
 
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[[Category:Birds]][[Category:Circus]][[Category:Bird Songs]][[Category:Videos]]
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[[Category:Birds]][[Category:Circus]]

Latest revision as of 20:44, 13 November 2021

Male
Photo © by blubird
Las Gallinas, San Rafael, California, 18 December 2008

Alternative name: Marsh Hawk

Circus hudsonius

Identification

Juvenile
Photo © by Kadawe
Newbury Massachusetts, 6 October 2017

A medium-sized raptor, 43-58 cm (17¾-21¾ in) long and 97-122 cm wingspan; males smaller (350 g), females larger (530 g)
Male

  • Grey head and upper parts
  • Six outer primaries black
  • White rump
  • Back and wing (except for outer primaries) grey, mottled darker
  • Underparts pale grayish-white, with scattered orange-brown streaks on breast and flanks

Female

  • Quite a bit larger than the male
  • Brown upperparts
  • Brownish-white underparts, streaked and mottled darker
  • Very noticeable white rump

Juvenile

  • Similar to adult female but less streaked below and distinctly orange-toned

In flight

  • Shows five obvious 'fingered' (emarginated) primaries unless in moult.

Similar species

Adult male
Photo © by Stanley Jones
Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Chambers County, Texas, USA, 1 February 2018

None within its normal range. See Hen Harrier for distinction from that species in Europe where Northern Harrier is a rare vagrant. Southernmost wintering birds in the far north of South America need to be distinguished from Cinereous Harrier; that differs in males with more heavily orange-brown streaked underparts.

Distribution

Widespread in the North America, breeding over most of Alaska except the far north and Canada south of the tree-line. Also breeds over much of the western and northern contiguous 48 states of the USA except for the south and south-east USA. Southernmost breeding limit is northern Baja California. Winters from southern Canada and throughout the USA, and from Mexico to Panama, rarely the Caribbean, Colombia and Venezuela. It has also occurred as a vagrant in the Azores, the Faroes and in Britain.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species[1][2].

Formerly treated as a subspecies of Hen Harrier in older versions of Clements and IOC, and still so by Howard & Moore[7], but now split into two separate species in view of the distinct morphological and ecological differences between the two, and the discovery that Northern Harrier is genetically closer to the South American Cinereous Harrier than it is to Hen Harrier[1][2][3][4][5].

Conservation

Northern Harrier populations are secure.

Habitat

Adult female
Photo © by Kibet
Oakland, California, USA, 27 November 2016

Breeds in marshes, grasslands and heathlands, sometimes in mountains, often in cultivated areas.

Behaviour

Flight

Like all harriers, hunts using a low, slow flight over the ground, with their wings held in a shallow "V", then plunge onto their prey.

Diet

Includes small mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, and carrion.

Breeding

They build a nest of sticks and grass on the ground in thick heather, grass or shrubs. The clutch consists of three to six eggs which are incubated by the female for 29 - 31 days, fledging after about a month later.

They take 2 - 3 years to mature, but may attempt breeding in their first year.

Vocalisation

Call: kek, kek, kek

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Gill F, D Donsker & P Rasmussen (Eds). 2020. IOC World Bird List (v10.1). doi : 10.14344/IOC.ML.10.1. Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
  3. Simmons, R. E. (2000). Harriers of the World. OUP, Oxford, UK.
  4. Ferguson-Lees, J., & Christie, D. A. (2001). Raptors of the World. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, New York.
  5. Dobson, A. D. M., & Clarke, M. L. (2011). Inconsistency in the taxonomy of Hen and Northern Harriers: causes and consequences. British Birds 104: 192-201.
  6. Peterson, RT, G Mountfort and PAD Hollom. 1993. Collins Field Guide – Birds of Britain and Europe, 5th Revised edition. London: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 978-0002199001
  7. Dickinson, E. C., & Remsen, J. V., eds. (2013). The Howard and Moore complete checklist of the birds of the world. 4th edition vol. 1. Aves Press, Eastbourne, UK.
  8. Global Raptor Information Network. 2020. Species account: Northern Harrier Circus hudsonius. Downloaded from http://www.globalraptors.org on 8 May. 2020
  9. Birdforum thread discussing the taxonomy of harriers.
  10. Smith, K. G., S. R. Wittenberg, R. B. Macwhirter, and K. L. Bildstein (2020). Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (P. G. Rodewald, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.norhar2.01
  11. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. 2019. All About Birds. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. https://www.allaboutbirds.org Accessed on 8 May 2020

Recommended Citation

External Links

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.

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