Difference between revisions of "Northern Harrier" - BirdForum Opus

Revision as of 09:28, 27 August 2017

Alternative name: Marsh Hawk

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

Circus hudsonius

Identification

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
Photo by rdavis
Orono Bog, Maine, USA, May 2009

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

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 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

Monotypic^[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

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

Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Gill, F. and Donsker, D. (Eds). 2017. IOC World Bird Names (version 7.3). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.
Simmons, R. E. (2000). Harriers of the World. OUP, Oxford, UK.
Ferguson-Lees, J., & Christie, D. A. (2001). Raptors of the World. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, New York.
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.
Collins Field Guide 5th Edition
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.
The Peregrine Fund
Birdforum thread discussing the taxonomy of harriers

List of references

Recommended Citation

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Northern Harrier. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 28 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Northern_Harrier

External Links

Search for photos of Northern Harrier in the gallery

Search for videos of Northern Harrier on BirdForum TV

Retrieved from ‘https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/index.php?title=Northern_Harrier&oldid=226001’

Categories:

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-'''Alternative name in the US: Marsh Hawk'''
+'''Alternative name: Marsh Hawk'''
-[[Image:Hen Harrier, Dordogne, France.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Hen Harrier ''C. c. cyaneus'', male<br />Photo by {{user|Kingshot975|Kingshot975}}<br />Dordogne, [[France]], June 2016]]
+[[Image:HARRIER MALE 2540.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Male<br />Photo by {{user|blubird|blubird}}<br />Las Gallinas, San Rafael, [[California]], December 2008]]
-;[[:Category:Circus|Circus]] cyaneus
+;[[:Category:Circus|Circus]] hudsonius
-'''Includes: Hen Harrier'''<br />
 ==Identification==
-A medium-sized raptor, 45-55 cm (17¾-21¾ in) long and 97-122 cm wingspan; males smaller (350 g), females larger (530 g).<br />
+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 />
 '''Male'''
-[[Image:HARRIER MALE 2540.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Northern Harrier ''C. c. hudsonius'', male<br />Photo by {{user|blubird|blubird}}<br />Las Gallinas, San Rafael, [[California]], December 2008]]
 *Grey head and upper parts
 *Six outer primaries black
-*White rump.
+*White rump
-*Back and wing (except for outer primaries) plain pale grey in Hen Harrier ''C. c. cyaneus'', mottled darker in Northern Harrier ''C. c. hudsonius''.<br />
+*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''': Quite a bit larger than the male.
+[[Image:October - Harrier female in flight edited MG 3668.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Female<br />Photo by {{user|rdavis|rdavis}}<br />Orono Bog, Maine, [[USA]], May 2009]]
+'''Female'''
+*Quite a bit larger than the male
 *Brown upperparts
-*Brownish-white underparts
+*Brownish-white underparts, streaked and mottled darker
 *Very noticeable white rump<br />
 '''Juvenile'''
-*Similar to adult female in Hen Harrier
+*Similar to adult female but less streaked below and distinctly orange-toned<br />
-*Distinctly orange-toned in Northern Harrier.<br />
 '''In flight'''
 *Shows five obvious 'fingered' ([[Dictionary_D-F#E|emarginated]]) primaries unless in moult.
-====Variation====
-The North American form has rufous-spotted flanks and thighs in males (like [[Cinereous Harrier]] but less marked), and females have darker upperparts and more orange underparts than females of the Eurasian form.
 ====Similar species====
-[[Image:Hen_Harrier_Male.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Hen Harrier, male in flight<br />Photo by {{user|RJSBRITS|RJSBRITS}}<br/> [[Netherlands]]]]
+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 more heavily orange-brown streaked underparts.
-See [[Montagu's Harrier]] and [[Pallid Harrier]] which both show four 'fingered' primaries in flight; Montagu's also has dark secondary bar, and Pallid only 3-4 black primaries in male. Also see [[:Category:Circus|other harriers]] depending on where the observation is done; in Europe, [[Western Marsh Harrier]] is heavier with broader wings.
 ==Distribution==
-[[Image:Northern_Harrier.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Hen Harrier, female<br />Note the five 'fingered' primaries visible on the far wing<br />Photo by {{user|alibenn|alibenn}}<br/>Lashi Lake, Yunnan, [[China]], December 2005]]
+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]].
-Widespread in the Northern Hemisphere. The two subspecies Hen Harrier ''C. c. cyaneus'' and Northern Harrier ''C. c. hudsonius'' occupy the Old and the New Worlds respectively.
-In [[Europe]] and [[Asia]], Hen Harrier breeds widely between around 35°N and 65°N latitudes across the entire width of the landmass. In Europe the 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]] (nearly extinct), 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]]. The Asian range extends from the Urals to the Pacific coast, breeding in the [[Russia]]n far east, on Kamchatka and Sakhalin, and northern and eastern [[China]]. It is a summer visitor in Scandinavia, Russia and northern China, but resident or partly so in western and central Europe. 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. Asian populations winter south to Japan, southern China south of the Yangtze, and northern India; a rare straggler to [[Taiwan]].
+==Taxonomy==
+Monotypic<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup><sup>[[#References|[2]]]</sup>. 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>.
-In [[North America]] Northern Harrier 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, south-east and most of central 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]]. This form has occurred as a vagrant in the [[Azores]], the [[Faroes]] and in [[Britain]].
-[[Image:October - Harrier female in flight edited MG 3668.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Female Northern Harrier<br />Photo by {{user|rdavis|rdavis}}<br />Orono Bog, Maine, [[USA]], May 2009]]
-A '''vagrant''' north to [[Iceland]] and the [[Faroes]] and to several Middle Eastern countries.
-==Taxonomy==
-====Subspecies====
-Two subspecies are listed here following the Clements<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup> and Howard & Moore<sup>[[#References|[7]]]</sup> taxonomies; these have recently been split into two separate species by several other authorities 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|[2]]]</sup><sup>[[#References|[3]]]</sup><sup>[[#References|[4]]]</sup><sup>[[#References|[5]]]</sup>.
-*''C. c. cyaneus	'' (Hen Harrier):
-::[[Eurasia]]
-*''C. c. hudsonius'' (Northern Harrier):
-::[[North America]]; winters to northern [[South America]]
-[[Image:Hen-harrier-1650.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Juvenile Hen Harrier<br />Photo by {{user|john-henry|john-henry}}<br />Southern Spain, November 2007]]
 ==Conservation==
-Hen Harrier populations are secure in some areas, but in others, notably Great Britain, have suffered massive declines due to determined criminal persecution by game-shooting estates. Northern Harrier populations are secure.
+Northern Harrier populations are secure.
 ==Habitat==
@@ Line 64: / Line 48: @@
 ====Vocalisation====
 '''Call''': ''kek, kek, kek''
-<flashmp3>Circus cyaneus (song).mp3</flashmp3><br />
-''[[Media:Circus cyaneus (song).mp3|Listen in an external program]]''
 ==References==
-#{{Ref-Clements6thAug16}}#{{Ref-GillDonsker11V2.10}}#Simmons, R. E. (2000). ''Harriers of the World''. OUP, Oxford, UK.
+#{{Ref-Clements6thAug17}}#{{Ref-GillDonsker17V7.3}}#Simmons, R. E. (2000). ''Harriers of the World''. OUP, Oxford, UK.
 #Ferguson-Lees, J., & Christie, D. A. (2001). ''Raptors  of the World''. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, New York.
-#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.
+#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.
 #Collins Field Guide 5th Edition
-#Dickinson EC and JV Remsen, eds. (2013). The Howard and Moore complete checklist of the birds of the world. 4th edition vol. 1. Aves Press, Eastbourne, UK.
+#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.
 #The Peregrine Fund
-#Collins Pocket Guide to British Birds 1966
 #[http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=3171993 Birdforum thread] discussing the taxonomy of harriers
 {{ref}}
 ==External Links==
-{{GSearch|Circus+cyaneus}}
+{{GSearch|Circus+hudsonius}}
 <br />
 {{Video|Northern_Harrier}}
-<br />
-{{Video|Hen_Harrier Use "Hen Harrier" to}}
-[[Category:Birds]][[Category:Circus]][[Category:Bird Songs]][[Category:Videos]]
+[[Category:Birds]][[Category:Circus]][[Category:Videos]]